Christian August Hausen

Christian August Hausen (1693–1743) was a German mathematician who is known for his research on electricity.

Christian August Hausen
Picture of Christian August Hausen from a 1737 edition of Acta Eruditorum
Born	(1693-06-19)19 June 1693 Dresden, Electorate of Saxony
Died	2 May 1743(1743-05-02) (aged 49) Leipzig, Electorate of Saxony
Nationality	German
Education	University of Wittenberg (M.A., 1712)
Scientific career
Fields	Mathematics Physics
Institutions	University of Leipzig
Academic advisors	J. C. Wichmannshausen, Johann Andreas Planer [de]
Doctoral students	Abraham Gotthelf Kästner

Biography

Hausen studied mathematics at the University of Wittenberg and received his master's degree in 1712. He became an extraordinary professor of mathematics at the University of Leipzig at the age of 21 and later (1726) became an ordinary professor.^[1]

Hausen also researched electrical phenomena, using a triboelectric generator. In the introduction to his book on this subject, Novi profectus in historia electricitatis,^[2][3] published posthumously, Hausen states that he started these experiments shortly before his death. Hausen's generator was similar to earlier generators, such as that of Francis Hauksbee. It consisted of a glass globe rotated by a cord and a large wheel. An assistant rubbed the globe with his hand to produce static electricity. Hausen's book describes his generator and sets forth a theory of electricity in which electrification is a consequence of the production of vortices in a universal electrical fluid.^[4]