Dr Hendrik van der Bijl - Chairman of Eskom 1923 -1948

The head of the Department of Physics at Dresden was Professor Hallwachs, the discoverer of the photoelectric effect. Hallwachs had observed that when ultra-violet light struck the surface of a metallic plate, some of the electrons were dislodged at high velocities. If Einstein's and Planck’s new quantum theories were correct, the wavelength of the light should be proportional to the maximum velocity of the electrons. However, several attempts to demonstrate this had so far proved fruitless. Hallwachs brought this perplexing problem to van der Bijl’s attention and suggested that he look into it. This led to van der Bijl’s paper entitled "Zur Bestimmung der Erstenergien lichtelektrisch ausgeslöster Elektronen" [The Determination of the Initial Energies of Photoelectrically Liberated Electrons] being published in April 1913.

Read the full history of van der Bijl over at Eskom here.