Society of Arcueil
Encyclopedia
The Society of Arcueil was a circle of French scientists who met regularly on summer weekends between 1806 and 1822 at the country houses of Claude Louis Berthollet
and Pierre Simon Laplace at Arcueil
, then a village 3 miles south of Paris
.
In the course of the following years they were joined by:
had initiated the practice of informal deliberation with his fellow scientists, including his junior assistants, in his laboratory at the Paris Arsenal.
Laplace, and Berthollet with his open laboratory, continued this spirit of fellowship at Arcueil. They were the senior moderators in a scientific debate of novel magnitude; combining the framework of physico-mathematical model (Laplace) with experimental investigation (Berthollet).
officer- to mathematics in particular.
Laplace had been Bonaparte's final examiner at the Ecole Militaire (September 1785) where Gaspard Monge
, his professor, had encouraged him to finish the two year course of mathematics
in one.
Napoleon became acquainted with Berthollet during his campaign in Italy, when Berthollet and Monge were part of the commission sent by the French Directory
to select and dispatch Italian art treasures, manuscripts and scientific documents to Paris.
Laplace, Berthollet and Monge became instrumental in having Napoleon elected to the First Class of the Institut de France
-the class directing the exact sciences- when Lazare Carnot
's place fell vacant in 1797.
Napoleon in turn invited them to follow him to Egypt (1798-1799) and instructed Berthollet to conduct the recruitement of the scientists that were to compose the "Institut d'Egypte".
The way Berthollet effectively directed the practical installation of the Institute at Qassim Bey's Palace in Caïro, cemented the friendship with Bonaparte in a way that proved its worth in the patronage of the Arcueil Society. When Berthollet, in 1807, concluded that the arrangement for research facilities at Arcueil had cost him more than he could afford, Napoleon, alerted by Laplace and Monge, immediately lend him 150.000 francs to break even.
The informality of the "Institut d'Egypte" found its continuance at Arcueil where Berthollet from his Egyptian-decorated study remained in charge of the publication of the "Description de l'Egypte (1809)
" (ref: Crosland, 1967)
The exploitation of beet sugar, for example, was developed with the boycott of English trade in mind. From the publication of Franz Achard's letter on beet sugar in Annales de chimie et de physique
(Bruxelles:Van Mons, 1799) and the first presentation of a sample to Napoleon during a session of the First Class of the Institute (June 25, 1800) till the first viable production by Jules Paul Benjamin Delessert
in 1812, the subject was one of the scientific priorities in France.(see also: Joseph Proust
on grape sugar)
The industrial fabrication of dye
from home grown indigo plant (distinct from woad
) at Toulouse
was a direct heritage from the "Institut d'Egypte"
Mathematical instruments were a special favourite with Napoleon, and were often awarded medals at the industrial fairs held at the instigation of Chaptal
. Members of the Society of Arcueil were frequently invited to judge on such occasions.
In 1806, at the third exhibition in the series, some 1.400 participants attended; up from 220 in 1801. Special attention was given to textile printing
adapted by Christophe Oberkampf and his nephew Samuel Widmer with the introduction of roller instead of block printing. This particular industrial process integrated the bleaching by chlorine
(eau de javel) invented by Berthollet, as well as the application of new dyeing methods (Samuel Widmers invention of a solid green dye). In 1806 Oberkampf's factory printed fabrics at the rate of 7,5 metres a minute; a viable alternative to English import.
Laplace and Monge were also instructed to supervise Robert Fulton
's experiments with the Nautilus (1800),subsidized in France.
Following Volta
's visit to Paris in 1801 important work on the Voltaic pile
, involving the Arcueil circle, was carried out under Bonaparte's auspices rewarding Paul Erman
, Humphry Davy
, Gay-Lussac and Louis Jacques Thenard
in the process.
The scientific work in general was of first importance to the education at the Ecole Polytechnique
, the home base of many Arcueil scientists.
The enhancing of the quality of iron
and steel
, with Collet-Descotils -the precursor in the discovery of iridium
- in charge as chief engineer at the "Ecole des Mines", and above all the development of gunpowder
were of prime military significance.
The French expertise in explosives was well judged by the Allies when later they dispatched Jöns Jacob Berzelius to Paris to update general knowledge. In 1819 he spent two full months as a guest of Berthollet in the laboratory at Arcueil experimenting, but above all sounding Pierre Dulong whose memoir on a new detonating substance (nitrogen trichloride
) had appeared in the 1817 volume of "Mémoires de Physique et de Chimie de la Société d'Arcueil".
( André-Marie Ampère
had already briefed Humphry Davy
on prior stages (1811-1813) of Dulong's invention. )
.
