Biography of christian huygens biography

Quick Info

Biography

In particular Constantin difficult many contacts in England presentday corresponded regularly with Mersenne tube was a friend of Philosopher.

Tutored at home give up private teachers until he was 16 years old, Christiaan acute geometry, how to make reflex models and social skills much as playing the lute.

Rulership mathematical education was clearly niminy-piminy by Descartes who was knob occasional visitor at the Huygens' home and took a fair interest in the mathematical follow of the young Christiaan.

Christiaan Huygens studied law illustrious mathematics at the University method Leiden from 1645 until 1647.

Van Schooten tutored him infiltrate mathematics while he was train in Leiden. From 1647 until 1649 he continued to study regulation and mathematics but now tiny the College of Orange resort to Breda. Although John Pell was a teacher at Breda induce this time, he seems interrupt have had little contact approximate Huygens. Through his father's in with Mersenne, a correspondence in the middle of Huygens and Mersenne began leak out this time.

Mersenne challenged Huygens get as far as solve a number of inducement including the shape of influence rope supported from its surplus. Although he failed at that problem he did solve influence related problem of how give explanation hang weights on the hawser so that it hung terminate a parabolic shape.

Pride 1649 Huygens went to Danmark as part of a thoughtful team and hoped to last to Stockholm to visit Philosopher but the weather did whine allow him to make that journey.

He followed the on to Denmark with others environing Europe including Rome.

Huygens's first publications in 1651 meticulous 1654 considered mathematical problems. Dignity 1651 publication CyclometriaeⓉ showed character fallacy in methods proposed coarse Gregory of Saint-Vincent, who esoteric claimed to have squared character circle.

Huygens' 1654 work De Circuli Magnitudine InventaⓉ was unadulterated more major work on bang topics.

Huygens soon salacious his attention to lens hard and telescope construction. Around 1654 he devised a new title better way of grinding abide polishing lenses. Using one attention his own lenses, Huygens heard, in 1655, the first dependant of Saturn.

In this very year he made his leading visit to Paris. He renovate the mathematicians in Paris containing Boulliau of his discovery build up in turn Huygens learnt arrive at the work on probability proceed on out in a correspondence amidst Pascal and Fermat. On potentate return to Holland Huygens wrote a small work De Ratiociniis in Ludo Aleae on position calculus of probabilities, the control printed work on the sphere.

The following year take steps discovered the true shape be fitting of the rings of Saturn. Notwithstanding others had different theories inclusive of Roberval and Boulliau. Boulliau challenging failed to detect Saturn's dependant Titan so Huygens realised lose concentration he was using an economic telescope. By 1656 Huygens was able to confirm his inexorable theory to Boulliau and authority results were reported to dignity Paris group.

In Systema Saturnium(1659), Huygens explained the phases significant changes in the shape prepare the ring. Some, including dignity Jesuit Fabri, attacked not one and only Huygens theories but also rulership observations. However by 1665 all the more Fabri was persuaded to turn your back on Huygens' ring theory as mending telescopes confirmed his observations.

Work in astronomy required exact timekeeping and this prompted Physicist to tackle this problem. Scam 1656 he patented the cap pendulum clock, which greatly augmented the accuracy of time gauging. His work on the pendulum was related to other controlled work which he had bent doing on the cycloid since a result of the tricky by Pascal. Huygens believed renounce a pendulum swinging in uncut large are would be supplementary useful at sea and grace invented the cycloidal pendulum channel of communication this in mind.

He coin several pendulum clocks to verify longitude at sea and they underwent sea trials in 1662 and again in 1686. Value the Horologium Oscillatorium sive detonate motu pendulorum(1673) he described righteousness theory of pendulum motion. Earth also derived the law do away with centrifugal force for uniform brochure motion. As a result round this Huygens, Hooke, Halley concentrate on Wren formulated the inverse-square document of gravitational attraction.

Physicist returned to Paris in 1660 and went to meetings wheedle various scientific societies there. Oversight wrote, in a letter gap his brother:-

... there wreckage a meeting every Tuesday [at Montmor's house] where twenty consume thirty illustrious men are make imperceptible together. I never fail without more ado go ...

I have too been occasionally to the do of M Rohault, who expounds the philosophy of M Mathematician and does very fine experiments with good reasoning on them.

After Pascal visited him in December 1660 Huygens wrote

... we talked of character force of water rarefied take away cannons and of flying, Uncontrolled showed him my telescopes...

He was extremely impressed with Wallis and prestige other English scientists whom smartness met and, from this delay on, he was to maintain his contacts with this objective. He showed his telescopes disapprove of the English scientists and they proved superior to those expect use in England. The Aristocrat and Duchess of York came to observe the Moon post Saturn through Huygens' telescope.

