Charles Cagniard de la Tour facts for kids
Charles Cagniard de la Tour (born March 31, 1777 – died July 5, 1859) was a French scientist. He was an engineer and a physicist. Charles was born in Paris, France. He went to a special school called the École Polytechnique. He studied how voices work. He also invented a machine that blows air and an improved siren. He even researched yeast!
In 1818, he was given the title of Baron. He passed away in Paris. Sadly, there are no known pictures of Baron Cagniard de la Tour.
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Discovering the Critical Point
In 1822, Charles Cagniard de la Tour made an amazing discovery. He found something called the critical point for different substances.
He did an experiment using a sealed gun barrel. He put different liquids inside the barrel. Then, he heated the barrel to various temperatures. He would rotate the barrel and listen for a splashing sound. This sound meant the liquid was still separate from its gas.
He noticed that above a certain temperature, the splashing sound stopped. This meant the liquid and gas were no longer separate. They had become one single substance, called a supercritical fluid. At this special temperature, the liquid and gas become equally dense. It's like they blend together!
After this, he carefully measured the critical point for many substances. These included water, alcohol, ether, and carbon bisulphide. For water, he found the critical temperature to be about 362 degrees Celsius. Today, we know the exact number is 373.946 degrees Celsius.
Amazing Inventions
Charles Cagniard de la Tour created many useful inventions.
The Cagniardelle
He invented a blowing machine called the cagniardelle. This machine uses a special screw, like an Archimedean screw. It sits partly in a tank of water. When the screw turns, it pushes air out. This machine was very good at moving air.
The Siren
Around 1819, he invented an improved siren. This device was even named after him! He used his siren to figure out how many vibrations make a sound of a certain pitch. This helped scientists understand sound better.
Studying Yeast
Charles Cagniard de la Tour also studied yeast. He looked at how yeast works. He also researched how very cold temperatures affected its life.
See also
In Spanish: Charles Cagniard de la Tour para niños
