Guericke, Otto von
Guericke, Otto von (1602-1686), a German physicist. He is best known for his invention of the vacuum pump, which he devised about 1650. In 1687, he used the pump in a dramatic demonstration to show the effect of air pressure on a hollow globe containing a vacuum. Guericke fitted together two metal hemispheres to form the globe and evacuated the air from it. To each hemisphere he attached a team of eight horses. The teams were driven in opposite directions but failed to separate the hemispheres, which came apart only when Guericke allowed air to reenter the globe. In addition to the vacuum pump, he is also credited with inventing a device that continuously produced static electricity.
Guericke was born in Magdeburg. (The hemispheres of his demonstration became known as the Magdeburg Hemispheres.) He was elected to the city council in 1627, and from 1646 to 1681 served as one of the city's four burgomasters (mayors).