Comment on the history of the stretched exponential function

TL;DR

This paper clarifies the historical origins of the stretched exponential function, correcting common misquotations of Rudolf Kohlrausch's original work from 1854 and emphasizing its significance in describing relaxation phenomena.

Contribution

It provides a historical correction and contextual understanding of the development and application of the stretched exponential function in relaxation studies.

Findings

Kohlrausch's original 1854 work is often misquoted.

The paper clarifies the true historical development of the stretched exponential.

It emphasizes the importance of accurate historical attribution in scientific literature.

Abstract

The original article of Rudolf Kohlrausch (1854) on stretched exponentials and their application to describe relaxation phenomena has been often misquoted in the literature after its rediscovery around 1984. We discuss here this fact and attempt to set the record straight.