Léon Foucault's name is synonymous with his famous pendulum experiment, which proved to all that the Earth rotated. This illustrated biography traces the life and achievements of one of the last great amateur scientists. His contributions to science went well beyond his pendulum--the gyroscope; laboratory measurements of the speed of light; and the invention of methods to make perfect optical surfaces.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"...Tobin does an admirable job, clearly explaining in a lively style many relatively complex processes, concepts and gadgets. ...Readers will not need much prior scientific knowledge to follow the text. ...Evoking a scientific world that no longer exists is a difficult task, and Tobin has succeeded well at it." Physics World
"William Tobin has written an excellent book about Foucault; I enjoyed reading it and I thoroughly recommend it." Notes & Records of the Royal Society of London
"...with this meticulously researched and generously illustrated presentation of Foucault's life, in this reviewer's opinion Tobin fully achieves the aim he sets himself in the preface, of offering his readers 'a book of popular physics that will be entertaining as well as instructive'." Interdisciplinary Science Reviews
"...[a] thorough, readable and beautifully illustrated biography... [Foucault] springs back to life in the pages of this excellent book." New Scientist
"...[a] handsomely illustrated, thoroughly reasearched biography of Foucault... Tobin, in writing this book, wanted to provide a detailed account of the origins of modern physics, especially of astrophysics; he has succeeded admirably. Highly recommended." Choice
"A very long pendulum has kept Léon Foucalt famous. But as William Tobin's thorough, readable and beautifully illustrated biography reveals, there was much more to the self-taught French 19th-century experimental physicist....This unconventional experiementer springs back to life in the pages of this excellent book." New Scientist
"After completion of this review [of a rival book], I became aware of another very recent biography of Foucault: William Tobin, The Life and Science of Léon Foucault. Although I have not yet had time to read Tobin's book with care, it appears to be superior to Aczel's....and anyone with a serious interest in Foucault and his pendulums should consult it." American Journal of Physics
"This book goes into much detail -- with plenty of illustrations and background on his personal life -- about how this 19th-century French physicist proved that the Earth rotates, helped perfect techniques for making astronomical optics, and made other important scientific findings." Sky & Telescope
"It is not often that we are treated to a biography of a distinguished scientist written by another scientist, and a literate one at that. Astronomer William Tobin has written an absorbing description of the scientific deeds performed by Léon Foucault in the middle of the nineteenth century. ...the loving care which Tobin has lavished on this volume. ...a unique aspect of Tobin's book is the careful descriptions it provides of the physical principles underlying the many ingenous apparatuses designed by Foucault. Particularly gratifying is Tobin's description of how the famous pendulum behaves." Customer Review, BarnesandNoble.com
"Foucault's experimental apparatus is described with lots of details and illustrated with numerous drawings from the time and photographs. The reader will wonder which should be admired more: the simplicity of the principles employed or the mechanical perfection of the apparatus...Through Foucault's work we rediscover a fraction of the history of physics. A number of appendices and an adundant bibliography complete the work. But let me give a friendly little warning...you will find it very difficult to put down until you have read it all, so much is it an engrossing read!" Triangulum
"He writes with grace, clarity, and humor." ISIS, Michael F. Conlin
"The author William Tobin must be congratulated for the production of such a splendid book. It is lucidly written and lavishly illustrated with stylish diagrams, plates, illustrations, photographs and Daguerreotypes...I defy anyone to read this book and not be infected by the enthusiasm the author has for his subject and the science. Any pedagogue should direct students towards this book for both inspiration and instruction. It is hoped that there will be more from the author in this genre, as it is a most refreshing approach to the presentation of scientific principles and thought." - Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine, John Lutkin
"William Tobin has written an excellent book about Foucault; I enjoyed reading it and I thoroughly recommend it." Notes & Records of the Royal Society of London
"...with this meticulously researched and generously illustrated presentation of Foucault's life, in this reviewer's opinion Tobin fully achieves the aim he sets himself in the preface, of offering his readers 'a book of popular physics that will be entertaining as well as instructive'." Interdisciplinary Science Reviews
"...[a] thorough, readable and beautifully illustrated biography... [Foucault] springs back to life in the pages of this excellent book." New Scientist
"...[a] handsomely illustrated, thoroughly reasearched biography of Foucault... Tobin, in writing this book, wanted to provide a detailed account of the origins of modern physics, especially of astrophysics; he has succeeded admirably. Highly recommended." Choice
"A very long pendulum has kept Léon Foucalt famous. But as William Tobin's thorough, readable and beautifully illustrated biography reveals, there was much more to the self-taught French 19th-century experimental physicist....This unconventional experiementer springs back to life in the pages of this excellent book." New Scientist
