Emil Lenz
A physicist who gave us the essential rule that defines why electric motors spin and generators resist, wrapping Faraday's discoveries in a law of nature.
1804–1865 (age 61)·Russian physicist·Birthday: February 12
Biography
Emil Lenz published Lenz's law in 1834, stating that an induced current opposes the change that produced it. Working in the Russian Empire, the Baltic German physicist built on Michael Faraday's experiments. His rule was a profound statement of conservation of energy within electromagnetic systems, articulated before the formal energy conservation law. Lenz's law became the critical tool for understanding and designing dynamos, motors, and transformers. He bridged experiment and practical application in 19th-century electromagnetism.
#1 When Emil Was Born
The biggest hits of 1804
Emil's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1804Born
1809Started school
1817Became a teenager
1820Could drive
1822Could vote
1825Turned 21
1834Turned 30
1844Turned 40
1854Turned 50
1864Turned 60
President: Abraham Lincoln
1865Died at 61
President: Andrew Johnson
Key Achievements
- Formulated Lenz's law in 1834, defining the direction of induced electromotive force and current.
- Independently discovered Joule's law of electric heating around the same time as James Prescott Joule.
- Made significant contributions to the study of the temperature dependence of electrical conductivity.
Did You Know?
He was a professor and later served as the rector of the University of Saint Petersburg.
Lenz traveled around the world, including a three-year global expedition to measure gravity and magnetic fields.
The Lenz crater on the Moon is named in his honor.
“The induced current's direction always opposes the change that produced it.”
