Alfred Cornu
Marie Alfred Cornu (born March 6, 1841 in Orléans , † April 12, 1902 in Romorantin-Lanthenay ) was a French physicist .
Life
Cornu studied at the École polytechnique and at the École des Mines . In 1867 he became a professor of experimental physics at the École Polytechnique. In 1878 he was awarded the Rumford Medal of the British Royal Society , of which he became a foreign member in 1884. In 1878 he was appointed a member of the French Academy of Science and in 1895 elected its president. Also in 1895 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , in 1901 to the National Academy of Sciences . From 1888 he was a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg .
Scientific achievements
Cornu repeated and improved measurements to determine the gravitational constant and the speed of light (using the Fizeau method).
Cornu also has a certain importance in the study of the ozone layer , as he discovered in 1878 that the solar spectrum measurable on the earth's surface breaks off below 300 nm.
The Cornu spiral (also called the Klotoide ) is named after him.
Web links
- Publications by MA Cornu in the Astrophysics Data System
- Obituaries for MA Cornu in the Astrophysics Data System
- Literature by and about Alfred Cornu in the bibliographic database WorldCat
Individual evidence
- ^ Foreign members of the Russian Academy of Sciences since 1724. Marie Alfred Cornu. Russian Academy of Sciences, accessed September 23, 2015 (Russian).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cornu, Alfred |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Cornu, Marie Alfred (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French physicist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 6, 1841 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Orleans |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 12, 1902 |
| Place of death | Romorantin-Lanthenay |