"After completion of this review [of a rival book], I became aware of another very recent biography of Foucault: William Tobin, The Life and Science of Léon Foucault. Although I have not yet had time to read Tobin's book with care, it appears to be superior to Aczel's....and anyone with a serious interest in Foucault and his pendulums should consult it." American Journal of Physics
"This book goes into much detail -- with plenty of illustrations and background on his personal life -- about how this 19th-century French physicist proved that the Earth rotates, helped perfect techniques for making astronomical optics, and made other important scientific findings." Sky & Telescope
"It is not often that we are treated to a biography of a distinguished scientist written by another scientist, and a literate one at that. Astronomer William Tobin has written an absorbing description of the scientific deeds performed by Léon Foucault in the middle of the nineteenth century. ...the loving care which Tobin has lavished on this volume. ...a unique aspect of Tobin's book is the careful descriptions it provides of the physical principles underlying the many ingenous apparatuses designed by Foucault. Particularly gratifying is Tobin's description of how the famous pendulum behaves." Customer Review, BarnesandNoble.com
"Foucault's experimental apparatus is described with lots of details and illustrated with numerous drawings from the time and photographs. The reader will wonder which should be admired more: the simplicity of the principles employed or the mechanical perfection of the apparatus...Through Foucault's work we rediscover a fraction of the history of physics. A number of appendices and an adundant bibliography complete the work. But let me give a friendly little warning...you will find it very difficult to put down until you have read it all, so much is it an engrossing read!" Triangulum
"He writes with grace, clarity, and humor." ISIS, Michael F. Conlin
"The author William Tobin must be congratulated for the production of such a splendid book. It is lucidly written and lavishly illustrated with stylish diagrams, plates, illustrations, photographs and Daguerreotypes...I defy anyone to read this book and not be infected by the enthusiasm the author has for his subject and the science. Any pedagogue should direct students towards this book for both inspiration and instruction. It is hoped that there will be more from the author in this genre, as it is a most refreshing approach to the presentation of scientific principles and thought." - Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine, John Lutkin
Book Description
Léon Foucault's name is synonymous with his famous pendulum experiment, which proved for the first time that the Earth rotated. However, his contributions to science went well beyond his pendulum - the gyroscope; laboratory measurements of the speed of light; the invention of methods to make perfect optical surfaces. Foucault provides a fascinating case study of one of the last great amateur scientists. This abundantly-illustrated biography will prove to be a fascinating read for anyone interested in Foucault as a pioneer of science.
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Henri Sainte-Claire Deville leaned back in his heavy academician's chair, sick with emotion. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
daguerreotype response, delicious pastime, continuing rays, peat gas, physical conduction, calorific rays, spinning mirror, auxiliary regulator, pendulum swing plane, chromatic polarization, daguerreotype plate, conical pendulum, solar parallax, des longitudes, optical fabrication, inner gimbal, terrestrial rotation, mirror speed, des sciences physiques, sine factor, pendulum experiment, daguerreotype image, beautiful science, electromagnetic drive, achromatic doublet Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Sainte-Claire Deville, Paris Observatory, Exposition Universelle, Edmond Becquerel, Bureau des Longitudes, Jules Regnauld, Lord Rosse, Meridian Room, British Association, Mechanics Section, Charles Chevalier, Minister of Public Instruction, Joseph Bertrand, Permanent Secretary, Royal Society, United States, Victor Regnault, John Herschel, Permanent Secretaries, Saint Gobain, Copley Medal, Observatoire de Paris, Sir David Brewster, Yvon Villarceau, Chance Brothers New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Henri Sainte-Claire Deville leaned back in his heavy academician's chair, sick with emotion. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
daguerreotype response, delicious pastime, continuing rays, peat gas, physical conduction, calorific rays, spinning mirror, auxiliary regulator, pendulum swing plane, chromatic polarization, daguerreotype plate, conical pendulum, solar parallax, des longitudes, optical fabrication, inner gimbal, terrestrial rotation, mirror speed, des sciences physiques, sine factor, pendulum experiment, daguerreotype image, beautiful science, electromagnetic drive, achromatic doublet Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Sainte-Claire Deville, Paris Observatory, Exposition Universelle, Edmond Becquerel, Bureau des Longitudes, Jules Regnauld, Lord Rosse, Meridian Room, British Association, Mechanics Section, Charles Chevalier, Minister of Public Instruction, Joseph Bertrand, Permanent Secretary, Royal Society, United States, Victor Regnault, John Herschel, Permanent Secretaries, Saint Gobain, Copley Medal, Observatoire de Paris, Sir David Brewster, Yvon Villarceau, Chance Brothers New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 19
books:
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- History of Technology by Rupert Hall in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Positive Philosophy (Language, man, and society: foundations of the behavioral sciences) by Auguste Comte on page 92, and page 111
- History of Technology (2nd Annual Volume) by A. Rupert Hall in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Celestial Mechanics (5-Volume Set in English & French) by Pierre Simon Laplace on page 5, and page 137
- On the Revolutions: v. 2 (Vol 2) by Nicolaus Copernicus in Front Matter
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