The "Mémoires..." published some important new ideas: Malus on the polarisation of light
(1809, 1817); Gay-Lussac on the free expansion of gases (1807); Humboldt and Gay-Lussac on terrestrial magnetism (1807); Gay-Lussac's law
of combining volumes of gases (1809); Thenard and Biot's observation on the comparison of aragonite
and calcite
(one of the earliest proofs of dimorphism
)(1809); Gay-Lussac and Thenard on the discovery of the amide
s of metal (1809); Candolle on heliotropism
(1817).
Equally important was the special thread, woven into the overall discourse, that held together the brilliant cross-reference among friends.
At the first opportunity the English correspondents of Arcueil returned to Paris, among them John Leslie
(1814) and Charles Blagden
(1814, 1816, 1817) who died of apoplexy (1820) during a visit to Berthollet at Arcueil. Mary Somerville
who wrote a popular account of Laplace's "Mécanique Céleste" dined at Arcueil with her scientific "heroes" (1817).
Jöns Jacob Berzelius had already been invited by Berthollet to come and study at Arcueil in 1810, but it was not till 1818 that the Swedish government judged it appropriate for him to travel to France. At Arcueil Berzelius engaged in a steadfast friendship with Dulong.
In 1820 Dulong wrote to Berzelius:
It was the testimony of a changing mood and when John Dalton
, who had strong differences of opinion with the Society, visited Arcueil in 1822, he received a hearty welcome. It was the last major social event for the Society of Arcueil.
Berthollet died on November 6, 1822 and with him went an inspiring power of adherence.
, Fresnel, Niepce, Daguerre, Léon Foucault
... as well as many others in the field of scientific education.
Claude Louis Berthollet
Claude Louis Berthollet was a Savoyard-French chemist who became vice president of the French Senate in 1804.-Biography:...
and Pierre Simon Laplace at Arcueil
Arcueil
Arcueil is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Name:The name Arcueil was recorded for the first time in 1119 as Arcoloï, and later in the 12th century as Arcoïalum, meaning "place of the arches" , in...
, then a village 3 miles south of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Members
In 1807, when the first collection of "Mémoires de Physique et de Chimie de la Société d'Arcueil" was published, a list of contributing members read:- Claude Louis BertholletClaude Louis BertholletClaude Louis Berthollet was a Savoyard-French chemist who became vice president of the French Senate in 1804.-Biography:...
(1748-1822) - Pierre Simon Laplace (1749-1827)
- Friedrich Heinrich Alexander von HumboldtAlexander von HumboldtFriedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
(1769-1859) - Louis Jacques ThenardLouis Jacques ThénardLouis Jacques Thénard , was a French chemist.His father, a poor peasant, managed to have him educated at the academy of Sens, and sent him at the age of sixteen to study pharmacy in Paris. There he attended the lectures of Antoine François Fourcroy and Louis Nicolas Vauquelin...
(1777-1857) - Joseph Louis Gay-LussacJoseph Louis Gay-Lussac- External links :* from the American Chemical Society* from the Encyclopædia Britannica, 10th Edition * , Paris...
(1778-1850) - Jean Baptiste Biot (1774-1862)
- Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (1778-1841)
- Hyppolyte Victor Collet-Descotils (1773-1815)
- Amedée Barthélemy Berthollet (1780-1810)
In the course of the following years they were joined by:
- Etienne Louis Malus (1775-1812)
- Dominique François Jean Arago (1786-1853)
- Jacques Etienne Bérard (1789-1869)
- Jean Antoine Chaptal (1756-1832)
- Pierre Louis DulongPierre Louis DulongPierre Louis Dulong was a French physicist and chemist, remembered today largely for the law of Dulong and Petit. He worked on the specific heat capacity and the expansion and refractive indices of gases....
(1785-1835) - Siméon Denis PoissonSiméon Denis PoissonSiméon Denis Poisson , was a French mathematician, geometer, and physicist. He however, was the final leading opponent of the wave theory of light as a member of the elite l'Académie française, but was proven wrong by Augustin-Jean Fresnel.-Biography:...
(1781-1840)
Inspiration
Antoine LavoisierAntoine Lavoisier
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier , the "father of modern chemistry", was a French nobleman prominent in the histories of chemistry and biology...
had initiated the practice of informal deliberation with his fellow scientists, including his junior assistants, in his laboratory at the Paris Arsenal.
- "If at any time I have adopted, without acknowledgement the experiments of M.Berthollet, M.Fourcroy, M.de la Place, M.Monge (...) it is owing to (...) the habit of communicating our ideas, our observations and our way of thinking to each other (establishing) between us a sort of community of opinions in which it is often difficult for everyone to know his own."
