| Description |
x, 275 pages : illustrations, map, portrait ; 23 cm |
| Series |
Collection of Jamie and Michael Kassler. ANL
|
| Contents |
1. A Stunning Discovery in the Cellar -- 2. Ancient Logic: Bible and Inquisition -- 3. Failed Experiments with Falling Bodies -- 4. A Science "Irregular" in the Age of the Engineer -- 5. The Meridian of Paris -- 6. "Come See the Earth Turn" -- 7. Mathematical Bedlam -- 8. A New Bonaparte -- 9. The Force of Coriolis -- 10. The Pantheon -- 11. The Gyroscope -- 12. The Coup d'Etat and the Second Empire -- 13. An Unemployed Genius -- 14. The Observatory Physicist -- 15. Final Glory -- 16. A Premature End -- 17. The Defeat at Sedan -- 18. Aftermath -- App. Proofs of Foucault's Sine Law |
| Summary |
"Through careful, primary research, world-renowned author Amir Aczel has revealed the life of a gifted physicist who had almost no formal education in science, and yet managed to succeed despite the adversity he suffered at the hands of his peers. The range and breadth of Foucault's discoveries is astonishing: He gave us the modern electric compass, devised an electric microscope, invented photographic technology, and made remarkable deductions about color theory, heat waves, and the speed of light. Yet until now so little has been known about his life." "Richly detailed and evocative, Pendulum tells of the illustrious period in France during the Second Empire; of Foucault's relationship with Napoleon III, a colorful character in his own right; and - most notably - of the crucial triumph of science over religion."--BOOK JACKET |
| Notes |
Bibliography: p. 259-264 |
|
Includes index |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 259-264) and index |
| Subject |
Foucault, Léon, 1819-1868.
|
|
Foucault, LeÌon, 1819-1868
|
|
Physicists -- France -- Biography.
|
|
Pendulum.
|
| Genre/Form |
Biographies.
|
| LC no. |
2003284133 |
| ISBN |
0743464788 |
|
