Jacques Babinet
| Jacques Babinet | |
|---|---|
| File:Jacques Babinet.jpg | |
| Born | 5 March 1794 Lusignan, France |
| Died | 21 October 1872 (aged 78) Paris, France |
| Known for | Invention of polariscope Babinet's principle Babinet projection Babinet–Soleil compensator Baer–Babinet law |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Optics |
| Workplaces | University of Paris Collège de France |
Jacques Babinet (French: [babinɛ]; 5 March 1794 – 21 October 1872) was a French physicist, mathematician, and astronomer who is best known for his contributions to optics.
Among Babinet's accomplishments are the 1827 standardization of the angstrom unit for measuring light using the red cadmium line's wavelength, and Babinet's principle that similar diffraction patterns are produced by two complementary screens. He was the first to suggest using wavelengths of light to standardize measurements. His idea was first used between 1960 and 1983, when a meter was defined as a wavelength of light from krypton gas.
Biography
His father was Jean Babinet, and his mother was Marie‐Anne Félicité Bonneau du Chesn.[1] Babinet started his studies at the Lycée Napoléon but was persuaded to abandon a legal education for the pursuit of science. A graduate of the École polytechnique, which he left in 1812 for the Military School at Metz, he was later a professor at the Sorbonne and at the Collège de France. In 1840, he was elected as a member of the Académie Royale des Sciences. He was also an astronomer of the Bureau des Longitudes.
Babinet was interested in the optical properties of minerals throughout his career. He designed and created many scientific instruments utilized to determine crystalline structure and polarization properties, including the polariscope and an optical goniometer to measure refractive indices. The Babinet compensator, an accessory useful in polarized light microscopy, was built with twin, opposed quartz wedges having mutually perpendicular crystallographic axes, and is still widely employed in microscopy. This design avoids the problems inherent in the basic quartz wedge: the zero reading coincides with the thin end of the wedge, which is often lost when grinding the plate during manufacture.
Expanding his fascination of diffraction to meteorology, Babinet spent a significant amount of time in the study of rainbows. His astronomical research focused on Mercury's mass and the Earth's magnetism, while his inventions included valve improvements for air pumps and a hygrometer. In geography and hydrogeomorphology, the Baer–Babinet law helps to explain and predict directionality in the course of rivers. Babinet's cartography work includes homalographic projections where the parallels are rectilinear and meridian lines are elliptical.
Babinet lectured on meteorology and optics, promoted science to public audiences, and wrote popular scientific articles.
Family life
On October 30, 1820, Jacques Babinet was married to Adelaïde Laugier (July 14, 1795 – July 27, 1849). They had two children: Charles Babinet (December 8, 1821 – May 31, 1907) and Léon Babinet (July 26, 1825 – 1913).
Works
- Études et lectures sur les sciences d'observation et leurs applications pratiques (in French). Vol. 2. Paris: Mallet-Bachelier. 1856.
- Études et lectures sur les sciences d'observation et leurs applications pratiques (in French). Vol. 3. Paris: Mallet-Bachelier. 1857.
- Études et lectures sur les sciences d'observation et leurs applications pratiques (in French). Vol. 5. Paris: Mallet-Bachelier. 1858.
- Études et lectures sur les sciences d'observation et leurs applications pratiques (in French). Vol. 6. Paris: Mallet-Bachelier. 1860.
- Études et lectures sur les sciences d'observation et leurs applications pratiques (in French). Vol. 7. Paris: Mallet-Bachelier. 1863.
- Études et lectures sur les sciences d'observation et leurs applications pratiques (in French). Vol. 8. Paris: Mallet-Bachelier. 1868.
- Calculs pratiques appliqués aux sciences d'observation (in French). Paris: Mallet-Bachelier. 1857.
From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
Jacques Babinet — French physicist, born at Lusignan, Vienne, 5 March, 1794; died at Paris, 21 October, 1872. He began his studies at the Lycée Napoléon. There he became a pupil of Binet, whose influence caused him to abandon the study of law, for which his family had destined him, and to devote himself to the pursuit of science. He continued at the Polytechnic School, which he left in 1812 to enter the Military School at Metz. For some time he was attached to the Fifth Regiment of Artillery, but at the Restoration he left the army and began to teach. He was professor of mathematics at Fontenay-le-Comte, then professor of physics at Poitiers, and later at the Lycée Saint-Louis. From 1825 to 1828 he delivered a course of lectures on meteorology; in 1838 he succeeded Savary at the Collège de France; and in 1840 he was elected to the Academy of Sciences.
His scientific fame rests on his work in optics, although his contributions to science include the other branches of physics and mechanics. He improved the valves of the air-pump, attaining a very high vacuum; he constructed a hygrometer and a goniometer, and invented the Babinet compensator, a double quartz wedge used in the study of elliptically polarized light. "Babinet's theorem" deals with the diffraction of light. He must, however, be chiefly remembered as a great popularizer of science, an amusing and clever lecturer, a brilliant and entertaining writer of popular scientific articles. He fully recognized the limitations of physical science, while his sincere faith showed itself especially at the end, when he passed away with touching resignation, beloved by all for his kindly and charitable nature.
Babinet's contributions to the "Revue des Deux Mondes" and to the "Journal des Débats" and his lectures on observational science before the Polytechnic Association were collected in eight volumes: "Etudes et lectures sur les sciences d'observation" (1855-65). His other serious works include: "Résumé complet de la physique" (Paris, 1825); "Expériences pour vérifier celles de M. Trevelyan" (Paris, 1835). The following four monographs are published in the Memoirs of the Société Philomathique: "Sur la masse de la planète Mercure" (1825); "Sur la couleur des réseaux" (1829); "Sur la détermination du magnétisme terrestre" (1829); "Sur la cause du retard qu'éprouve la lumière dans les milieus réfringents" (1839).
QUÉRARD, La France littéraire; Dictionnaire de la conversation; La Grande Encylopédie; LAROUSSE, Dictionnaire.
References
- Back to citation Hockey, Thomas (2009). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-387-31022-0. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
Further reading
- Frankel, Eugene (1970). "Babinet, Jacques". Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 357–358. ISBN 0-684-10114-9.