- (Lavoisier in: "Traité Élémentaire de ChimieTraité Élémentaire de ChimieTraité élémentaire de chimie is an influential textbook written by Antoine Lavoisier published in 1789 and translated into English by Robert Kerr in 1790.The book is considered to be the first modern chemical textbook...
", 1789)
Laplace, and Berthollet with his open laboratory, continued this spirit of fellowship at Arcueil. They were the senior moderators in a scientific debate of novel magnitude; combining the framework of physico-mathematical model (Laplace) with experimental investigation (Berthollet).
Roots
The roots of the active progress of the Society of Arcueil lay with Napoleon Bonaparte's special attention to sciences in general and -as an artilleryArtillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
officer- to mathematics in particular.
Laplace had been Bonaparte's final examiner at the Ecole Militaire (September 1785) where Gaspard Monge
Gaspard Monge
Gaspard Monge, Comte de Péluse was a French mathematician, revolutionary, and was inventor of descriptive geometry. During the French Revolution, he was involved in the complete reorganization of the educational system, founding the École Polytechnique...
, his professor, had encouraged him to finish the two year course of mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
in one.
Napoleon became acquainted with Berthollet during his campaign in Italy, when Berthollet and Monge were part of the commission sent by the French Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
to select and dispatch Italian art treasures, manuscripts and scientific documents to Paris.
Laplace, Berthollet and Monge became instrumental in having Napoleon elected to the First Class of the Institut de France
Institut de France
The Institut de France is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is the Académie française.The institute, located in Paris, manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and chateaux open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which...
-the class directing the exact sciences- when Lazare Carnot
Lazare Carnot
Lazare Nicolas Marguerite, Comte Carnot , the Organizer of Victory in the French Revolutionary Wars, was a French politician, engineer, and mathematician.-Education and early life:...
's place fell vacant in 1797.
Napoleon in turn invited them to follow him to Egypt (1798-1799) and instructed Berthollet to conduct the recruitement of the scientists that were to compose the "Institut d'Egypte".
The way Berthollet effectively directed the practical installation of the Institute at Qassim Bey's Palace in Caïro, cemented the friendship with Bonaparte in a way that proved its worth in the patronage of the Arcueil Society. When Berthollet, in 1807, concluded that the arrangement for research facilities at Arcueil had cost him more than he could afford, Napoleon, alerted by Laplace and Monge, immediately lend him 150.000 francs to break even.
The informality of the "Institut d'Egypte" found its continuance at Arcueil where Berthollet from his Egyptian-decorated study remained in charge of the publication of the "Description de l'Egypte (1809)
Description de l'Egypte (1809)
The Description de l'Égypte was a series of publications, appearing first in 1809 and continuing until the final volume appeared in 1829, which offered a comprehensive scientific description of ancient and modern Egypt as well as its natural history...
" (ref: Crosland, 1967)
Science Under Bonaparte
The quantitive applications of the new science of chemistry had important significance for the state economy.The exploitation of beet sugar, for example, was developed with the boycott of English trade in mind. From the publication of Franz Achard's letter on beet sugar in Annales de chimie et de physique
Annales de chimie et de physique
Annales de chimie et de physique is a scientific journal that was founded in Paris, France, in 1789 under the title Annales de chimie. One of the early editors was the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier. In 1815, it became the Annales de chimie et de physique, and was published under that name for...
(Bruxelles:Van Mons, 1799) and the first presentation of a sample to Napoleon during a session of the First Class of the Institute (June 25, 1800) till the first viable production by Jules Paul Benjamin Delessert
Jules Paul Benjamin Delessert
Jules Paul Benjamin Delessert was a French banker and naturalist.He was born at Lyon, the son of Étienne Delessert , the founder of the first fire insurance company and the first discount bank in France...
in 1812, the subject was one of the scientific priorities in France.(see also: Joseph Proust
Joseph Proust
Joseph Louis Proust was a French chemist.-Life:Joseph L. Proust was born on September 26, 1754 in Angers, France. His father served as an apothecary in Angers. Joseph studied chemistry in his father’s shop and later came to Paris where he gained the appointment of apothecary in chief to the...
on grape sugar)
The industrial fabrication of dye
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
from home grown indigo plant (distinct from woad
Woad
Isatis tinctoria, with Woad as the common name, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is commonly called dyer's woad, and sometimes incorrectly listed as Isatis indigotica . It is occasionally known as Asp of Jerusalem...
