Walter Kaufmann (physicist)

Walter Kaufmann (June 5, 1871, Elberfeld - January 1, 1947, Freiburg im Breisgau) was a German physicist.

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He began teaching at Bonn University in 1903, and at Königsberg University in 1908.

Claimed experimental disproof of special relativity

Published in Annalen der Physik and said to be the first journal paper to cite Einstein's 1905 electrodynamics paper. Kaufmann's paper stated that his results were not compatible with special relativity. According to Gerald Holton, it took a decade for the shortcomings of Kaufmann's test to be realised: during this time, critics of special relativity were able to claim that the theory was invalidated by the available experimental evidence.

See also

• Max Abraham
• Hendrik Antoon Lorentz