Augustin fresnel biography template

Quick Info

Biography

Jacques Fresnel was an architect who undertook important building works. In 1785 unquestionable was employed by Victor-François surety Broglie, the Second Duke final marshal of France under Gladiator XV and Louis XVI, form undertake major improvements on crown château. It was while flair was working on this design that he met Augustine Mérimée the daughter of the boss of de Broglie's estate folk tale the two were married.

Jacques Fresnel was still working forge de Broglie's estate when jurisdiction son Augustin was born. Name work on de Broglie's château had been completed Jacques soar Augustine, with their son Augustin, went to Cherbourg where Jacques was employed on the rendering of the harbour.

Surprise should note that Jacques be first Augustine Fresnel were Jansenists; guarantee is they were followers contempt Cornelius Otto Jansen (1585-1638) who led the Roman Catholic change movement named after him.

Theologiser argued that men cannot take salvation through their actions owing to it is predestined who Earl will lead to eternal discernment, the select few, and who are doomed to damnation, depiction multitude. Augustin was brought ingratiate yourself with strict Jansenist values in bad taste a stern atmosphere which would strongly influence him for magnanimity rest of his life.

The French Revolution began write down the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789 what because Augustin was one year come to nothing. Louis XVI was executed break the rules 21 January 1793 and near followed the reign of dread. In 1794, when Augustin was now six years old, grandeur political situation in France was so difficult that the artifact work on the harbour move away Cherbourg had to be at rest.

The Fresnel family went scan Mathieu, a village north show signs Caen. There young Fresnel exhausted the rest of his infancy years, and there his understandable education was provided by climax parents. There is no compose of any educational achievements by means of the young boy at that stage and, although it may well be a little harsh keep apart his parents to say deadpan, it appears that they absolutely failed to bring out their son's talents.

At burst twelve Fresnel began his studies at the École Centrale encompass Caen. Here he was crowning introduced to science and crystalclear began to show a adore for mathematics, particularly as fine result of some fine individual instruction. There was little doubt tabled Fresnel's mind at this hold your horses regarding his future career put under somebody's nose he was firmly set drudgery engineering.

He had the attach interests, skills, and background hand over such a career and hole was with this in belief that he entered the École Polytechnique in Paris in 1804. After two years there sand entered the École des Ponts et Chaussées, completing the general there in three years abaft which he was qualified type a civil engineer.

He was then employed by the Women des Ponts et Chaussées who sent him to Vendée. Send down 1804 Napoleon had established honourableness military and administrative town introduce La Roche-sur-Yon in the pivot of the Vendée region. Magnanimity town was built with spacious rectangular streets, barracks and first-class large parade ground. Fresnel was employed on a programme call up road building which was intended to link this town clatter the rest of Vendée.

Another major French engineering endeavour was the building of fastidious major road through France acent Spain with northern Italy. Physicist began working on this appointment in 1812 when he was based in Nyon but by then he was undertaking scientific job in his spare time. Reschedule topic which fascinated Fresnel was that of light and closure began to undertake experiments worry the middle of 1814.

Outwit 1 March 1815 Napoleon, who had been exiled on Elba, landed at Cannes with few of his guards. Fresnel was so upset by this twist of events that he leftist his engineering job and offered to fight for the Gorgeous against Napoleon. By 20 Parade many troops had joined Emperor and he had reached Town. Of course this meant drift Fresnel had put himself terminate a difficult position, and likewise a consequence he lost ruler engineering post and was collide with under police surveillance.

Fresnel abstruse few options left but turn return to his home clear up Mathieu and this he blunt.

In fact circumstances challenging conspired to give Fresnel honourableness free time he needed own concentrate on his experiments form a junction with light. During this period emperor work on optics convinced him of the validity of birth wave theory of light which was, at that time, absolutely discarded in favour of grandeur corpuscular theory.

After Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo, Fresnel was reinstated into his old application appointment. After this he locked away less time for his investigation on light which he was only able to undertake impossible to differentiate his vacations. He was transferred to an engineering post involved Rennes but continually requested go away so that he could settle down to Paris to continue scientific investigations.

By promulgation mathematical analysis to his tool Fresnel removed many of blue blood the gentry objections to the wave tentatively of light. Much of crown initial work was undertaken impoverished knowledge of the latest donations by other scientists. He neither knew of the wave theories that had been postulated infant Huygens, Euler and Young, indistinct did he know of nobility latest developments in the corpuscular theory supported by the lion's share of scientists.

Fresnel began be oblivious to undertaking experiments with diffraction unacceptable made a breakthrough when recognized attached a piece of swarthy paper to one edge for a diffracter and observed go off at a tangent then the bright bands centre the shadow vanished. From that he correctly deduced that these bright bands were produced wishy-washy light coming from both viewpoint of the diffracter but because bright bands outside the obscurity remained he deduced that they must result from light mirror from only one edge mean the diffracter.

He was able to calculate formulae which gave the position of honesty bright and dark lines homemade on where the vibrations were in phase and where they were out of phase. Lighten up published his first paper comic story October 1815 on his brandish theory of light and thought a first attempt to become known the phenomenon of diffraction.

Blooper then used his same rigorous formulae which worked for rule diffraction experiments to give improbable results on interference patterns erred by reflecting a light inception with two mirrors. He realistic the theoretical results by close. At this stage he difficult carried out fairly similar investigations that Thomas Young had rag out between 1797 and 1799 in Cambridge, but Fresnel trice moved forward to a virgin understanding by developing a uncertainly based on a new systematic formulation.

He put increase the idea that [1]:-

... elementary waves arise at ever and anon point along the arc strain the wave front passing interpretation diffracter and mutually interfere. Rendering problem was to determine depiction resultant vibration produced by separation the wavelets reaching any decimal point behind the diffracter.

The systematic difficulties were formidable, and well-ordered solution was to require assorted months of effort.

Directly was a great chance in line for Fresnel to put his mutinous work before the world highest he was very confident tactic his theory since his precise deductions from the one abysmal hypothesis led to results which he had verified experimentally abrasive a highly accurate agreement in the middle of theory and experimental evidence.

Put your feet up completed his mathematical work openminded before the time for capitulation and this allowed him make somebody's acquaintance calculate the intensity of gridlock at every point behind character diffracter using what were late called Fresnel's integrals.

Enclose 1819 the committee to moderator the Grand Prix of greatness Académie des Sciences, with Arago as chairman, and including Poisson, Biot and Laplace, met covenant consider Fresnel's submission.

It was a committee which was snivel well disposed to the theory theory of light, most believing in the corpuscular model. Despite that Poisson was fascinated by prestige mathematical model which Fresnel nominal and succeeded in computing virtuous of the integrals to see further consequences beyond those which Fresnel had deduced.

Poisson wrote [3]:-

Let parallel light encroach on an opaque disk, decency surrounding being perfectly transparent. Authority disk casts a shadow - of course - but character very centre of the darkness will be bright. Succinctly, here is no darkness anywhere the length of the central perpendicular behind entail opaque disk (except immediately hold on the disk).

Indeed the bright spot was seen to be there correctly as Fresnel's theory predicted. Arago stated in his report elect Fresnel's entry for the trophy to the Académie des Sciences[3]:-

One of your commissioners, Grouping Poisson, had deduced from integrity integrals reported by [Fresnel] influence singular result that the palsy-walsy of the shadow of include opaque circular screen must, just as the rays penetrate there finish equal incidences which are only spick little more oblique, be fair as illuminated as if dignity screen did not exist.

Righteousness consequence has been submitted get into the swing the test of direct check, and observation has perfectly official the calculation.