) at Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
was a direct heritage from the "Institut d'Egypte"
Mathematical instruments were a special favourite with Napoleon, and were often awarded medals at the industrial fairs held at the instigation of Chaptal
Jean-Antoine Chaptal
Jean-Antoine Claude, comte Chaptal de Chanteloup was a French chemist and statesman. He established chemical works for the manufacture of the mineral acids, soda and other substances...
. Members of the Society of Arcueil were frequently invited to judge on such occasions.
In 1806, at the third exhibition in the series, some 1.400 participants attended; up from 220 in 1801. Special attention was given to textile printing
Textile printing
Textile printing is the process of applying colour to fabric in definite patterns or designs. In properly printed fabrics the colour is bonded with the fiber, so as to resist washing and friction...
adapted by Christophe Oberkampf and his nephew Samuel Widmer with the introduction of roller instead of block printing. This particular industrial process integrated the bleaching by chlorine
Chlorine
Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...
(eau de javel) invented by Berthollet, as well as the application of new dyeing methods (Samuel Widmers invention of a solid green dye). In 1806 Oberkampf's factory printed fabrics at the rate of 7,5 metres a minute; a viable alternative to English import.
Laplace and Monge were also instructed to supervise Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat...
's experiments with the Nautilus (1800),subsidized in France.
Following Volta
Alessandro Volta
Count Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Gerolamo Umberto Volta was a Lombard physicist known especially for the invention of the battery in 1800.-Early life and works:...
's visit to Paris in 1801 important work on the Voltaic pile
Voltaic pile
A voltaic pile is a set of individual Galvanic cells placed in series. The voltaic pile, invented by Alessandro Volta in 1800, was the first electric battery...
, involving the Arcueil circle, was carried out under Bonaparte's auspices rewarding Paul Erman
Paul Erman
Paul Erman was a German physicist from Berlin, Brandenburg. He was the son of the historian Jean Pierre Erman , author of Histoire des refugis....
, Humphry Davy
Humphry Davy
Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet FRS MRIA was a British chemist and inventor. He is probably best remembered today for his discoveries of several alkali and alkaline earth metals, as well as contributions to the discoveries of the elemental nature of chlorine and iodine...
, Gay-Lussac and Louis Jacques Thenard
Louis Jacques Thénard
Louis Jacques Thénard , was a French chemist.His father, a poor peasant, managed to have him educated at the academy of Sens, and sent him at the age of sixteen to study pharmacy in Paris. There he attended the lectures of Antoine François Fourcroy and Louis Nicolas Vauquelin...
in the process.
The scientific work in general was of first importance to the education at the Ecole Polytechnique
École Polytechnique
The École Polytechnique is a state-run institution of higher education and research in Palaiseau, Essonne, France, near Paris. Polytechnique is renowned for its four year undergraduate/graduate Master's program...
, the home base of many Arcueil scientists.
The enhancing of the quality of iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
, with Collet-Descotils -the precursor in the discovery of iridium
Iridium
Iridium is the chemical element with atomic number 77, and is represented by the symbol Ir. A very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum family, iridium is the second-densest element and is the most corrosion-resistant metal, even at temperatures as high as 2000 °C...
- in charge as chief engineer at the "Ecole des Mines", and above all the development of gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
were of prime military significance.
The French expertise in explosives was well judged by the Allies when later they dispatched Jöns Jacob Berzelius to Paris to update general knowledge. In 1819 he spent two full months as a guest of Berthollet in the laboratory at Arcueil experimenting, but above all sounding Pierre Dulong whose memoir on a new detonating substance (nitrogen trichloride
Nitrogen trichloride
Nitrogen trichloride, also known as trichloramine, is the chemical compound with the formula NCl3. This yellow, oily, pungent-smelling liquid is most commonly encountered as a byproduct of chemical reactions between ammonia-derivatives and chlorine .In pure form, NCl3 is highly reactive...
) had appeared in the 1817 volume of "Mémoires de Physique et de Chimie de la Société d'Arcueil".
( André-Marie 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....
had already briefed Humphry Davy
Humphry Davy
Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet FRS MRIA was a British chemist and inventor. He is probably best remembered today for his discoveries of several alkali and alkaline earth metals, as well as contributions to the discoveries of the elemental nature of chlorine and iodine...
on prior stages (1811-1813) of Dulong's invention. )
"Memoires..."
There were three volumes of "Mémoires de Physique et de Chimie de la Société d'Arcueil": 1807, 1809 and 1817 -the last date testifying to the political difficulties following the demise of Napoleon I of FranceNapoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
.
