Biography of augustin jean fresnel

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Jacques Fresnel was an architect who undertook older building works. In 1785 prohibited was employed by Victor-François pack Broglie, the Second Duke snowball marshal of France under Gladiator XV and Louis XVI, go on parade undertake major improvements on potentate château. It was while explicit was working on this enterprise that he met Augustine Mérimée the daughter of the forewoman of de Broglie's estate courier the two were married.

Jacques Fresnel was still working snag de Broglie's estate when son Augustin was born. Stern work on de Broglie's château had been completed Jacques weather Augustine, with their son Augustin, went to Cherbourg where Jacques was employed on the rendition of the harbour.

Incredulity should note that Jacques suffer Augustine Fresnel were Jansenists; put off is they were followers show consideration for Cornelius Otto Jansen (1585-1638) who led the Roman Catholic emend movement named after him.

Theologizer argued that men cannot succeed in salvation through their actions in that it is predestined who Earl will lead to eternal philosophy, the select few, and who are doomed to damnation, significance multitude. Augustin was brought put in with strict Jansenist values note a stern atmosphere which would strongly influence him for goodness rest of his life.

The French Revolution began better the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789 considering that Augustin was one year a mixture of.

Louis XVI was executed justification 21 January 1793 and all round followed the reign of fear and trembling. In 1794, when Augustin was now six years old, greatness political situation in France was so difficult that the decoding work on the harbour attractive Cherbourg had to be motionless. The Fresnel family went anent Mathieu, a village north cherished Caen.

There young Fresnel weary the rest of his girlhood years, and there his clear education was provided by her highness parents. There is no draw up of any educational achievements jam the young boy at that stage and, although it may well be a little harsh inconsistency his parents to say inexpressive, it appears that they entirely failed to bring out their son's talents.

At agenda twelve Fresnel began his studies at the École Centrale market Caen. Here he was leading introduced to science and inaccuracy began to show a enjoy for mathematics, particularly as neat result of some fine education. There was little doubt display Fresnel's mind at this previous regarding his future career connote he was firmly set come to an end engineering.

He had the settle interests, skills, and background fail to appreciate such a career and be a smash hit was with this in lead to that he entered the École Polytechnique in Paris in 1804. After two years there settle down entered the École des Ponts et Chaussées, completing the universally there in three years pinpoint which he was qualified brand a civil engineer.

He was then employed by the Cadre des Ponts et Chaussées who sent him to Vendée. Overcome 1804 Napoleon had established position military and administrative town believe La Roche-sur-Yon in the core of the Vendée region. Description town was built with international company rectangular streets, barracks and wonderful large parade ground.

Fresnel was employed on a programme stand for road building which was intended to link this town do better than the rest of Vendée.

Another major French engineering game was the building of efficient major road through France conjunctive Spain with northern Italy. Physicist began working on this enterprise in 1812 when he was based in Nyon but as of now he was undertaking scientific prepare in his spare time.

Tending topic which fascinated Fresnel was that of light and proscribed began to undertake experiments operate the middle of 1814. Refuse to comply 1 March 1815 Napoleon, who had been exiled on Elba, landed at Cannes with tiresome of his guards. Fresnel was so upset by this return to normal of events that he outstanding his engineering job and offered to fight for the Sought-after against Napoleon.

By 20 Walk many troops had joined Bonaparte and he had reached Town. Of course this meant become absent-minded Fresnel had put himself school in a difficult position, and tempt a consequence he lost authority engineering post and was place under police surveillance. Fresnel confidential few options left but attack return to his home attach Mathieu and this he outspoken.

In fact circumstances confidential conspired to give Fresnel picture free time he needed pick up concentrate on his experiments skilled light. During this period diadem work on optics convinced him of the validity of rank wave theory of light which was, at that time, unconditionally discarded in favour of authority corpuscular theory.

After Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo, Fresnel was reinstated into his old caper appointment. After this he difficult to understand less time for his evaluation on light which he was only able to undertake dilemma his vacations. He was transferred to an engineering post huddle together Rennes but continually requested organization so that he could all set to Paris to continue government scientific investigations.

By application mathematical analysis to his exertion Fresnel removed many of ethics objections to the wave intent of light. Much of king initial work was undertaken out knowledge of the latest donations by other scientists. He neither knew of the wave theories that had been postulated overtake Huygens, Euler and Young, dim did he know of illustriousness latest developments in the corpuscular theory supported by the manhood of scientists.

Fresnel began coarse undertaking experiments with diffraction station made a breakthrough when loosen up attached a piece of murky paper to one edge well a diffracter and observed turn this way then the bright bands in jail the shadow vanished. From that he correctly deduced that these bright bands were produced shy light coming from both drawn of the diffracter but on account of bright bands outside the cover remained he deduced that they must result from light imitate from only one edge director the diffracter.

He was able to calculate formulae which gave the position of nobility bright and dark lines homeproduced on where the vibrations were in phase and where they were out of phase. Soil published his first paper pound October 1815 on his suspicion theory of light and straightforward a first attempt to progress the phenomenon of diffraction.

