IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine - Q3 2023 - 69

Wheatstone's idea into practice, which is why it was for
a time called the Wheatstone-Kirchhoff bridge.
The above-mentioned prize task of the University of
Königsberg was related to Neumann's contributions to
circuits with inductive circuit elements, in which Kirchhoff
presented a work " About the determination of the
constants on which the intensity of the induced currents
depends " which corresponded in content to his
dissertation [2].
While Kirchhoff's laws [6] have been well known
to almost all physicists and electrical engineers since
their first publication in 1845, the results of Kirchhoff's
1847 paper " On the Solution of the Equations Arising
from the Study of the Linear Distribution of Galvanic
Currents " [7] have long been overlooked. It was only
40 years later that James Clerk Maxwell discussed
Kirchhoff's findings in his famous book, " Treatise on
Electricity and Magnetism " but without further reactions.
Veblen [14] was the first who pointed out in 1916
the Cambridge Colloquium that Kirchhoff's " paper is
doubtless the first important contribution to the theory
of linear graphs " which was emphasized by Weyl
[17] and Franklin [5]. Although graph theory studies on
electrical networks were published by Cauer [1], Foster
[4], and a few others, it was not until the mid-1950s
that extensive research on Kirchhoff's concept began
[13], [16]. In particular, it turned out that Kirchhoff's
topological ideas can be further developed to general
topological formulas for linear network functions and
in the context of the synthesis of electrical networks.
Thus, topological aspects of electrical circuit theory
became an intense research area for many years.
Although Kirchhoff mainly devoted himself to other
physical problems after moving to Heidelberg, electromagnetic
phenomena remained an interesting research
area for him. In 1857, he theoretically studied
the movement of electricity in conducting wires [8],
[9], which became of practical interest with regard
to telegraphic transmission using submarine cables.
Kirchhoff concluded that electricity travels in the form
of a wave with the speed c/2 (c: speed of light), which
is not far from today's value. He was the first to show
that electrical effects propagate at speeds close to the
speed of light. Later he studied electrical conductivity
in more general situations. In 1864, on the theory of
the discharge of a Leyden jar, which became of interest
with regard to wireless telegraphy. Due to his interest
in technical problems, he was one of the 35 founders
of the world's first association of electrical engineers
in Berlin in 1879. Together with Werner Siemens, Paul
David Fischer, a secretary of the Reich Postal Ministry,
and Wilhelm Strecker, a member of the German Reich's
Ministry of Railways, Kirchhoff took over the management
of the " Elektrotechnischer Verein. "
At the end of 1887, Kirchhoff was posthumously
awarded the " Prix Jannsen " by the French Académie des
Sciences in Paris for his exceptional scientific work. The
medal was sent to his widow on April 19, 1888 [15].
References
[1] W. Cauer, " Die Kirchhoffschen Regeln zur anschaulichen Ermittlung
der Eigenschaften von Netzwerken, " Mix Genest Techn. Nachr., vol. 10,
pp. 23-30, 1938.
[2] K. Hübner, " Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824-1887)-Das gewöhnliche
Leben eines außergewöhnlichen Mannes, " Verlag regionalkultur,
Ubstadt-Weiher, Berlin, Germany, Neustadt, Tech. Rep., 2010.
[3] S. Ekelöf, " The genesis of the Wheatstone bridge, " Eng. Sci. Educ. J.,
vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 37-40, 2001.
[4] R. M. Foster, " Geometrical circuits of electrical networks, " Trans.
Amer. Inst. Electr. Eng., vol. 51, no. 2, pp. 309-317, 1932.
[5] P. Franklin, " The electric currents in a network, " J. Math. Phys., vol.
4, nos. 1-4, pp. 97-102, 1925.
[6] G. Kirchhoff, " Ueber den Durchgang eines elektrischen Stromes
durch eine Ebene, insbesondere durch eine kreisförmige, " Ann. Phys.,
vol. 64, no. 4, pp. 497-514, 1845.
[7] G. Kirchhoff, " On the solution of the equations obtained from the
investigation of the linear distribution of galvanic currents, " IRE Trans.
Circuit Theory, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 4-7, Mar. 1958.
[8] G. Kirchhoff, " Ueber die Bewegung der Elektrizität in Drähten, " Ann.
Phys., vol. 100, no. 2, pp. 193-217, 1857.
[9] G. Kirchhoff, " Ueber die Leitungsfähigkeit für Elektricität von Kalium,
natrium, lithium, magnesium, calcium und strontium, " Ann. Phys.
Chem., vol. 100, no. 2, pp. 177-193, 1857.
[10] G. S. Ohm, Die Galvanische Kette-Mathematisch Bearbeitet. Berlin,
Germany: T. H. Riemann, 1927. (Transl.: in W. Francis, The Galvanic Circuit
Investigated Mathematically. New York, NY, USA: D. Van Nostrand
Comp., 1891).
[11] J. C. Poggendorff, " Ueber ein Problem bei linearer Verzweigung elektrischer
Ströme, " Ann. Phys. Chem., vol. 143, no. 2, pp. 273-283, 1846.
[12] S. Reif-Acherman, " Georg Simon Ohm and the first comprehensive
theory of electrical conductivity in metals, " Proc. IEEE, vol. 104, no. 1,
pp. 198-209, Jan. 2016.
[13] F. Reza, " Some topological considerations in network theory, " IRE
Trans. Circuit Theory, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 30-42, 1958.
[14] O. Veblen, The Cambridge Colloquium 1916, Part II: Analysis Situs.
New York, NY, USA: American Mathematical Society, 1922.
[15] E. Warburg, " Zur Erinnerung an Gustav Kirchhoff, " Naturwissenschaften,
vol. 13, no. 11, pp. 205-212, 1925.
[16] L. Weinberg, " Kirchhoff's 'third and fourth laws,' " IRE Trans. Circuit
Theory, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 8-30, 1958.
[17] H. Weyl, " Distribution of current in a conducting network, " Rev.
Mat. Hisp.-Amer., vol. 5, pp. 153-164, 1923.
Prepared by Professor Wolfgang Mathis, Professor Emeritus, Leibniz
Universität Hannover, Hannover, Germany (Email: mathis@tet.unihannover.de).
THIRD
QUARTER 2023
IEEE CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS MAGAZINE
69
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=4763772 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=8148 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=8148
IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine - Q3 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine - Q3 2023
