Jean-Daniel Colladon
Encyclopedia
Jean-Daniel Colladon was a Swiss physicist.
but then worked in the laboratories of Ampère
and Fourier
. He received an Académie des Sciences award with his friend Charles Sturm for their measurement of the speed of sound
and the breaking up of water jet
s. Stymied by the lack of a sight of the water jet provided to the audience, he used a tube to collect and pipe sunlight to the lecture table. The light was trapped by the TIR of the tube until the water jet, upon which edge the light incidented at a glancing angle, broke up and carried the light in a curved flow. Colladon reported this experiment to a wider audience in the Comptes rendus, the French Academy of Sciences
' journal, in 1842. His experiments formed one of the core principles of modern-day optical fiber
, alongside those of Auguste de la Rive — who demonstrated Colladon's experiment using electric arc light —, Jacques Babinet
— who, separately, had created the same effect using candlelight and a glass bottle —, and John Tyndall
— who, in 1870, demonstrated that light used internal reflection to follow a specific path using a jet of water that flowed from one container to another and a beam of light.
In 1841, he conducted experiments on Lake Geneva demonstrating that sound traveled over four times as fast in water than in air. He was able to transmit sound waves from Nyon to Montreux, a distance of 50 km, and envisioned developing a novel means of transmitting information via underwater sound signals between England and France via the Channel.
Colladon won the Grand Prize of the Academy of Sciences in Paris for his research on the compressibility of liquids. He also worked extensively on hydraulics, steam engines, and air compressors. He invented a type of hydraulic generator that could float on water, thereby providing a constant output of energy regardless of water level.
On December 25, 1844, Geneva was first illuminated by a network of gas lights, a project Colladon had been instrumental in advocating and promoting.
Life and work
Colladon studied lawLaw
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
but then worked in the laboratories of Ampère
André-Marie Ampère
André-Marie Ampère was a French physicist and mathematician who is generally regarded as one of the main discoverers of electromagnetism. The SI unit of measurement of electric current, the ampere, is named after him....
and Fourier
Joseph Fourier
Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier was a French mathematician and physicist best known for initiating the investigation of Fourier series and their applications to problems of heat transfer and vibrations. The Fourier transform and Fourier's Law are also named in his honour...
. He received an Académie des Sciences award with his friend Charles Sturm for their measurement of the speed of sound
Speed of sound
The speed of sound is the distance travelled during a unit of time by a sound wave propagating through an elastic medium. In dry air at , the speed of sound is . This is , or about one kilometer in three seconds or approximately one mile in five seconds....
and the breaking up of water jet
Water jet
Water jet has several meanings including :* Water jet cutter, a tool for cutting virtually any material* Water jet cleaning and surface preparation, a tool for cleaning and surface preparation using ultra-high pressure waterjet...
s. Stymied by the lack of a sight of the water jet provided to the audience, he used a tube to collect and pipe sunlight to the lecture table. The light was trapped by the TIR of the tube until the water jet, upon which edge the light incidented at a glancing angle, broke up and carried the light in a curved flow. Colladon reported this experiment to a wider audience in the Comptes rendus, the French Academy of Sciences
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
' journal, in 1842. His experiments formed one of the core principles of modern-day optical fiber
Optical fiber
An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made of a pure glass not much wider than a human hair. It functions as a waveguide, or "light pipe", to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of...
, alongside those of Auguste de la Rive — who demonstrated Colladon's experiment using electric arc light —, Jacques Babinet
Jacques Babinet
Jacques Babinet was a French physicist, mathematician, and astronomer who is best known for his contributions to optics....
— who, separately, had created the same effect using candlelight and a glass bottle —, and John Tyndall
John Tyndall
John Tyndall FRS was a prominent Irish 19th century physicist. His initial scientific fame arose in the 1850s from his study of diamagnetism. Later he studied thermal radiation, and produced a number of discoveries about processes in the atmosphere...
— who, in 1870, demonstrated that light used internal reflection to follow a specific path using a jet of water that flowed from one container to another and a beam of light.
In 1841, he conducted experiments on Lake Geneva demonstrating that sound traveled over four times as fast in water than in air. He was able to transmit sound waves from Nyon to Montreux, a distance of 50 km, and envisioned developing a novel means of transmitting information via underwater sound signals between England and France via the Channel.
Colladon won the Grand Prize of the Academy of Sciences in Paris for his research on the compressibility of liquids. He also worked extensively on hydraulics, steam engines, and air compressors. He invented a type of hydraulic generator that could float on water, thereby providing a constant output of energy regardless of water level.
On December 25, 1844, Geneva was first illuminated by a network of gas lights, a project Colladon had been instrumental in advocating and promoting.