astronomy

Otto Erdmannsdörffer

Otto Erdmannsdörffer is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Otto Erdmannsdörffer rather than just read about it. In short: Otto Heinrich Erdmannsdörffer (11 March 1876, Heidelberg – 19 April 1955, Heidelberg) was a German mineralogist and petrographer, known for his analysis of rocks and minerals found in the Odenwald, the Black Forest and the Harz Mountains. He was the son of historian Bernhard Erdmannsdörffer.

Key takeaways

Otto Erdmannsdörffer belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Otto Erdmannsdörffer to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Otto Erdmannsdörffer from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Otto Heinrich Erdmannsdörffer (11 March 1876, Heidelberg – 19 April 1955, Heidelberg) was a German mineralogist and petrographer, known for his analysis of rocks and minerals found in the Odenwald, the Black Forest and the Harz Mountains. He was the son of historian Bernhard Erdmannsdörffer. He studied natural sciences at the universities of Heidelberg and Strasbourg, receiving his doctorate in 1900. For the next twelve years he worked as a research assistant at the Prussian Geological Survey, and in the meantime, obtained his habilitation in mineralogy and petrology from the University of Berlin (1908). In 1912 he was appointed chair of mineralogy and petrology at the Technical University of Hannover, and in 1926 returned to Heidelberg, where he succeeded Ernst Anton Wülfing as director of the mineralogical-petrographic institute. In 1932 he was named academic rector at Heidelberg. In 1953 he was awarded the Hans-Stille-Medaille by the Deutsche Geologische Gesellschaft. He was an editor of the journal Heidelberger Beiträge zur Mineralogie und Petrographie.

Selected works Grundlagen der Petrographiem 1924 – Fundamentals of petrography. Südostmazedonien und Kleinasien, 1925 – Southeastern Macedonia and Asia Minor. Über Disthen-Andalusitparagenesen, 1928 – On kyanite-andalusite paragenesis. Über Alkalihornblenden aus dem Radautal, 1929 – On alkali hornblende from the Radau valley. Die Syenite des Radautales im Harz als palingene Eruptiva, 1930 – The syenite of the Radau valley in the Harz as palingenetic-eruptive. Über den Buchonit von Poppenhausen in der Rhön, 1933 – On the buchonite of Poppenhausen in the Rhön Mountains. Beiträge zur Petrographie des Odenwaldes, 1941 – Contribution to the petrography of the Odenwald. Über Flasergranite und Böllsteiner Gneis, 1949 – On flaser granite and Böllstein gneiss.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Otto Erdmannsdörffer

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Otto Erdmannsdörffer claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Otto Erdmannsdörffer before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Otto Erdmannsdörffer ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Otto Erdmannsdörffer

In research: Otto Erdmannsdörffer appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Otto Erdmannsdörffer in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Otto Erdmannsdörffer is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1876 births, 1955 deaths, Academic staff of Heidelberg University, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Otto Erdmannsdörffer outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Otto Erdmannsdörffer in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Otto Erdmannsdörffer means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Otto Erdmannsdörffer out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Otto Erdmannsdörffer in simple terms?

Why does Otto Erdmannsdörffer matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Otto Erdmannsdörffer?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Otto Erdmannsdörffer.