Jean-Baptiste Biot facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jean-Baptiste Biot
|
|
|---|---|
Jean-Baptiste Biot
|
|
| Born | 21 April 1774 Paris, France
|
| Died | 3 February 1862 (aged 87) Paris, France
|
| Nationality | French |
| Alma mater | École Polytechnique |
| Known for | Biot number Biot–Savart law Circular dichroism Optical rotation |
| Awards | Pour le Mérite (1850) Rumford Medal (1840) ForMemRS (1815) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics, astronomy and mathematics |
| Academic advisors | Gaspard Monge |
| Influenced | Louis Pasteur, William Ritchie |
| Signature | |
 |
|
Jean-Baptiste Biot (21 April 1774 – 3 February 1862) was a French physicist, astronomer, and mathematician. He helped discover the Biot–Savart law of magnetism with Félix Savart. He also proved that meteorites are real rocks from space. Biot even took an early hot-air balloon flight and studied how light can be polarized.
The biot (a unit of electric current), the mineral biotite, and Cape Biot in Greenland are all named after him.
Contents
Biography
Jean-Baptiste Biot was born in Paris, France, on April 21, 1774. His father, Joseph Biot, worked for the government treasury.
Biot studied at Lyceum Louis-le-Grand and the École Polytechnique in 1794. He first worked in the artillery (a military branch). Then, in 1797, he became a professor of mathematics in Beauvais. Around 1800, he became a physics professor at the Collège de France. Three years later, he joined the French Academy of Sciences.
Hot-Air Balloon Flight
In July 1804, Biot went on a scientific hot-air balloon ride with Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac. They wanted to measure how the Earth's magnetic field changes higher up. They reached a height of 4,000 meters (about 13,100 feet). Later, in September 1804, Gay-Lussac flew alone even higher, to 7,010 meters (23,000 feet). This was very dangerous without extra oxygen.
Awards and Recognition
Biot was a member of the Legion of Honour, a special French award. He became a knight in 1814 and a commander in 1849. In 1815, he was chosen as a Foreign Member of the Royal Society of London. He also became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1816. In 1822, he was made a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In 1840, Biot received the Rumford Medal. This award from the Royal Society is for work on heat or light properties. In 1850, Jean-Baptiste Biot wrote about his memories of meeting Pierre-Simon Laplace in the late 1790s and early 1800s.
Family Life
Jean-Baptiste Biot had one son, Édouard Constant Biot, who was born in 1803. Édouard became an engineer and studied Chinese culture. When Édouard died in 1850, his father worked very hard to finish his son's last book. This book was a translation of an old Chinese classic called Tcheou-li.
To publish the book correctly, Jean-Baptiste Biot asked for help from a famous Chinese scholar, Stanislas Julien. He also visited many workshops and talked to artisans. He wanted to check his son's translation of a difficult part called the Kaogongji. Biot's translation is still the only one of this book in a Western language.
Jean-Baptiste Biot passed away in Paris on February 3, 1862.
Scientific Work
Jean-Baptiste Biot made many important discoveries in science. His most famous work was in optics (the study of light), magnetism, and astronomy.
Electromagnetism
The Biot–Savart law in magnetism is named after Biot and his friend Félix Savart. They worked together in 1820. In their experiment, they showed a link between electricity and magnetism. They used a long wire and a magnetic needle. When they sent electric current through the wire, the needle moved. This showed that electricity creates magnetism.
Meteorites
In 1803, the Académie française sent Biot to investigate something amazing. About 3,000 meteorites had fallen in L'Aigle, France. Biot studied these "stones" and found they truly came from outer space. His report helped prove that meteorites are debris from space. This supported the idea of a German physicist, Ernst Chladni, who had suggested it in 1794.
Before Biot's detailed study, most people did not believe rocks could come from space. There were stories of strange rocks found after fireballs in the sky. But these stories were often dismissed as made-up. After Biot's work, it became widely accepted that the fireballs were meteors falling through the air. Since then, studying meteorites has helped scientists learn about the chemical makeup of our solar system. It has also given clues about how the solar system formed.
Polarized Light
In 1812, Biot started studying optics, especially the polarization of light. Before the 1800s, many thought light was made of tiny particles called corpuscles. But in the early 19th century, scientists began to think light was a wave. Biot started his work on polarization to show that his results could only happen if light was made of particles.
In 1815, he showed that polarized light changes direction when it passes through certain substances. It could turn clockwise or counterclockwise. His work on how light changes color and rotates helped the field of optics a lot. Even though his findings were later explained by the wave theory of light, his discoveries were still very important.
Biot's work on polarized light led to many new inventions. For example, Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) use polarized light. These are found in TV and computer screens. Polarizing filters are also used in photography. They help remove unwanted reflections or make reflections look better.
Images for kids
-
Elementary Notions of Statics, 1829
See also
In Spanish: Jean Baptiste Biot para niños
- Abampere
- History of the metre
- Seconds pendulum