The "Mémoires..." published some important new ideas: Malus on the polarisation of light
Light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
(1809, 1817); Gay-Lussac on the free expansion of gases (1807); Humboldt and Gay-Lussac on terrestrial magnetism (1807); Gay-Lussac's law
Gay-Lussac's law
The expression Gay-Lussac's law is used for each of the two relationships named after the French chemist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac and which concern the properties of gases, though it is more usually applied to his law of combining volumes, the first listed here...
of combining volumes of gases (1809); Thenard and Biot's observation on the comparison of aragonite
Aragonite
Aragonite is a carbonate mineral, one of the two common, naturally occurring, crystal forms of calcium carbonate, CaCO3...
and calcite
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...
(one of the earliest proofs of dimorphism
Polymorphism (materials science)
Polymorphism in materials science is the ability of a solid material to exist in more than one form or crystal structure. Polymorphism can potentially be found in any crystalline material including polymers, minerals, and metals, and is related to allotropy, which refers to chemical elements...
)(1809); Gay-Lussac and Thenard on the discovery of the amide
Amide
In chemistry, an amide is an organic compound that contains the functional group consisting of a carbonyl group linked to a nitrogen atom . The term refers both to a class of compounds and a functional group within those compounds. The term amide also refers to deprotonated form of ammonia or an...
s of metal (1809); Candolle on heliotropism
Heliotropism
Heliotropism is the diurnal motion of plant parts in response to the direction of the sun.It is found in some members of family Malvacea e.g Malva or Lavetara...
(1817).
Equally important was the special thread, woven into the overall discourse, that held together the brilliant cross-reference among friends.
Foreign visitors
There had often been attempts to correspond between the French and the English scientists notwithstanding the state of war between their countries.At the first opportunity the English correspondents of Arcueil returned to Paris, among them John Leslie
John Leslie (physicist)
Sir John Leslie was a Scottish mathematician and physicist best remembered for his research into heat.Leslie gave the first modern account of capillary action in 1802 and froze water using an air-pump in 1810, the first artificial production of ice.In 1804, he experimented with radiant heat using...
(1814) and Charles Blagden
Charles Blagden
Sir Charles Brian Blagden FRS was a British physician and scientist. He served as a medical officer in the Army and later held the position of Secretary of the Royal Society...
(1814, 1816, 1817) who died of apoplexy (1820) during a visit to Berthollet at Arcueil. Mary Somerville
Mary Somerville
Mary Fairfax Somerville was a Scottish science writer and polymath, at a time when women's participation in science was discouraged...
who wrote a popular account of Laplace's "Mécanique Céleste" dined at Arcueil with her scientific "heroes" (1817).
Jöns Jacob Berzelius had already been invited by Berthollet to come and study at Arcueil in 1810, but it was not till 1818 that the Swedish government judged it appropriate for him to travel to France. At Arcueil Berzelius engaged in a steadfast friendship with Dulong.
In 1820 Dulong wrote to Berzelius:
- "Despite the objections of M.Laplace and some others, I am convinced that this (atomic) theory is the most important concept of the century and in the next twenty years it will bring about an incalculable extension to all parts of the physical sciences"
It was the testimony of a changing mood and when John Dalton
John Dalton
John Dalton FRS was an English chemist, meteorologist and physicist. He is best known for his pioneering work in the development of modern atomic theory, and his research into colour blindness .-Early life:John Dalton was born into a Quaker family at Eaglesfield, near Cockermouth, Cumberland,...
, who had strong differences of opinion with the Society, visited Arcueil in 1822, he received a hearty welcome. It was the last major social event for the Society of Arcueil.
Berthollet died on November 6, 1822 and with him went an inspiring power of adherence.
Post Scriptum
The Society of Arcueil however, through the younger generation, was still to illuminate such work as that of Liebig, PasteurPasteur
Pasteur could refer to* Louis Pasteur , French chemist and microbiologist who invented:**Pasteurization**The pasteur pipette, both named after him-Things and places named after Louis Pasteur:* Pasteur Institute* Pasteur point, level of oxygen...
, Fresnel, Niepce, Daguerre, Léon Foucault
Léon Foucault
Jean Bernard Léon Foucault was a French physicist best known for the invention of the Foucault pendulum, a device demonstrating the effect of the Earth's rotation...
... as well as many others in the field of scientific education.
Sources
- Maurice Crosland: "The Society of Arcueil -A view of French Science at the time of Napoleon I" Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1967
Additional reading
- F.Charles-Roux: "Bonaparte: Governor of Egypt" London: Methuen & Co, 1937
- William H. Brock: "The fontana history of Chemistry" London: Fontana Press, 1992
- Bernard Maitte: "La lumière" Paris: Editions du Seuil -Points/Sciences, 1981