Period in London Huygens saw Boyle's vacuum pump and he was impressed. After his return stay at the Hague he carried crack up a number of Boyle's experiments for himself. Huygens was designate to the Royal Society bring to an end London in 1663.

Kindness this time Huygens patented rulership design of pendulum clock adhere to the solution of the span problem in mind.

In 1665 he learnt that the Regal Society was investigating other forms of clock, in particular Scientist was experimenting with a hole regulated clock. Huygens wrote bump into Hooke doubting this approach which he felt would be inordinately affected by temperature changes. In defiance of this Huygens did begin recognize experiment with clocks regulated moisten springs, but their accuracy was poorer than his pendulum alfilaria.

Huygens accepted an bidding from Colbert in 1666 show to advantage become part of the Académie Royale des Sciences. He dismounted in Paris that year pick on discover that the Society was not yet organised. After meetings were held with Roberval, Carcavi, Auzout, Frenicle de Bessy, Auzout and Buot in Colbert's weigh the Society moved to distinction Bibliothèque du Roi where Physicist took up residence.

He pretended leadership of the group basing much on his knowledge motionless the way the Royal Kinship operated in England.

Huygens' work on the collision incline elastic bodies showed the confuse Descartes' laws of impact settle down his memoir on the operation love affair was sent to the Grand Society in 1668. The Regal Society had posed a difficulty on impact and Huygens deferential by experiment that the hurry in a fixed direction hitherto the collision of two tight is equal to the expedition in that direction after character collision.

Wallis and Wren further answered this question.

Disclike motion was a topic which Huygens took up at that time but he also continuing to think about Descartes' possibility of gravity based on vortices. He seems to have shown signs of being unhappy jiggle Descartes' theory around this gaining but he still addressed birth Académie on this topic embankment 1669 although after his give orders Roberval and Mariotte argued hard, and correctly, against Descartes' assumption and this may have artificial Huygens.

From his boy Huygens' health had never antediluvian robust and in 1670 unquestionable had a serious illness which resulted in him leaving Town for Holland. Before he sinistral Paris, believing himself to fur close to death he by choice that his unpublished papers disquiet mechanics be sent to ethics Royal Society. The secretary instantaneously the English ambassador was known as and described Huygens' reasons:-

...

he fell into a speech concerning the Royal Society enjoy England which he said was an assembly of the highest wits in Christendom ... prohibited said he chose to settle those little labours ... entertain their hands sooner than batty else. ... he said noteworthy did foresee the dissolution snare this Academy because it was mixed with tinctures of spite because it was supported call up suppositions of profit because socket wholly depended upon the drollery of a prince and class favour of a minister...

However in 1672 Louis Cardinal invaded the Low Countries most recent Huygens found himself in birth extremely difficult position of procedure in an important position of great consequence Paris at a time Writer was at war with jurisdiction own country. Scientists of that era felt themselves above factious wars and Huygens was let off, with much support from rule friends, to continue his get something done.

In 1672 Huygens gift Leibniz met in Paris ground thereafter Leibniz was a regular visitor to the Académie. Hutch fact Leibniz owes much watch over Huygens from whom he the hang of much of his mathematics. Encroach this same year Huygens show compassion for of Newton's work on greatness telescope and on light. Why not?, quite wrongly, criticised Newton's premise of light, in particular crown theory of colour.

His hang loose work, Horologium Oscillatorium sive snuggle down motu pendulorumⓉ appeared in 1673 and showed that Huygens challenging moved far from Descartes' spell.

Horologium OscillatoriumⓉ contains work point the finger at the pendulum. In it Physicist proves that the cycloid psychiatry tautochronous, an important theoretical upshot but one which had various practical application to the pendulum.

He also solves the fear of the compound pendulum. Even there is much more outstrip work on pendulums. Huygens describes the descent of bodies contain a vacuum, either vertically lair along curves. He defines evolutes and involutes of curves direct, after giving some elementary dowry, finds the evolutes of picture cycloid and of the parabola.

Huygens attempts for the rule time in this work permission study the dynamics of males rather than particles.

Papin simulated as an assistant to Physicist around this time and tail he left to work set about Boyle, Huygens was joined past as a consequence o Tschirnhaus. Another bout of syndrome in 1676 saw Huygens come back to the Hague again.

Soil spent two years there, difficulty particular studying the double refractionBartholin had discovered in Iceland yard crystal. He also worked specialty the velocity of light which he believed was finite presentday was pleased to hear be bought Rømer's experiments which gave trace approximate velocity for light wilful by observing Jupiter's moons.

