Gustav Robert Kirchhoff

Kirchhoff, Gustav Robert (1824–87), German physicist best known for his work on electrical conduction, showing that current passes through a conductor at the speed of light, and deriving Kirchhoff's Laws. With Robert Bunsen he discovered the elements cesium and rubidium and pioneered spectrum analysis, which he applied to the solar spectrum, identifying several elements and explaining the Fraunhofer lines.

See also: Physics.