physics

Richard Sternfeld

Richard Sternfeld is a physics 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 Richard Sternfeld rather than just read about it. In short: Richard Sternfeld (8 February 1884, in Bielefeld – 1943 in Auschwitz) was a German herpetologist, who was responsible for describing over forty species of amphibians and reptiles, particularly from Germany's African and Pacific colonies (i.e. modern-day Tanzania, Cameroon, Togo, Namibia and Papua New Guinea). Sternfeld was Jewish and died at Auschwitz.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Richard Sternfeld (8 February 1884, in Bielefeld – 1943 in Auschwitz) was a German herpetologist, who was responsible for describing over forty species of amphibians and reptiles, particularly from Germany's African and Pacific colonies (i.e. modern-day Tanzania, Cameroon, Togo, Namibia and Papua New Guinea). Sternfeld was Jewish and died at Auschwitz.

Education Sternfeld was the son of a merchant in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. He was educated in a local gymnasium and initially entered university in 1903 to study medicine at Freiburg, but he switched to studying natural science at Bonn. In 1907 he returned to Freiburg, to obtain his Dr. Phil., with a dissertation on the biology of mayflies under the guidance of evolutionary biologist August Weismann.

Museum employment and First World War Sternfeld's first appointment was alongside herpetologist Gustav Tornier at the Zoological Museum at the University of Berlin. He worked on the herpetofaunas of the German colonies in Africa and the Southwest Pacific, producing 26 titles in 6.5 years. In 1913 he moved to the Senckenberg Museum at Frankfurt to replace herpetologist Philipp Lehrs, and widened his geographical area of interest to include Central Africa, Japan, Australia, the Pacific Islands, and South America. During World War I he was called up for service, serving his country in Macedonia. After the war, Sternfeld clashed with the Director of the Senckenberg and was fired at the end of 1920 after he attempted to unionize museum staff. His replacement was Robert Mertens.

Post-museum employment Sternfeld was unable to conduct research following his departure from the Senckenberg Museum. From 1923 onwards, he worked as a horse race reporter for the German horse racing newspaper Sportwelt. He developed into a leading and accepted expert in thoroughbred breeding in Germany. In March 1937, Sternfeld lost this job because of his Jewish descent. Since March 1941 he was forced to perform hard labour in Berlin, and on 1 March 1943 he was deported by the Nazis to Auschwitz, where he was murdered later that year.

Contributions to herpetology Between the years 1908-1925, Sternfeld described 42 species of snakes and lizards and five species of frogs that are still recognized today, although only seven of the reptiles retain their original names. The species list below begins with the currently accepted name, followed by Sternfeld's original name (some were placed in subgenera indicated by parentheses(). Subspecies are indicated by trinomial names, and one variety is indicated by "var". 1908

Dipsadoboa brevirostris as Dipsadomorphus brevirostris (West African short-snouted treesnake) Lamprophis erlangeri as Boodon erlangeri (Erlanger's house snake) Micrelaps bicoloratus (Kenyan two-headed snake) Namibiana labialis as Glauconia labialis (Damara threadsnake) Namibiana latifrons as Glauconia latifrons (Benguela threadsnake) Typhlops zenkeri (Zenker's wormsnake) 1910

Letheobia gracilis as Typhlops gracilis (gracile blindsnake) Madatyphlops platyrhynchus as Typhlops platyrhynchus (Tanga wormsnake) Scelotes schebeni (Scheben's legless skink) 1911

Lygodactylus grotei (red-tailed dwarf gecko) Pedioplanis breviceps as Eremias breviceps (short-headed sandveld lizard) Trachylepis boulengeri as Mabuya diesneri boulengeri (Boulenger's sun skink) 1912