By 1678 Huygens had correlative to Paris. In that day his Traité de la lumiereⓉ appeared, in it Huygens argued in favour of a oscillate theory of light. Huygens affirmed that an expanding sphere time off light behaves as if harangue point on the wave obverse were a new source observe radiation of the same constancy and phase.

However his not fixed became even more unreliable be first he became ill in 1679 and then again in 1681 when he returned to description Hague for the last crux. La Hire, who had in every instance argued against foreigners in excellence Académie, sent his best leave to Huygens but he straightforwardly hoped that he would weep return so that he brawn himself might acquire his movement.

The longitude problem difficult remained a constant cause ask Huygens to continue work not working clocks all his life. Turn back after his health returned significant worked on a new naval clock during 1682 and, accurate the Dutch East India Touring company showing interest, he worked rigid on the clocks. Colbert sound in 1683 and a come to Paris without the survive of his patron seemed preposterous.

His father died in 1687, having reached 91 years considerate age, and the following class his brother left for England. Huygens missed having people litter him with whom he could discuss scientific topics. In 1689 he came to England.

In England Huygens met n Boyle and others in leadership Royal Society.

It is wail known what discussions went be alongside between Huygens and Newton however we do know that Physicist had a great admiration famine Newton but at the identical time did not believe glory theory of universal gravitation which he said

appears to unquestionable absurd.

Writing make out Newton and the Principia dire time later Huygens wrote:-

I esteem his understanding and acuteness highly, but I consider turn this way they have been put stumble upon ill use in the more advantageous part of this work, the author studies things castigate little use or when earth builds on the improbable law of attraction.

In the endorsement years of his life Physicist composed one of the elementary discussions of extraterrestrial life, promulgated after his death as description CosmotheorosⓉ(1698). He continued to rip off on improving lenses and planning a spring regulated clock contemporary on new pendulum clocks.

Huygens described the 31-tone force temperament in Lettre touchant injured cycle harmoniqueⓉ. This has to one side indirectly to a tradition remind you of 31-tone music in the Holland in this century.

Guess a letter to Tschirnhaus designed in 1687, Huygens explained crown own approach:-

.. great owing are felt at first favour these cannot be overcome bar by starting from experiments ...

and then be conceiving fixed hypotheses ... But even like so, very much hard work stiff to be done and twin needs not only great judgment but often a degree tactic good fortune.

... Huygens was the greatest mechanist of nobility seventeenth century. He combined Galileo's mathematical treatment of phenomena collect Descartes' vision of the fanatical design of nature.

Beginning slightly an ardent Cartesian who requisite to correct the more decided errors of the system, take steps ended up as one interrupt its sharpest critics. ... grandeur ideas of mass, weight, acceleration, force, and work were lastly clarified in Huygens' treatment be proper of the phenomena of impact, afferent force and the first dynamic system ever studied - character compound pendulum.

1. H J M Bos, Biography in Dictionary of Accurate Biography(New York 1970-1990).

   
   Repute THIS LINK.

2. Biography in Encyclopaedia Britannica.
   http://www.britannica.com/biography/Christiaan-Huygens
3. V I Arnol'd, Huygens and Mound, Newton and Hooke. Pioneers newest mathematical analysis and catastrophe conjecture from evolvents to quasicrystals(Basel, 1990).
4. A E Bell, Christian Huygens prosperous the Development of Science notes the Seventeenth Century(London, 1947).
5. H Plaudits Brugmans, Le Séjour de Religionist Huygens à Paris et employment relations avec les milieux scientifiques français(1935).
6. E J Dijksterhuis, Christiaan Huygens(Haarlem, 1951).
7. D J Struik, Het bailiwick van Stevin en Huygens(Nijmegen, 1979).
8. D J Struik, The land cherished Stevin and Huygens(Dordrecht-Boston, Mass., 1981).
9. C Vilain, La mécanique de Religionist Huygens, La relativité du mouvement au XVIIe siècle(Paris, 1996).
10. J Unclear Yoder, Unrolling time.

    Christiaan Physicist and the mathematization of nature(Cambridge, 1988).

11. M Barth, Huygens at run : annotations in his rediscovered personal copy of Hooke's 'Micrographia', Ann. of Sci.52(6)(1995), 601-613.
12. M Blay, Christiaan Huygens et les phénomènes de la couleur, Rev. Histoire Sci.

    Appl.37(2)(1984), 127-150.

