Bernhard Gross, German-born Brazilian physicist (Stuttgart 22 November 1905 – São Carlos, São Paulo State 01 February 2002)

ACHIEVEMENTS

Authored over 200 papers

Published important studies on viscoelasticity and rheology that attained international repercussion such as Gross model of viscoelasticity and a book that became a classical Mathematical Structure of theories of Viscoelasticity (1953)

Noticed that the formalism of dielectric and viscoelastic relaxations are identical

Performed first systematic studies on thermo-electrets

Formulated theory of two-charge of electrets  

With L. Ferreira-Denard discovered the “freezing” of electrical charges in dielectrics 

With L.F. Denard. Efeitos de temperatura em condensadores carregados. Anais Acad. Bras. Ciencias (1943)

With L.F. Denard. On permanente charges in solid dielectrics. I. Dielectric absorption temperature effects in carnauba wax. Physical Reviews 67:253, 1945

Developed first Gross transform which relates the absorption of isotropic and unidirectional beams of radiation

Zur absorption der Ultrastrahlung , Zeit. Physik 83:214-21, 1933.

Developed second Gross transform used for description of the mechanical behavior of elastic materials

With Lela Lacerda derived a new integral transform in rheology (c.1947)

Developed the removable condenser method that permits know quantitative state of surface electrical charges and their evolution within time

Derived formula that relates deformation delay and force relaxation functions

Discovered important charge storage effects in glasses and polymers.

Performed first systematical studies on thermal stimulated currents

Introduced a thermally stimulated current technique to investigate the charge and polarization storage in ice

Performed the first quantitative studies on charge dynamics

With P.S. Toledo developed methods for computing thermodielectric constant and time of system constant

Developed general theory of linear response in electronic circuits theory

Introduced the concept of Compton currents and proved their existence

First to report the existence of large particles in a fall out

With A. Arnon. Eine beobachtung uber die von kernbombenversuchen herrührende Radioaktivitat der Luft. Zeitschrift der Naturforsch. 12:944-5, 1957

With P.S. Rocha. Um novo método para medida das tensões de polarização  (A new method for measurement of polarization tensions). Anais  Acad. Bras. Ciencias 6(1), 1934

Uma nova aplicação do princípio de superposição na teoria dos dielétricos anômalos. Anais Acad. Bras. Ciencias 11(3):213-8, 1939

Sobre uma nova transformação integral. Anais Acad. Bras. Ciencias (1940)

With J. Costa Ribeiro. Sobre um novo método para a investigação experimental dos eletretos (1943) 

Proposed and built the Compton dosimeter  (patented in Brazil, United States & Germany)

Estabilizador de voltagem eletrônico para um gerador de corrente alternada. Anais Acad. Bras. Ciencias (1943)

Novo tipo de contador de Geiger-Muller Anais Acad. Bras. Ciencias (1948)