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Life and Science of Léon Foucault : The Man Who Proved the Earth Rotates by William Tobin (2003, Hardcover)
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherCambridge University Press
ISBN-100521808553
ISBN-139780521808552
eBay Product ID (ePID)1894127
Product Key Features
Number of Pages352 Pages
LanguageEnglish
Publication NameLife and Science of Léon Foucault : the Man Who Proved the Earth Rotates
SubjectBiography & Autobiography / Science & Technology, Science & Nature / Physics, Physics / General, Science & Technology, Gravity
Publication Year2003
TypeTextbook
AuthorWilliam Tobin
Subject AreaJuvenile Nonfiction, Science, Biography & Autobiography
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Height1 in
Item Weight33.2 Oz
Item Length10 in
Item Width7.8 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional
LCCN2003-043577
Dewey Edition21
TitleLeadingThe
Reviews'A very long pendulum has kept Léon Foucault famous. But as William Tobin's thorough, readable and beautifully illustrated biography reveals, there was much more to this self-taught French nineteenth-century experimental physicist ... this unconventional experimenter springs back to life in the pages of this excellent book.' New Scientist, 'A distinctive feature of Tobin's biography, for which his publishers deserve our praise, are the large margins which ingeniously allow the inclusion of a large number of small black and white portraits of Foucault's contemporaries, and of many other figures, drawings, graphs and tables, often more than one per page. There are also eight pages of colour plates, a particularly liberal allocation for a scientific biography ...To sum up, with this meticulously researched and generously illustrated presentation of Foucault's life, in this reviever's opinion Tobin fully achieves the aim he sets himself in his preface, of offering his readers 'a book of popular physics that will be entertaining as well as instructive'. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 'It is not often that we are treated to a biography of a distinguished scientist written by another scientist, and a literate one at that. Astronomer William Tobin has written an absorbing description of the scientific deeds performed by Léon Foucault in the middle of the nineteenth century … the loving care which Tobin has lavished on this volume ... A unique aspect of Tobin's book is the careful descriptions it provides of the physical principles underlying the many ingenious apparatuses designed by Foucault. Particularly gratifying is Tobin's description of how the famous pendulum behaves.' Customer Review, BarnesAndNoble.com, '... writes with grace, clarity, and humor.' Isis 'The author ... must be congratulated for the production of such a splendid book. ... lucidly written and lavishly illustrated with stylish diagrams, plates, illustrations, photographs and Daguerrotypes. ... Any pedagogue should direct students towards this book for both inspiration and instruction.' Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine, 'William Tobin has written an excellent book about Foucault; I enjoyed reading it and I thoroughly recommend it. He has combined a fairly complete chronological account of Foucault's scientific work with a sufficiently detailed description of life and politics in mid-nineteenth-century France (more particularly Paris and the Acadmie des Sciences) to give the reader a very good impression of the man, his work and the milieu in which he lived.' Notes & Records of the Royal Society of London, '... makes a convincing case that Foucault and the scientific world in which he worked mattered ... handsomely-illustrated ... Judged as a work of popular physics, Tobin does an admirable job, clearly explaining in a lively style many relatively complex processes, concepts and gadgets. ... Readers will not need much prior scientific knowledge to follow the text ... Evoking a scientific world that no longer exists is a difficult task, and Tobin has succeeded well at it.' Physics World, 'A distinctive feature of Tobin's biography, for which his publishers deserve our praise, are the large margins which ingeniously allow the inclusion of a large number of small black and white portraits of Foucault's contemporaries, and of many other figures, drawings, graphs and tables, often more than one per page. There are also eight pages of colour plates, a particularly liberal allocation for a scientific biography …To sum up, with this meticulously researched and generously illustrated presentation of Foucault's life, in this reviever's opinion Tobin fully achieves the aim he sets himself in his preface, of offering his readers 'a book of popular physics that will be entertaining as well as instructive'. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 'A very long pendulum has kept Lon Foucault famous. But as William Tobin's thorough, readable and beautifully illustrated biography reveals, there was much more to this self-taught French nineteenth-century experimental physicist … this unconventional experimenter springs back to life in the pages of this excellent book.' New Scientist, 'A very long pendulum has kept Léon Foucault famous. But as William Tobin’s thorough, readable and beautifully illustrated biography reveals, there was much more to this self-taught French nineteenth-century experimental physicist ... this unconventional experimenter springs back to life in the pages of this excellent book.’New Scientist, 'A very long pendulum has kept Léon Foucault famous. But as William Tobin's thorough, readable and beautifully illustrated biography reveals, there was much more to this self-taught French nineteenth-century experimental physicist … this unconventional experimenter springs back to life in the pages of this excellent book.' New Scientist, '… makes a convincing case that Foucault and the scientific world in which he worked mattered … handsomely-illustrated … Judged as a work of popular physics, Tobin does an admirable job, clearly explaining in a lively style many relatively complex processes, concepts and gadgets. … Readers will not need much prior scientific knowledge to follow the text … Evoking a scientific world that no longer exists is a difficult task, and Tobin has succeeded well at it.' Physics World, 'William Tobin, who is currently a senior lecturer in Physics and Astronomy and was Director of the MountJohn University Observatory in New Zealand, writes in a style that is both lively and informative ... The details of many topics of interest to both astronomers and people with a general interest in physics are laid out clearly by him ... Tobin's explanations are lucid and very readable. Indeed almost every page being furnished with diagrams, technical drawings and images from Foucault's era, makes the book a veritable treasure trove of interest. I found this book to be a great read. It is the sort of book one can open almost anywhere and become instantly engrossed. If you have an interest in Physics or Astronomy you are sure to enjoy, and also to use the book as a work of reference.' Astronomy & Space Magazine, '... writes in a style that is both lively and informative ... Tobin's explanations are lucid and very readable ... makes the book a veritable treasure trove of interest ... I found this book to be a great read. It is the sort of book one can open almost anywhere and become instantly engrossed. if you have an interest in physics of astronomy you are sure to enjoy, and also to use the book as a work of reference.' Triangulum, Note added in proof. After completion of this review [of a rival book], I became aware of another very recent biography of Foucault: William Tobin, The Life and Science of Léon Foucault. Although I have not yet had time to read Tobin's book with care, it appears to be superior to Aczel's... and anyone with a serious interest in Foucault and his pendulums should consult it. American Journal of Physics, 'William Tobin has written an excellent book about Foucault; I enjoyed reading it and I thoroughly recommend it. He has combined a fairly complete chronological account of Foucault's scientific work with a sufficiently detailed description of life and politics in mid-nineteenth-century France (more particularly Paris and the Académie des Sciences) to give the reader a very good impression of the man, his work and the milieu in which he lived.' Notes & Records of the Royal Society of London, "...[a] thorough, readable and beautifully illustrated biography... [Foucault] springs back to life in the pages of this excellent book." New Scientist, 'Profusely illustrated by technical diagrams and associated players, this book convincingly redresses a historical oversight, placing foucault deservedly amongst the scientific pantheon of his time … very rewarding.' Astronomy Now, "William Tobin has written an excellent book about Foucault; I enjoyed reading it and I thoroughly recommend it." Notes & Records of the Royal Society of London, "A very long pendulum has kept Léon Foucalt famous. But as William Tobin's thorough, readable and beautifully illustrated biography reveals, there was much more to the self-taught French 19th-century experimental physicist....This unconventional experiementer springs back to life in the pages of this excellent book." New Scientist, "...Tobin does an admirable job, clearly explaining in a lively style many relatively complex processes, concepts and gadgets. ...Readers will not need much prior scientific knowledge to follow the text. ...Evoking a scientific world that no longer exists is a difficult task, and Tobin has succeeded well at it." Physics World, 'William Tobin, who is currently a senior lecturer in Physics and Astronomy and was Director of the MountJohn University Observatory in New Zealand, writes in a style that is both lively and informative … The details of many topics of interest to both astronomers and people with a general interest in physics are laid out clearly by him … Tobin's explanations are lucid and very readable. Indeed almost every page being furnished with diagrams, technical drawings and images from Foucault's era, makes the book a veritable treasure trove of interest. I found this book to be a great read. It is the sort of book one can open almost anywhere and become instantly engrossed. If you have an interest in Physics or Astronomy you are sure to enjoy, and also to use the book as a work of reference.' Astronomy & Space Magazine, 'This book goes into much detail - with plenty of illustrations and background on his personal life - about how this 19th-century French physicist proved that the Earth rotates, helped perfect techniques for making astronomical optics, and made other important scientific findings.' Sky & Telescope, 'Profusely illustrated by technical diagrams and associated players, this book convincingly redresses a historical oversight, placing foucault deservedly amongst the scientific pantheon of his time ... very rewarding.' Astronomy Now, '… writes with grace, clarity, and humor.' Isis 'The author … must be congratulated for the production of such a splendid book. … lucidly written and lavishly illustrated with stylish diagrams, plates, illustrations, photographs and Daguerrotypes. … Any pedagogue should direct students towards this book for both inspiration and instruction.' Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine, "...