Carl Pulfrich
Illustration — Pulfrich in 1889 Carl P. Pulfrich (September 24, 1858 in Burscheid, Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia – August 12, 1927 in Baltic Sea, drowned when his canoe capsized) was a German physicist, noted for advancements in optics made as a researcher for the Carl Zeiss company in Jena around 1880, and for documenting the Pulfrich effect, a psycho-optical phenomenon that can be used to create a type of 3-D visual effect. The brother-in-law of Heinrich Hertz.
Carl Pulfrich
Robert Krewaldt, Kaiserplatz 16, Bonn · Kabinettfotografie, Cabinetphotograph · Public domain
- Born
- 1858 · Burscheid.
- Died
- 1927 · Timmendorfer Strand.
- Nationality
- Germany
- Occupation
- physicist · photographer
- Honours
- Order of the Red Eagle 4th Class · Order of Franz Joseph
- Languages
- German
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Illustration — Pulfrich in 1889 Carl P. Pulfrich (September 24, 1858 in Burscheid, Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia – August 12, 1927 in Baltic Sea, drowned when his canoe capsized) was a German physicist, noted for advancements in optics made as a researcher for the Carl Zeiss company in Jena around 1880, and for documenting the Pulfrich effect, a psycho-optical phenomenon that can be used to create a type of 3-D visual effect. The brother-in-law of Heinrich Hertz.
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In this article
Advances in optics
Advances in optics
Pulfrich was employed to develop stereoscopy from being pure entertainment to a powerful quantitative technique. His apparatus to measure distances stereoscopically was first presented in Munich in 1899. This was further developed to a stereo-comparator which was presented in Hamburg in 1901. Stereoscopy was used for topographic mapping, astronomy and oceanography because it enabled the measurement of elevation by simple trigonometry. He pioneered the use of aerial photography surveys. He introduced in 1909 a "Vacation Course in Stereophotogrammetry", that gave rise to the annual "Photogrammetry Week" running for more than a century. Leica Geosystems sponsors the "Carl Pulfrich Award", to honour advancements in the fields of photogrammetry, remote sensing, and earth imaging. Pulfrich had realised that people in whom visual function differed between both eyes perceived the stereo-effect: Pulfrich's comment implies a list of diseases in which the stereo-effect can occur. He wondered why the stereo-effect was not noted earlier because of the abundance of swinging clock pendulums: Carl P. Pulfrich
Pulfrich refractometer
Pulfrich refractometer
A Pulfrich refractometer measures refractive index of a sample by measuring the critical angle of the sample with a well characterized prism. Pulfrich and Max Wolz invented it at the Zeiss factory.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1858
Carl Pulfrich born at Burscheid.
1927
Carl Pulfrich died at Timmendorfer Strand.
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Burscheid.
Birth place
Timmendorfer Strand.
Death place
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Pulfrich, Carl P. Die Stereoskopie im Dienste der isochromen und heterochromen Photometrie. Naturwissenschaften. 10. 25. 553–564. 1922. 10.1007/bf01571319.
- 2.Petzold, Axel. The Historical Origin of the Pulfrich Effect: A Serendipitous Astronomic Observation at the Border of the Milky Way. Neuro-Ophthalmology. 33. 1–2. 39–46. 2009. 10.1080/01658100802590829.
- 3.Appleyard, Rollo. Pioneers of Electrical Communication--Heinrich Rudolf Hertz--V. Electrical Communication. 6. 2. 63–77. October 1927.
- 4.The Photogrammetric Week Series – A Centennial Story of Success
- 5.Carl Pulfrich Award
- 6.Pulfrich refractometer. www.refractometer.pl.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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