Jake Dell

H-Band

Science in Vienna

What kind of society would exist today if we still believed the world was flat? The contributions of science and the technological world are immeasurable, constantly reshaping our everyday lives. Similarly, Vienna aided in the development of science. During the 19^th century and continuing through today, Vienna has remained a pioneer in countless fields, including psychology, chemistry, physics and medicine. Sigmund Freud is highly regarded as the father of modern thought, with his early contributions to psychoanalysis, including the all-too-well known Oedipus complex, as well as hypnosis, free association and the Ego and the Id. In Medicine, Chemistry and Physics, many Nobel Prize award winners either were born and raised or conducted their research in Vienna, including Meitner, Zsigmondy, Kuhn, Perutz, Kohn, Frisch and Kandel. These advancements in various fields were central to Viennese identity because of its development in a Jewish bourgeoisie with the possibilities of changing classes, as well as the creation of an enlightened upper court. Sigmund Freud’s extensive research and contributions to psychoanalysis furthered Viennese identity as an ideological center of progression. He received his ‘Doctor of Medicine’ from the Medical School of the University of Vienna, where he conducted his research. Considered the founder of psychoanalysis, Doctor Freud developed many theories that dared to venture into the subconscious abyss. His first studies involved the symptoms of hysterical patients, as well as their form and reaction. Freud believed that hysteria was directly traceable to a physical or emotional trauma earlier in their life. The emotional energy of these events, once detected, could be alleviated, removing the stress from the individual. In order to distinguish the trauma, Freud developed a method currently used worldwide. The Cathartic method involved the patient recalling and reproducing the forgotten scenes while under hypnosis. Another method was free association, allowing repressed ideas resurface. The central idea behind it was that subconsciously a patient would recall emotional stress when presented with a specific word. Later in his life, Freud developed two explanations for behavior which dictate the methods and procedures of the medical psychology world today. The Oedipus complex tells of a child who wants to kill his father to marry his mother, if broken down to its roots. It was a way to explain the actions of a child rebellious only to the father, as well previously enigmatic family scenarios. The other is the Ego and Id, which described a person’s inner character. Within everyone, there exists a primitive persona, and immediate reactions are produced by primal instincts, as opposed to a refined sense that represses these actions. Freud’s evaluation of the human character led to the Vienna Psycho-Analytical Society. Sigmund Freud’s life acutely portrays Vienna as a center of progression, with an intellectual court society, and enlightened bourgeoisie with the ability to infringe the upper class. Despite Freud’s monetary status, he was a demigod, highly regarded and accepted as the leading scientist of his time, showing Viennese reception of the Jewish bourgeois. Lisa Meitner Lisa Meitner is considered the most influential Viennese physicist and being a woman shows Vienna’s flexibility and open-mindedness. She lived from 1878 to 1968, in which her entire life’s work involved the identification of nuclear fission. In 1992, the 109^th element was named after her: “meitnerium”. Meitner was the first woman to receive a Nobel Award in Physics. Viennese high-society’s acceptance of her showed its ability to be flexible. In a monarchial empire with Vienna as its capital, the enlightened court was willing to encourage and develop all in the name of science, in stark contrast with the absolutism of countries such as France. Vienna has produced many Nobel Chemists since 1925, and this largely bourgeois rise to power shows the development of Vienna into the modern era as opposed to the Hapsburg dynasty. Richard Adolph Zsigmondy won the Nobel Prize in 1925, by building the first ultramicroscope in 1903, and developing methods still used today. His research in the heterogeneous nature of colloidal solutions enabled the observation of particles with a diameter of 10-millionth of a millimeter. Richard Kuhn, Nobel Prize winner in 1938, investigated theoretical problems of organic chemistry (stereochemistry of aliphatic and aromatic compounds; syntheses of polyenes and cumulenes; constitution and colour; the acidity of hydrocarbons), biochemistry (carotenoids; flavins; vitamins and enzymes) and compounds containing double bonds. In addition, he research the properties of Vitamin B2 and the antidermatitis vitamin B6, creating the modern-day supplement. Max F. Perutz won the Nobel Prize in 1962 for determining the structure of hemoglobin by x-ray diffraction of crystals. In 1998 Walter Kohn won the Nobel Prize when he developed a new variational approach to the study of wave functions in periodic crystals, based on Knight shift of nuclear magnetic resonance. He studied energy band structures of electrons, as well as radiation damage of Si and Ge by energetic electrons and Density functional theory (DFT). These Chemists not only developed the scientific world to help shape today, but they helped implement a distinct identity in Vienna. This highly intellectual bourgeois reinforced the belief of Vienna as a symbolic center for a somewhat radical hierarchy. Though not monetarily high-society, they earned the same respect and yielded similar power. Two significant doctors helped develop the Viennese identity by showing the modern balance between monetary power and reverence. In 1973, Karl von Frisch won the Nobel Prize in medicine for his research on the nature of bees (color, shape, psychology, taste, position). Eric R. Kandel, Nobel Prize winner in 2000, made significant discoveries concerning signal transduction in the nervous system and demonstrated fundamental ways in which nerve cells alter their responsiveness to chemical signals to produce a coordinated change in behavior. These men showed that in current society, the power of medicine is contained in the respect dictated by its work. Though not what it once was, Vienna represents a symbolic scientific center in which acceptance is based purely on merits. Vienna has made crucial contributions to science since the early the 19^th century, especially in Psychology, Physics, Chemistry and Medicine. Sigmund Freud, quite possibly the most distinguished Viennese scientist, developed psychoanalysis and more specifically the causes of hysteria, the Cathartic method, free association, the Oedipus complex as well as the Ego and the Id. Vienna produced many Nobel winners, most notably Lisa Meitner was the first woman to receive a Nobel Award; in chemistry numerous Nobel winners included Zsigmondy, Kuhn, Perutz and Kohn; and in medicine Frisch and Kandel. These men, and woman, helped develop the Viennese identity into an upwardly mobile Bourgeoisie. Though not on top monetarily, they command respect throughout and with it, certain power. These accomplishments created an enlightened court society, as well as an acceptance of Jewish culture.

Sigmund Freud, right, in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Freud in a tutu, displaying his sexual frustration theories. Freud, for real, towards the end of his life Richard Zsigmondy Richard Kuhn

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