[a] handsomely illustrated, thoroughly reasearched biography of Foucault... Tobin, in writing this book, wanted to provide a detailed account of the origins of modern physics, especially of astrophysics; he has succeeded admirably. Highly recommended." Choice, 'It is not often that we are treated to a biography of a distinguished scientist written by another scientist, and a literate one at that. Astronomer William Tobin has written an absorbing description of the scientific deeds performed by Léon Foucault in the middle of the nineteenth century ... the loving care which Tobin has lavished on this volume ... A unique aspect of Tobin's book is the careful descriptions it provides of the physical principles underlying the many ingenious apparatuses designed by Foucault. Particularly gratifying is Tobin's description of how the famous pendulum behaves.' Customer Review, BarnesAndNoble.com, '… writes in a style that is both lively and informative … Tobin's explanations are lucid and very readable … makes the book a veritable treasure trove of interest … I found this book to be a great read. It is the sort of book one can open almost anywhere and become instantly engrossed. if you have an interest in physics of astronomy you are sure to enjoy, and also to use the book as a work of reference.' Triangulum, 'It is not often that we are treated to a biography of a distinguished scientist written by another scientist, and a literate one at that. Astronomer William Tobin has written an absorbing description of the scientific deeds performed by Lon Foucault in the middle of the nineteenth century … the loving care which Tobin has lavished on this volume ... A unique aspect of Tobin's book is the careful descriptions it provides of the physical principles underlying the many ingenious apparatuses designed by Foucault. Particularly gratifying is Tobin's description of how the famous pendulum behaves.' Customer Review, BarnesAndNoble.com, Note added in proof. After completion of this review [of a rival book], I became aware of another very recent biography of Foucault: William Tobin, The Life and Science of Léon Foucault. Although I have not yet had time to read Tobin's book with care, it appears to be superior to Aczel's… and anyone with a serious interest in Foucault and his pendulums should consult it. American Journal of Physics, Note added in proof. After completion of this review [of a rival book], I became aware of another very recent biography of Foucault: William Tobin, The Life and Science of Lon Foucault. Although I have not yet had time to read Tobin's book with care, it appears to be superior to Aczel's… and anyone with a serious interest in Foucault and his pendulums should consult it. American Journal of Physics, "Foucault's experimental apparatus is described with lots of details and illustrated with numerous drawings from the time and photographs. The reader will wonder which should be admired more: the simplicity of the principles employed or the mechanical perfection of the apparatus...Through Foucault's work we rediscover a fraction of the history of physics. A number of appendices and an adundant bibliography complete the work. But let me give a friendly little warning...you will find it very difficult to put down until you have read it all, so much is it an engrossing read!" Triangulum
IllustratedYes
Dewey Decimal530/.092 B
Table Of ContentForeword; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; 2. Early years; 3. The metallic eye: photography; 4. The 'delicious pastime' applied to science; 5. The beautiful science of optics; 6. Order, precision and clarity: reporter for the Journal des Débats; 7. Mixed luck; 8. The speed of light I: disproof of the corpuscular theory; 9. The rotation of the earth: pendulum and gyroscope; 10. Biding time; 11. The observatory physicist; 12. Perfecting the telescope; 13. The speed of light II: the size of the solar system; 14. Recognition; 15. Control: the quest for fortune; 16. Unfinished projects; 17. Commentary; Colour plates; Appendices: A. Maps and chronology; B. Extracts from the Journal des Débats; C. Photographs and instruments; D. Building a Foucault pendulum; Notes and references; Index.
SynopsisLeon Foucault's name is synonymous with his famous pendulum experiment, which proved to all that the Earth rotated. This illustrated biography traces the life and achievements of one of the last great amateur scientists. His contributions to science went well beyond his pendulum--the gyroscope; laboratory measurements of the speed of light; and the invention of methods to make perfect optical surfaces., Léon Foucault's name is synonymous with his famous pendulum experiment, which proved to all that the Earth rotated. This illustrated biography traces the life and achievements of one of the last great amateur scientists. His contributions to science went well beyond his pendulum--the gyroscope; laboratory measurements of the speed of light; and the invention of methods to make perfect optical surfaces., Léon Foucault's name is synonymous with his famous pendulum experiment, which proved for the first time that the Earth rotated. However, his contributions to science went well beyond his pendulum - the gyroscope; laboratory measurements of the speed of light; the invention of methods to make perfect optical surfaces which have led to today's enormous reflecting telescopes. He also worked as an early photographer and a newspaper journalist; with electricity; and attempted to devise (unsuccessfully) a universal mechanical governor. This blend of the pure and the applied in Foucault's work makes him a fascinating case study of one of the last amateur scientists. This abundantly-illustrated biography will prove to be a fascinating read for anyone interested in Foucault as a pioneer of science. Some knowledge of elementary scientific terms is required, but no detailed knowledge of physics is assumed., Abundantly-illustrated biography of Lèon Foucault, pioneer of science, inventor of pendulum that bears his name., Léon Foucault's name is synonymous with his famous pendulum experiment, which proved for the first time that the Earth rotated, but he was also a pioneer in other areas of science. This abundantly-illustrated biography will prove to be a fascinating read for anyone interested in Foucault.
LC Classification NumberQC16.F626 T63 2003
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