Although his course work at Münich emphasized the practical and experimental aspects of physics, Planck eventually found himself drawn to the investigation of theoretical problems. It was, biographer Hans Kango points out in
Dictionary of Scientific Biography, "the only time in [his] life when he carried out experiments."
Planck's tenure at Münich was interrupted by illness in 1875. After a long period of recovery, he transferred to the University of Berlin for two semesters in 1877 and 1878. At Berlin, he studied under a number of notable physicists, including Hermann Helmholtz and Gustav Kirchhoff. By the fall of 1878, Planck was healthy enough to return to Münich and his studies. In October of that year, he passed the state examination for higher level teaching in math and physics. He taught briefly at his alma mater, the Maximillian Gymnasium, before devoting his efforts full time to preparing for his doctoral dissertation. He presented that dissertation on the second law of thermodynamics in early 1879 and was granted a Ph.D. by the University of Münich in July of that year.
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