Karsten was born in Berlin. He studied mathematics and sciences at the universities of Bonn and Berlin, receiving his doctorate in 1843 with the thesis Imponderabilium praesertim electricitatis theori

The German Physical Society is the oldest organisation of physicists. DPG's 2025 worldwide membership is cited as 50,668, with a peak of 63,012 in 2014. It holds an annual conference and multiple spri