Heinrich Kayser

Heinrich Kayser (born March 16, 1853, Bingen, Hesse [Germany]—died Oct. 14, 1940, Bonn, Ger.) was a German physicist who discovered the presence of helium in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Kayser’s early research work was on the properties of sound. In collaboration with the physicist and mathematician Carl D.T. Runge, Kayser carefully mapped the spectra of a large number of elements and discovered the existence of series, or closely grouped spectral lines, the spacing and intensity of which vary in a regular manner. In 1883 they developed a mathematical formula that showed the relationship between these lines. About the same time, the Swedish physicist Johannes R. Rydberg used the data of other researchers and developed a similar formula. In 1895, utilizing newly developed techniques for spectral analysis, Kayser found helium in the Earth’s atmosphere—previously it was known to exist only in the Sun and in certain minerals.