Abstract. Julius Elster and Hans Geitel contributed to the physics at the turn of the 19–20th century in many ways. We first summarize the life of these exceptional scientists. Then – owing to the topic of this journal – we focus on their atmospheric electricity research. With their experiments, careful evaluations and ingenious interpretation, Elster and Geitel made important contributions to precipitation electricity, the influence of solar radiation on the electric state of the atmosphere, the nature of charge carriers and the ionization of air by radioactivity. They proved their experimental skills by inventing new instruments with unprecedented accuracy and reliability. A very modern concept was their attitude to undertake long-term measurements at various locations. A section on their recognition in the physics community and their scientific distinctions concludes the paper.

中文翻译：

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朱利叶斯·埃尔斯特（Julius Elster）和汉斯·盖特尔（Hans Geitel）–物理学Dioscuri和大气电领域的先驱

摘要。朱利叶斯·埃尔斯特（Julius Elster）和汉斯·盖特尔（Hans Geitel）在许多方面为19-20世纪初的物理学做出了贡献。我们首先总结这些杰出科学家的生活。然后，由于本期刊的主题，我们专注于他们的大气电力研究。Elster和Geitel通过实验，仔细的评估和巧妙的解释，为沉淀电，太阳辐射对大气电态的影响，电荷载体的性质以及放射性对空气的电离做出了重要贡献。他们通过发明前所未有的精度和可靠性的新仪器证明了他们的实验技能。他们非常重视在各个位置进行长期测量的态度，这是一个非常现代的概念。