Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the Hermann Fricke Manuscript must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Hermann Fricke Manuscript, Ms2008-062 - Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Hermann Fricke Manuscript was purchased by Special Collections in 1999.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the Hermann Fricke Manuscript occurred in August, 2008.

Biographical Information

Hermann Fricke was a German cosmologist and one of a group of physicists that disagreed with Einstein's theory of special relativity. He supported using "ether" to explain electromagnetism.

Scope and Content

Hermann Fricke's manuscript of "Eine Neue Sonnentheorie" ("A New Theory of the Sun") from 1932 utilizes Sir William Siemens and William Herschel's ideas on sun spots and the solar corona to suggest new theoretical perspectives on the sun's relationship to the atmosphere. Points of discussion include "The Unlikelihood of Prominent Ideas/Theories of the Sun," "Sun Spots," "The Corona," "The Comets," "The Courvoisier Effect," "The Spectrum of the Sun," "The Planets, Jupiter" and "The Model of a Gravity Line." The manuscript includes handwritten edits, presumably in the author's hand.