Christiaan Huygens
Christiaan Huygens , was a
Dutch mathematician and
physicist; born in
The Hague as the son of
Constantijn Huygens. He studied law at the
University of Leiden and the College of Orange in
Breda before turning to science. Historians commonly associate Huygens with the scientific revolution.
Huygens generally receives minor credit for his role in the development of modern
calculus. He also achieved note for his arguments that
light consisted of
waves; see:
wave-particle duality. In 1655, he discovered
Saturn's moon Titan.
Encyclopedia
Christiaan Huygens , was a
Dutch mathematician and
physicist; born in
The Hague as the son of
Constantijn Huygens. He studied law at the
University of Leiden and the College of Orange in
Breda before turning to science. Historians commonly associate Huygens with the scientific revolution.
Huygens generally receives minor credit for his role in the development of modern
calculus. He also achieved note for his arguments that
light consisted of
waves; see:
wave-particle duality. In 1655, he discovered
Saturn's moon Titan. He also examined Saturn's
planetary rings, and in 1656 he discovered that those rings consisted of rocks. In the same year he observed the
Orion Nebula. Using his modern
telescope he succeeded in subdividing the nebula into different
stars. He also discovered several
interstellar nebulae and some
double stars.
After
Blaise Pascal encouraged him to do so, Huygens wrote the first book on probability theory, which he had published in 1657.
He also worked on the construction of accurate
clocks, suitable for naval
navigation. In 1658 he published a book on this topic called
Horologium. In fact his invention, the
pendulum clock , was a breakthrough in timekeeping. Devices known as escapements regulate the rate of a
watch or
clock, and the anchor escapement represented a major step in the development of accurate watches. Subsequent to this publication, Huygens discovered that the
cycloid was an isochronous curve and, applied to pendulum clocks in the form of cycloidal cheeks, would ensure a regular swing of the pendulum from any height. The mathematical and practical details of this finding were published in "Horologium Oscillatorium" of 1673. Huygens also observed that two pendulums mounted on the same beam will come to swing in perfectly opposite directions, an observation he referred to as odd sympathy.
Huygens also developed a balance spring clock more or less contemporaneously with, though separately from,
Robert Hooke, and controversy over whose invention was the earlier persisted for centuries. In February 2006, a long-lost copy of Hooke's handwritten notes from several decades'
Royal Society meetings was discovered in a cupboard in Hampshire, and the balance-spring controversy appears by evidence contained in those notes to be settled in favor of Hooke's claim.
The
Royal Society elected Huygens a member in 1663. In the year 1666 Huygens moved to
Paris where he held a position at the
French Academy of Sciences under the patronage of
Louis XIV. Using the
Paris Observatory he made further
astronomical observations. In 1684 he published "Astroscopia Compendiaria" which presented his new aerial telescope.
Huygens speculated in detail about
life on other planets . In his book
Cosmotheoros, further entitled
The celestial worlds discover'd: or, conjectures concerning the inhabitants, plants and productions of the worlds in the planets he imagined a universe brimming with life, much of it very similar to life on 17th century Earth. The liberal climate in the Netherlands of that time not only allowed but encouraged such speculation. In sharp contrast, philosopher
Giordano Bruno, who also believed in many inhabited worlds, was burned at the stake by the Italian authorities for his beliefs in 1600.
In 1675, Christian Huygens
patented a
pocket watch. He also invented numerous other devices, including a 31 tone to the octave keyboard instrument which made use of his discovery of 31 equal temperament.
Huygens moved back to The Hague in 1681 after suffering serious illness. He attempted to return to France in 1685 but the revocation of the Edict of Nantes precluded this move. Huygens died in The Hague on July 8, 1695.
Named after Huygens
See also
- Bibliography of Christiaan Huygens
External links
- translated into English by Silvanus P. Thompson, Project Gutenberg etext.
- Christiaan Huygens' book on probability theory. An English translation published in 1714. Text pdf file.
- exhibition from the Science Museum, London
- Huygens–Fokker Foundation —on Huygens' 31 equal temperament and how it has been used
-
- a digital edition of Smithsonian Libraries
