Pendulum Léon Foucault and the triumph of science

In 1851, struggling, self-taught physicist Lǒn Foucault performed a dramatic demonstration inside the Panthǒn in Paris. By tracking a pendulum's path as it swung repeatedly across the interior of the large ceremonial hall, Foucault offered the first definitive proof -- before an audience that...

Full description

Main Author: Aczel, Amir D.
Format: Books Print Book
Language: English
Published: New York : Washington Square Press, 2004, c2003.
Edition: 1st Washington Square Press trade pbk. ed.
Subjects:
Table of Contents:
  • A stunning discovery in the cellar
  • Ancient logic: Bible and inquisition
  • Failed experiments with falling bodies
  • A science "irregular" in the age of the engineer
  • The meridian of Paris
  • "Come see the earth turn"
  • Mathematical Bedlam
  • A new Bonaparte
  • The force of Coriolis
  • The Panthéon
  • The Gyroscope
  • The Coup d'État and the second empire
  • An unemployed genius
  • The observatory physicist
  • Final glory
  • A premature end
  • The defeat at Sedan
  • Aftermath.