Thomas Pigot facts for kids

Thomas Pigot was an English scholar and church leader who lived from 1657 to 1686. He was also a member of the important Royal Society. Pigot is famous for his studies on acoustics, which is the science of sound. He also helped with a project to create a universal language.

Early Life and Education

Thomas Pigot was born in a place called Brindle, Lancashire, in England.

He went to Wadham College, Oxford, for his studies. He earned his first degree, a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), in 1676. The next year, in 1677, he became a Fellow at the college. He then earned his Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in 1678.

In 1681, he became a church leader in a town called Yarnton. He also worked as a chaplain for James Butler, Earl of Ossory. Thomas Pigot passed away in the Earl of Ossory's home in 1686.

His Work and Discoveries

Thomas Pigot was involved in several interesting projects during his life.

Studying Sound (Acoustics)

Even when he was still a student, Pigot did important research on acoustics, the study of sound. He looked at how a vibrating string moves. He found out that strings can have "stationary nodes." These are points on the string that do not move, even when the rest of the string is vibrating.

These discoveries were made around 1674. Another scholar, William Noble, might have worked with him. A famous mathematician named John Wallis helped write down their findings. These results were published in 1677.

Pigot's work helped people understand sympathetic resonance. This is when one vibrating object causes another nearby object to vibrate. It also helped explain the harmonic series, which are the natural musical notes produced by a vibrating string.

The Universal Language Project

In 1679, Thomas Pigot became a member of the Royal Society. This was a very important group of scientists and thinkers. He joined discussions about creating a universal language. This was a language that everyone in the world could understand.

The idea for this language came from John Wilkins, who had written a book about it. After Wilkins passed away, other members of the Royal Society continued the project. They debated if Wilkins's plan for a structured language could really work.

Pigot was one of the people who doubted if the universal language would ever be finished. However, he still helped test it. For example, he helped translate a design for a watch mechanism from Hooke's special "real character" version.

Reporting an Earthquake

In 1683, Thomas Pigot reported on an earthquake that happened in Oxford. His report was published in a scientific journal called the Philosophical Transactions.