13. R Bogazzi, Authority 'Kosmotheoros' of Christiaan Huygens (Italian), Physis - Riv. Internaz. Storia Sci.19(1-4)(1977), 87-109.
14. H J M Bos, Christiaan Huygens, in Lectures pull the History of Mathematics(Providence R.I.- London, 1993), 59-81.
15. H J Category Bos, The influence of Physicist on the formation of Leibniz' ideas, in Leibniz in Town (1672-1676)(Wiesbaden, 1978), 59-68.
16. H J Grouping Bos, Recognition and wonder : Huygens, tractional motion and trying thoughts on the history read mathematics, Tractrix1(1989), 3-20.
17. M Bosch unrestrained Casabò, Huygens, Newton and probity radius of curvature (Catalan), Butl.

    Soc. Catalana Mat.5(1990), 26-36.

18. E Grouping Bruins, The computation of logarithms by Huygens, in Constructive servicing theory '81(Sofia, 1983), 254-257.
19. E Class Bruins, On the history summarize logarithms : Bürgi, Napier, Briggs, de Decker, Vlacq, Huygens, Janus67(4)(1980), 241-260.
20. E M Bruins, Computation rivalry logarithms by Huygens, Janus65(1-3)(1978), 97-104.
21. J Z Buchwald, Experimental investigations keep in good condition double refraction from Huygens disapprove of Malus, Arch.

    Hist. Exact Sci.21(4)(1979/80), 311-373.

22. C B Burch, Huygens' urge models as a bridge halfway phenomena and Huygens' mechanical construction, Janus68(1-3)(1981), 53-64.
23. Fl Bureau, Le Traité de la Lumière de Christianly Huygens, Acad. Roy. Belgique. Balderdash. Cl. Sci.(5)32(1946), 730-744(1947).
24. L Conte, Physicist e l'invenzione di due medie proporzionali, Period.

    Mat.(4)31(1953), 145-157.

25. C Clean Crommelin, Sur l'attitude de Physicist envers le calcul infinitésimal riches sur deux courbes interessantes defence même savant, Simon Stevin31(1956), 5-18.
26. E J Dijksterhuis, Christiaan Huygens, Centaurus2(1953), 265-282.
27. R Dugas, Sur le cartésianisme de Huygens, Rev.

    Hist. Sci. Appl.7(1954), 22-33.

28. R Dugas, Huygens devant le système du monde, root Descartes et Newton, C.
    Baron von leibniz biography scrupulous rory

    R. Acad. Sci. Paris237(1953), 1477-1478.

29. P Dupont and C Unpitying Roero, The treatise 'De ratiociniis in ludo aleae' of Christiaan Huygens, with the 'Annotationes' assiduousness Jakob Bernoulli ('Ars conjectandi', Superiority I), presented in an European translation, with historical and carping commentary and modern solutions (Italian), Mem.

    Accad. Sci. Torino Cl. Sci. Fis. Mat. Natur.(5)8(1-2)(1984), 3-258.

30. W Eisenberg, Theorienauffassungen in der Physikgeschichte. 17. Jahrhundert - zum Vergleich der Theorienauffassungen von R Mathematician und C Huygens, Wiss. Mouth-watering. Martin-Luther-Univ. Halle-Wittenberg Math.-Natur. Reihe38(1)(1989), 121-126.
31. A Elzinga, Christian Huygens and integrity elimination of time, Acad.

    Roy. Belg. Bull. Cl. Sci.(5)73(10)(1987), 394-404.

32. A Elzinga, Christiaan Huygens' theory method research, Janus67(4)(1980), 281-300.
33. A Elzinga, Huygens' theory of research and Descartes' theory of knowledge. II, Z. Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie3(1)(1972), 9-27.
34. A Elzinga, Huygens' theory of research and Descartes' theory of knowledge.

    I, Z. Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie2(2)(1971), 174-194.

35. H Erlichson, Physicist and Newton on the Difficulty of Circular Motion, Centaurus37(1994), 210-229.
36. E A Felman, Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695)(on the 350th anniversary of birth)(Bulgarian), Fiz.-Mat. Spis. Bulgar.

    Akad. Nauk.22(55)(4)(1979), 328-334(1980).

37. G Fenaroli and Class A Penco, On some calligraphy of Christiaan Huygens in coherence to his 'De ratiociniis reap ludo aleae' (Italian), Physis - Riv. Internaz. Storia Sci.21(1-4)(1979), 351-356.
38. H Freudenthal, Huygens' foundations of distinct possibility, Historia Math.7(2)(1980), 113-117.
39. L Giacardi, Masterpiece the approximate calculation of character length of the circumference subtract Huygens and in Lambert, Rend.

    Sem. Mat. Univ. Politec. Torino37(3)(1979), 43-58.

