300th anniversary of the birth of Ján Andrej Segner

200 Sk commemorative silver coin

Ján Andrej Segner (4. 10. 1704 – 5. 10. 1777), a physician, physicist, teacher and inventor, and a native of Bratislava, was one of the most important scientists and engineers of the 18th century.

He became known as the inventor of the so-called Segner Wheel, which was set into rotation by the reactive force of a stream of water flowing from bent pipes. The wheel was perfected by his contemporary, Leonard Euler. This invention led to the construction of water turbines, and, later on, rockets. Also remarkable are Segner’s works dealing with the shapes of drops of water under the influence of forces in the air, a treatise on the convex and concave surfaces of liquids and forces coming into effect therein, as well as his discoveries in optics and astronomy. He was a successful teacher at the universities of Jena, Göttingen and Halle. His textbooks on mathematics and physics were among the most sought after and several editions were published.