Walther Bothe
Bothe, Walther (1891-1957), a German physicist, investigated cosmic rays, electron diffraction, and nuclear energy. For his work, Bothe shared the 1954 Nobel Prize in physics with Max Born.
Walther Wilhelm Georg Bothe earned his Ph.D. degree from the University of Berlin in 1914 and worked briefly at the Physical-Technical Institute with physicist Hans Geiger, who invented the Geiger counter. Bothe served in the army during World War I (1914-1918) but was taken as a prisoner of war by the Russians. After the war, Bothe resumed his research with Geiger. Bothe and Barbara Below married in 1920. The Bothes had two daughters.
In 1930, Bothe was named professor of physics and director of the Institute of Physics at the University of Giessen. He was appointed director of the Institute of Physics at the University of Heidelberg in 1932. In 1934, he left to become director of the Institute for Physics at the Max Planck Institute of Medical Research. During World War II (1939-1945), he was a leader in Germany's nuclear-energy efforts. He also supervised the construction of Germany's first cyclotron, which was completed in 1943. After the war, Bothe worked at the Max Planck Institute and the University of Heidelberg.
Bothe developed the coincidence method, a counting technique that provided insight into atomic processes. He devised two Geiger counters to register particles that coincided in time, statistically analyzed the results, and determined that classical conservation laws were upheld at the subatomic level. Bothe also used the coincidence method to demonstrate that cosmic rays most likely were particles rather than high-energy photons.
Late in life, Bothe suffered from a circulatory illness that prevented him from attending the Nobel Prize ceremonies in his honor. Despite his ailment, Bothe carried on his duties at Heidelberg from his bed.