Hippolyte Fizeau
| Hippolyte Fizeau | |
|---|---|
 Hippolyte Fizeau |
|
| Born | 23 September 1819 Paris |
| Died | 18 September 1896 (aged 76) Venteuil |
| Nationality | French |
| Fields | Physics |
| Known for | Doppler Effect Fizeau-Foucault apparatus Capacitor |
Armand Hippolyte Louis Fizeau (23 September 1819 – 18 September 1896) was a French physicist.
Biography [edit]
Fizeau was born in Paris to Louis and Béatrice.[1] His earliest work was concerned with improvements in photographic processes. Following suggestions by François Arago, Léon Foucault and Fizeau collaborated in a series of investigations on the interference of light and heat. In 1848, he predicted the redshifting of electromagnetic waves.[2]
In 1849 he was the first person to measure the speed of light on Earth. He used a beam of light reflected from a mirror 8 km away. The beam passed through the gaps between teeth of a rapidly rotating wheel. The speed of the wheel was increased until the returning light passed through the next gap and could be seen. He calculated the speed of light to be 315,000 km/s, which was within about 5% of the correct value. In 1849 he published the first results obtained by his method for determining the speed of light (see Fizeau-Foucault apparatus).[3] Fizeau in 1864 made the first suggestion that the "length of a light wave be used as a length standard".[4]
He was involved in the discovery of the Doppler effect.[5]
In 1853 he described the use of the capacitor (then called the condenser) as a means to increase the efficiency of the induction coil. Subsequently he studied the thermal expansion of solids, and applied the phenomenon of interference of light to the measurement of the dilatations of crystals. He became a member of the Académie des Sciences in 1860 and of the Bureau des Longitudes in 1878. He died at Venteuil on September 18, 1896.
His is one of the 72 names inscribed on the Eiffel Tower.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Hockey, Thomas (2009). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-387-31022-0. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
- ^ Hellemans, Alexander; Bryan Bunch (1988). The Timetables of Science. New York, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 317. ISBN 0-671-62130-0.
- ^ Poincaré, H. (Part 1, translated by F. K. V.); Vreeland, Frederick V. (Part 2) (1904). "Experiments of MM. Fizeau and Gounelle". Maxwell's Theory and Wireless Telegraphy. New York: McGraw Publishing Co. pp. 52–55.
- ^ Physics part 1 Resnick/Halliday pg.5
- ^ Houdas, Y. (April 1991). "[Doppler, Buys-Ballot, Fizeau. Historical note on the discovery of the Doppler's effect]". Annales de cardiologie et d'angéiologie 40 (4): 209–13. PMID 2053764.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Fizeau, Armand Hippolyte Louis". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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