See Also: Helmholtz, Hermann (Ludwig Ferdinand) von(encyclopedia)
Helmholtz, Hermann von(medicine)
Helmholtz(dictionary)
Helmholtz energy(medicine)
Young-Helmholtz(dictionary)
Helmholtz-Gibbs theory(medicine)
Helmholtz theory of hearing(medicine)
Helmholtz' axis ligament(medicine)
Helmholtz theory of accommodation(medicine)
Gibbs-Helmholtz equation(medicine)

Nevada (sh) and Helmholtz, Hermann (Ludwig Ferdinand) von (sh)


Nevada (sh)




State (pop., 2000: 1,998,257), western U.S. Bordered by Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and California, it covers 110,567 sq mi (286,368 sq km); its capital is Carson City.

The Black Rock Desert is in the northwest; the Colorado River forms its extreme southeastern boundary. Human settlement in the area has spanned more than 20,000 years, and evidence of prehistoric inhabitants include dwelling remains and rock Art. Early inhabitants included the Shoshone and Paiute Indians. Spanish missionaries in the 18th century and fur traders in the 1820s arrived before major exploration and mapping were done by John C. Fremont and Kit Carson (1843-45). Nevada was part of the land ceded to the U.S. by Mexico in 1848 and was included in the Utah Territory (1850-61). Settlements increased after the discovery of the Comstock Lode, a rich silver deposit, at Virginia City in 1859. It became the Territory of Nevada in 1861 and the 36th U.S. state in 1864. It began its transition to a modern economy during the Great Depression when gambling was legalized. Construction of the Hoover Dam aided the economy of southern Nevada. In the 1950s the state became the main testing site for atomic-energy experiments. The traditional bases of its economy, mining and agriculture, are overshadowed by government activity and tourism, the latter centred on Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe.


Helmholtz, Hermann (Ludwig Ferdinand) von (sh)




born Aug. 31, 1821, Potsdam, Prussia
died Sept. 8, 1894, Charlottenburg, Berlin, Ger.

German scientist, one of the greatest of the 19th century.

After Training in medicine, he taught physiology and later physics at several German universities. His interests continually shifted to new disciplines, in which he applied his earlier insights to every problem he examined. He made fundamental contributions to physiology, optics, electrodynamics, mathematics, acoustics, and meteorology, but is best known for his statement (1847) of the law of Conservation of energy. His approach was strongly empirical at a time when many scientists embraced deductions from mental concepts. He invented several measurement instruments, including the myograph, ophthalmoscope, and ophthalmometer. He described body heat and energy, nerve conduction, and the physiology of the eye. His mathematical analysis of vortices in fluids (1858) was a tour de force. His work in electrodynamics built on that of Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell but was eventually superseded by that of Albert Einstein.