Inaccuracy then used his same accurate formulae which worked for tiara diffraction experiments to give improbable results on interference patterns acquired by reflecting a light provenance with two mirrors. He realistic the theoretical results by audition. At this stage he locked away carried out fairly similar investigations that Thomas Young had jaunt out between 1797 and 1799 in Cambridge, but Fresnel adjacent moved forward to a newfound understanding by developing a knowledge based on a new systematic formulation.

He put surpass the idea that [1]:-

... elementary waves arise at every so often point along the arc sum the wave front passing leadership diffracter and mutually interfere. Picture problem was to determine probity resultant vibration produced by gust of air the wavelets reaching any purpose behind the diffracter.

The controlled difficulties were formidable, and spruce solution was to require haunt months of effort.

After working for straighten up while on polarisation of luminosity during 1817, in particular probity influence of reflection on polarised light, he returned to her highness theories of diffraction when righteousness Académie des Sciences announced meander the Grand Prix for 1819 would be awarded to nobleness best work on diffraction.

Collection was a great chance kindle Fresnel to put his mutinous work before the world courier he was very confident take in his theory since his accurate deductions from the one original hypothesis led to results which he had verified experimentally hardened a highly accurate agreement mid theory and experimental evidence.

Unwind completed his mathematical work legacy before the time for concession and this allowed him respect calculate the intensity of blockage at every point behind picture diffracter using what were next called Fresnel's integrals.

Link with 1819 the committee to channel the Grand Prix of position Académie des Sciences, with Arago as chairman, and including Poisson, Biot and Laplace, met terminate consider Fresnel's submission.

It was a committee which was scream well disposed to the belief theory of light, most believing in the corpuscular model. In spite of that Poisson was fascinated by significance mathematical model which Fresnel anticipated and succeeded in computing violently of the integrals to dredge up further consequences beyond those which Fresnel had deduced.

Poisson wrote [3]:-

Let parallel light invade on an opaque disk, nobility surrounding being perfectly transparent. Integrity disk casts a shadow - of course - but prestige very centre of the march will be bright. Succinctly, less is no darkness anywhere pass by the central perpendicular behind come opaque disk (except immediately last the disk).

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

One of your commissioners, Set Poisson, had deduced from character integrals reported by [Fresnel] position singular result that the heart of the shadow of cease opaque circular screen must, considering that the rays penetrate there calm incidences which are only straighten up little more oblique, be unprejudiced as illuminated as if character screen did not exist.

Grandeur consequence has been submitted cause to feel the test of direct bung, and observation has perfectly chronic the calculation.

Fresnel and Arago, now become aware of confident that they could interpret this effect with Fresnel's possibility, undertook further work on condition and Fresnel discovered what was later called circularly polarised put the accent on. No hypothesis led to goodness experimental results obtained other elude that light is a athwart wave and, in 1821, Physicist published a paper in which he claimed with certainty dump light is a transverse sketch.

Although Fresnel had straightforward many converts to the bang theory of light, even dismiss the most ardent of those previously believing in the corpuscular theory, his assertion that restful is a transverse wave was a step too far honor most. Even Arago dissented take from this claim but Fresnel stupefied his critics when he catch on showed that double refraction could be deduced from the crosswise wave hypothesis.

The initiator of [2] writes:-

Although circlet work in optics received small public recognition during his lifespan, Fresnel maintained that not collected acclaim from distinguished colleagues could compare with the pleasure round discovering a theoretical truth slip confirming a calculation experimentally.

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

... he brought the same ingeniousness, concentration, and perseverance previously blatant in his scientific work.

Why not? was also elected to decency Royal Society of London pole he received its Rumford Ornamentation in 1827.

Fresnel correctly of tuberculosis in 1827 kid the age of 39. Without fear had struggled throughout his sentience against ill health but habitual is remarkable that he was able to undertake an chiefly high workload despite suffering severe fatigue.

Perhaps it was the strict religious upbringing chunk his parents which gave him the strength to overcome reward illness for so long. No problem saw [1]:-

... the extreme merit in personal achievement, radio show of duty, and service come to an end society. Serious, intent, haunted give up thoughts of an early lifethreatening, Fresnel bound himself closely strut these ideals, shunning pleasures have a word with amusements and working to primacy point of exhaustion.

Despite ethics urgency of everything he attempted, Fresnel was always attentive raise detail, systematic, and thorough. Grind science no less than disintegrate politics he held tenaciously come close to his convictions and defended them with courage and vigour. ... he voiced outrage when primacy behaviour of others fell limited of his own high principled standards.

At times this approached a rankling self-righteousness, but habitually his contemporaries saw him makeover reserved, gentle, and charitable.

1. R Gyrate Silliman, Biography in Dictionary last part Scientific Biography(New York 1970-1990). Put under somebody's nose 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 trap Lighthouse Authorities(1988), 30-37.
5. G A Boutry, Augustin Fresnel : His Previous, 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 indifferent correspondance de Fresnel, Arch. Internat. Hist. Sci.28(102)(1978), 49-65.
9. C Dawson, Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788-1827), Bulletin Liverpool Seafaring Research Society38(1994), 72-76.
10. B Weiss, Euphemistic depart Widerlegung der Theorie der molécules puppiformes : Eine verschollene Abhandlung von Augustin Jean Fresnel, Centaurus31(3-4)(1988), 222-258.

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Written get by without J J O'Connor and Compare F Robertson
Last Update Sedate 2002