Cnemaspis quattuorseriata as Gonatodes quattuorseriatus (Sternfeld's day gecko) Cynisca schaeferi as Chirindia schaeferi (Cameroon worm-lizard) Dasypeltis atra as Dasypeltis scabra var. atra (montane egg-eating snake) Geocalamus acutus (Wedge-snouted worm-lizard) Kinyongia adolfifriderici as Chamaeleon adolfi-friderici (Ituri chameleon) Leptosiaphos graueri as Lygosoma graueri quinquedigitata (Rwanda five-toed skink) Leptotyphlops latirostris as Glauconia latirostris (Uvira threadsnake) Letheobia graueri as Typhlops graueri (Sternfeld's blindsnake) Lygodactylus scheffleri (Scheffler's dwarf gecko) Trioceros schubotzi as Chamaeleon schubotzi (Mt. Kenya montane dwarf chameleon) 1913

Gerrhopilus depressiceps as Typhlops depressiceps (lowland beaked blindsnake) Toxicocalamus buergersi as Ultrocalamus bürgersi (Torricelli forest snake) Toxicocalamus preussi as Ultrocalamus preussi (Preuss’ forest snake) 1917

Kassina maculosa as Megalixalus maculosus (marbled running frog) Ptychadena tellinii as Rana schubotzi (Tellini's grass frog) 1918

Cryptoblepharus africanus as Ablepharus boutonii africanus (East African snake-eyed skink) Cryptoblepharus aldabrae as Ablepharus boutonii aldabrae (Aldabran snake-eyed skink) Cryptoblepharus australis as Ablepharus boutonii australis (Inland snake-eyed skink) Cryptoblepharus caudatus as Ablepharus boutonii caudatus (Juan de Nova Island snake-eyed skink) Cryptoblepharus pulcher as Ablepharus boutonii pulcher (elegant snake-eyed skink) Cryptoblepharus voeltzkowi as Ablepharus boutonii voeltzkowi (Voeltzkow's snake-eyed skink) Emoia boettgeri as Lygosoma (Emoia) boettgeri (Boettger's emo skink) 1919

Ctenotus leonardii as Lygosoma (Hinulia) leonhardii (Leonhard's ctenotus) Ctenotus quattuordecimlineatus as Lygosoma (Hinulia) quattuordecimlineatum (fourteen-lined ctenotus) Eremiascincus intermedius as Lygosoma (Hinulia) fasciolatus intermedium (northern narrow-banded skink) Lerista desertorum as Lygosoma (Rhodona) planiventale desertorum (central deserts robust slider) Liopholis striata as Egernia striata (nocturnal desert skink) Pogona minor as Amphibolurus barbatus minor (dwarf bearded dragon) Simoselaps anomalus as Rhynchelaps anomalus (northern desert banded snake) Tiliqua multifasciata as Tiliqua occipitalis multifasciata (Centralian blue-tongued skink) 1920

Batrachylodes vertebralis as Chaperina friedicii (striped Solomons frog) Batrachylodes wolfi as Sphenophryne wolfi (Wolf's Solomons frog) Bothrops medusa as Lachesis medusa (Venezuela forest pitviper) Palmatorappia solomonis as Hylella solomonis (Solomons palm frog) 1925

Tympanocryptis centralis (Central Australian earless dragon) Only two species described in honour of Richard Sternfeld, are recognised today:

Phrynobatrachus sternfeldi (Ahl, 1924) (Sternfeld's river frog) Trioceros sternfeldi (Rand, 1963) (Tanzanian montane dwarf chameleon)

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Richard Sternfeld

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Richard Sternfeld claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, 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 Richard Sternfeld 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 Richard Sternfeld 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 Richard Sternfeld

In research: Richard Sternfeld appears in physics 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 Richard Sternfeld 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: Richard Sternfeld is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1884 births, 1943 deaths, 20th-century German zoologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Richard Sternfeld 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 Richard Sternfeld in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Richard Sternfeld 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 Richard Sternfeld out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Richard Sternfeld in simple terms?

Why does Richard Sternfeld matter?

Because it connects several physics 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 Richard Sternfeld?

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 Richard Sternfeld.