Hermann von Helmholtz

Hermann von Helmholtz was a 19th-century German scientist known for his groundbreaking contributions to several fields, including thermodynamics, optics, acoustics, and mechanics. He developed the principle of conservation of energy, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. In optics, he studied how light interacts with materials, while in acoustics, he explored sound waves and human perception of sound. Helmholtz also contributed to Hamiltonian mechanics, a framework that describes motion in physics. His work laid foundational principles that are critical to understanding energy, light, sound, and physical systems today.