Leon Foucault Facts
Leon Foucault Facts
|
| Interesting Leon Foucault Facts: |
|---|
| Foucault was born in Paris and was the son of a publisher. |
| He received his early education at home and then attended College Stanislas. |
| He studied medicine under Alfred Francois Donne but he had an aptitude for mechanical devices and changed his major to physics. |
| He became interested in photography and worked with Armand Hippolyte Louis Fizeau. |
| Foucault discovered a way to take photographs through a microscope and he invented a strong light to illuminate the subjects. |
| In 1845 he took over Alfred Francois Donne's position as editor of the Journal des Debats. |
| In the early 1850's he invented his famous pendulum and in 1852 he further demonstrated the earth's rotation with a gyroscope. |
| For his proof of the earth's rotation he was awarded the Copley Medal of the Royal Society. |
| In 1855 he became the physicist of the Imperial Observatory where he experimented with telescopes and land-surveying equipment. |
| He studied the use of silvered concave mirrors to improve telescope technology. |
| In 1862 Foucault used a rotating mirror in an enclosed space to accurately determine the speed of light and he became interested in precision engineering. |
| In July 1867 he suffered a stroke and died the following February. |
| There is some speculation that the chemicals he used in his work contributed to his early death. |
|
Related Links: Facts Scientists Facts Animals Facts |