Marc-Antoine Parseval facts for kids

Marc-Antoine Parseval des Chênes (born April 27, 1755 – died August 16, 1836) was a French mathematician. He is best known for something called Parseval's theorem. This important idea helped set the stage for understanding the Fourier transform.

Early Life and Challenges

Marc-Antoine Parseval was born in Rosières-aux-Salines, France. He came from a well-known French family. In 1795, he married Ursule Guerillot.

During the French Revolution, Parseval held strong political views. These views caused him some trouble. He had to leave France for a while because of his writings. He wrote poetry that was not liked by the government at the time.

His Work in Mathematics

Parseval was a very talented mathematician. He was nominated to the French Academy of Sciences five times. This was between 1796 and 1828. However, he was never chosen to be a member.

His main mathematical works were published in 1806. This collection included five important papers. These papers were about solving complex math problems. They dealt with equations that describe how things change. For example, some papers looked at how sound travels. Others explored how fluids move.

Parseval's Theorem

One of his most famous contributions is Parseval's theorem. He first mentioned this theorem in a paper from 1799. He believed it was obvious and didn't provide a full proof. Later, in 1801, he expanded on this idea. He used it to solve different types of differential equations.

This theorem is very important in many areas of science. It helps us understand signals and waves. It was first printed in a book by Sylvestre Lacroix in 1800.

See also

• Parseval's identity
• Parseval's theorem