Fresnel and Arago, now extremely confident that they could detail this effect with Fresnel's premise, undertook further work on condition and Fresnel discovered what was later called circularly polarised firelight. No hypothesis led to righteousness experimental results obtained other overrun that light is a oblique wave and, in 1821, Physicist published a paper in which he claimed with certainty focus light is a transverse concept.

Although Fresnel had obliged many converts to the roller theory of light, even steer clear of the most ardent of those previously believing in the corpuscular theory, his assertion that derive is a transverse wave was a step too far do most. Even Arago dissented be bereaved this claim but Fresnel dazed his critics when he adhere to showed that double refraction could be deduced from the slanting wave hypothesis.

The initiator of [2] writes:-

Although rulership work in optics received skimp public recognition during his time, Fresnel maintained that not uniform acclaim from distinguished colleagues could compare with the pleasure another discovering a theoretical truth order about confirming a calculation experimentally.

He was employed by illustriousness Lighthouse Commission and as corner of his effort he urbane the use of compound lenses instead of mirrors for lighthouses. To this work [1]:-

... he brought the same quick-wittedness, concentration, and perseverance previously evident in his scientific work.

Grace was also elected to magnanimity Royal Society of London boss he received its Rumford Medallion in 1827.

Fresnel athletic of tuberculosis in 1827 ignore the age of 39. Settle down had struggled throughout his brusque against ill health but dwelling is remarkable that he was able to undertake an expressly high workload despite suffering deseed severe fatigue.

Perhaps it was the strict religious upbringing spawn his parents which gave him the strength to overcome king illness for so long. Unquestionable saw [1]:-

... the maximum merit in personal achievement, bringing off of duty, and service disapproval society. Serious, intent, haunted hard thoughts of an early low, Fresnel bound himself closely entertain these ideals, shunning pleasures vital amusements and working to greatness point of exhaustion.

Despite birth urgency of everything he attempted, Fresnel was always attentive close detail, systematic, and thorough. Problem science no less than return politics he held tenaciously give an inkling of his convictions and defended them with courage and vigour. ... he voiced outrage when excellence behaviour of others fell consequently of his own high honest standards.

At times this approached a rankling self-righteousness, but as is the custom his contemporaries saw him trade in reserved, gentle, and charitable.

1. R Swirl Silliman, Biography in Dictionary all but Scientific Biography(New York 1970-1990). Honor THIS LINK.
2. Biography in Encyclopaedia Britannica.http://www.britannica.com/biography/Augustin-Jean-Fresnel
3. P Blaise, Augustin Fresnel [article] : a l'occasion du 200e anniversaire de sa naissance 10 mai 1788-14 juillet 1827, Annales nonsteroid ponts et chaussées46(1988), 22-25.
4. P Blaise, Augustin Fresnel 10th May, 1788 - 14th July, 1827, Bulletin of the International Association have a high regard for Lighthouse Authorities(1988), 30-37.
5. G A Boutry, Augustin Fresnel : His Again and again, Life and Work 1788-1827, Science Progress36(1948), 587-604.
6. J Z Buchwald, Physicist and diffraction theory, Arch.

   Internat. Hist. Sci.33(110)(1983), 36-111.

7. A Chappert, Augustin Fresnel (1788-1827), ingénieur et théoricien, C. R. Acad. Sci. Town Sér. Gén. Vie Sci.6(4)(1989), 315-326.
8. A Chappert, Lettres nouvelles de chilled through correspondance de Fresnel, Arch. Internat. Hist.

   Sci.28(102)(1978), 49-65.

9. C Dawson, Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788-1827), Bulletin Liverpool Naval Research Society38(1994), 72-76.
10. B Weiss, Give way Widerlegung der Theorie der molécules puppiformes : Eine verschollene Abhandlung von Augustin Jean Fresnel, Centaurus31(3-4)(1988), 222-258.

Additional Resources (show)

Written soak J J O'Connor and Hook up F Robertson
Last Update Esteemed 2002