Antoine César Becquerel
Antoine César Becquerel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 7 March 1788 Châtillon-Coligny,Loiret,France |
| Died | 18 January 1878(aged 89) |
| Alma mater | École Polytechnique |
| Known for | DifferentialGalvanometer |
| Awards | Copley Medal |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Electricity,Electrochemistry |
| Institutions | École Polytechnique Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle |
| Notes | |
Note that he is the father ofA. E. Becquerel,and the grandfather ofHenri Becquerel. | |
Antoine César Becquerel(French pronunciation:[ɑ̃twansezaʁbɛkʁɛl];7 March 1788 – 18 January 1878) was a French scientist and a pioneer in the study of electric andluminescentphenomena.
Life[edit]
He was born at Châtillon-sur-Loing (todayChâtillon-Coligny). After passing through theÉcole polytechniquehe became engineer-officer in 1808, and saw active service with the imperial troops in Spain from 1810 to 1812, and again in France in 1814. He then resigned from the army and devoted the rest of his life to scientific investigation.[1]
In 1820, following the work ofRené Just Haüy,he found that pressure can induce electricity in every material, attributing the effect to surface interactions (this is notpiezoelectricity). In 1825 he invented a differentialgalvanometerfor the accurate measurement ofelectrical resistance.In 1829 he invented a constant-current electrochemical cell, the forerunner of theDaniell cell.In 1839, working with his sonA. E. Becquerel,he discovered thephotovoltaic effecton an electrode immersed in a conductive liquid.[citation needed]
His earliest work was mineralogical in character, but he soon turned his attention to the study ofelectricityand especially ofelectrochemistry.In 1837 he became a Fellow of theRoyal Society,and received itsCopley Medalfor his various memoirs on electricity, and particularly for those on the production of metallic sulphurets and sulphur byelectrolysis.He was the first to prepare metallic elements from theiroresby this method. It was hoped that this would lead to increased knowledge of the recomposition of crystallized bodies, and the processes which may have been employed by nature in the production of such bodies in the mineral kingdom.[1]
In biochemistry he worked at the problems of animal heat and at the phenomena accompanying the growth of plants, and he also devoted much time to meteorological questions and observations. He was a prolific writer. He died in Paris, where from 1837 he had been professor of physics at theMuseum d'Histoire Naturelle.[1]
He became a correspondent of the Royal Institute in 1836; when that became theRoyal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciencesin 1851, he became a foreign member.[2]
He was the father of the physicistA. E. Becquereland grandfather of the physicistHenri Becquerelafter whom theSI unitfor radioactivity, thebecquerel(Bq), is named.
His surname is one of the72 names inscribed on the Eiffel Tower.
Works[edit]
- Traité de l'électricité et du magnétisme,7 volumes, 1834-1840.Vol. 2,vol. 5.
- Éléments de physique terrestre et de météorologie,1841.
- Traité de physique considérée dans ses rapports avec la chimie et les sciences naturelles,2 volumes, 1842.
- Éléments d'électro-chimie appliquée aux sciences naturelles et aux arts,1843.
- Éléments d'électro-chimie appliquée aux sciences naturelles et aux arts.Paris: Firmin-Didot. 1864.
- Traité complet du magnétisme,1846.
- Traité de physique appliquée à la chimie et aux sciences naturelles,2 volumes, 1847.
- Des climats et de l'influence qu'exercent les sols boisés et non boisés.Paris: Firmin-Didot. 1853.
- Traité d'électricité et de magnétisme, leurs applications aux sciences physiques, aux arts et à l'industrie,3 volumes, 1855-1856.
- Électricité.Vol. 1. Paris: Firmin-Didot. 1855.
- Électro-chimie.Vol. 2. Paris: Firmin-Didot. 1855.
- Magnétisme et électro-magnétisme.Vol. 3. Paris: Firmin-Didot. 1856.
- Résumé de l'historie de l'électricité et du magnétisme, et des applications de ces sciences a la chimie, aux sciences naturelles et aux arts.Paris: Firmin-Didot. 1858.
- Traité d'électrochimie,1865.
- Des forces physico-chimiques et de leur intervention dans la production des phénomènes naturels.Paris: Firmin-Didot. 1875.
See also[edit]
- List of works by Eugène Guillaume
- A. E. Becquerel(his son)
- Henri Becquerel,(his grandson)
- Jean Becquerel(his great-grandson)
Notes[edit]
- ^abcChisholm 1911.
- ^"Antoine César Becquerel (1788–1878)".Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.Retrieved29 January2016.
References[edit]
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Becquerel".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 611.
- Royal Society (brief biographical details)
- Catholic Encyclopedia article
External links[edit]
Media related toAntoine César Becquerelat Wikimedia Commons
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1788 births
- 1878 deaths
- People from Loiret
- 19th-century French physicists
- French Roman Catholics
- Recipients of the Copley Medal
- École Polytechnique alumni
- Foreign Members of the Royal Society
- Members of the French Academy of Sciences
- Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Becquerel family