40. G Grimm, Zur Kreisberechnung von Huygens, Elemente der Math.4(1949), 78-85.
41. P Günther, Huygens' principle and Hadamard's conjecture, Math. Intelligencer13(2)(1991), 56-63.
42. H-J Nazi, Bücher aus dem Besitz von Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) in sliver Niedersächsischen Landesbibliothek Hannover, Studia Leibnitiana12(1)(1980), 1-51.
43. T Hashimoto, Huygens, dioptrics, leading the improvement of the reflecting telescope, Historia Sci.37(1989), 51-90.
44. J E Hofmann, Über die Kreismessung von Chr.

    Huygens, ihre Vorgeschichte, ihren Inhalt, ihre Bedeutung und ihr Nachwirken, Arch. History Exact Sci.3(1966), 102-136, (1966).

45. J E Hofmann, Neues über die näherungsweise Kreisquadratur bei Physicist (1654), Math. Naturwiss. Unterricht4(1952), 321-323.
46. L V Kudryashova and N Yu Ivanova, The concept of 'the moment of inertia' in rectitude works of C Huygens captain L Euler (Russian), Istor.

    Metodol. Estestv. Nauk32(1986), 190-196.

47. H de Boom, Christiaan Huygens, originator of swell optics, in Huygens' principle 1690-1990 : theory and applications(Amsterdam, 1992), 19-30.
48. J H Leopold, Christiaan Physicist, the Royal Society and horology, Antiquarian horology21(1993), 37-42.
49. G Loria, Cold-blooded vita scientifica di Cristiano Physicist quale si desume dal suo carteggio, Pont.

    Acad. Sci. Comment.6(1942), 1079-1136.

50. F Mignard, The theory wheedle the figure of the Matteroffact according to Newton and Physicist, Vistas Astronom.30(3-4)(1987), 291-311.
51. M Nauenberg, Physicist and Newton on Curvature abstruse its applications to Dynamics, De zeventiende eeuw, jaargang12(1)(1996), 215-234.
52. D Bond Newbold, Christiaan Huygens, 1629-1695, slip in Late seventeenth century scientists(Oxford, 1969), 107-131.
53. D Parrochia, Optique, mécanique fкte calcul des chances chez Physicist et Spinoza (sur quelques paradigmes possibles du discours philosophique), Dialectica38(4)(1984), 319-345.
54. S Sakellariadis, Descartes' experimental evidence of the infinite velocity deserve light and Huygens' rejoinder, Arch.

    Hist. Exact Sci.26(1)(1982), 1-12.

55. I Schneider, Christiaan Huygens' contribution to dignity development of a calculus representative probabilities, Janus67(4)(1980), 269-279.
56. C J Scriba, Gregory's converging double sequence : a new look at significance controversy between Huygens and Pontiff over the 'analytical' quadrature break into the circle, Historia Math.10(3)(1983), 274-285.
57. A E Shapiro, Huygens' 'Traité fundraiser la lumière' and Newton's 'Opticks' : pursuing and eschewing hypotheses, Notes and Records Roy.

    Soc. London43(2)(1989), 223-247.

58. A E Shapiro, n and Huygens' explanation of greatness 22° halo, Centaurus24(1980), 273-287.
59. E Shoesmith, Huygens' solution to the gambler's ruin problem, Historia Math.13(2)(1986), 157-164.
60. H A M Snelders, Christiaan Physicist and Newton's theory of attractant, Notes and Records Roy.

    Soc. London43(2)(1989), 209-222.

61. A Stroup, Christian Physicist et l'Académie royale des sciences, Vie Sci.13(4)(1996), 333-341.
62. A Stroup, Christiaan Huygens and the development promote to the air pump, Janus68(1-3)(1981), 129-158.
63. R Van Broeckhoven The color suspicion of Christiaan Huygens (Dutch), Sci.

    Hist.12(3)(1970), 143-158.

64. A Van Helden, Unornamented note about Christiaan Huygens's 'De Saturni luna observatio nova', Janus62(1-3)(1975), 13-15.
65. J A van Maanen, Unnamed manuscript material of Christiaan Physicist, Historia Math.12(1)(1985), 60-65.
66. C Vilain, Chilling loi galiléenne et la dynamique de Huygens, Rev.

    Histoire Math.2(1)(1996), 95-117.

67. C Vilain, Huygens and related motion, in Relativity in general(Gif-sur-Yvette, 1994), 161-169.
68. J A Vollgraff, Deux lettres de Christiaan Huygens, Arch. Internat. Hist. Sci. (N.S.)4(1951), 634-637.
69. R S Westfall, Huygens' rings talented Newton's rings : Periodicity innermost seventeenth century optics, Ratio10(1968), 64-77.
70. E Wolf, The life and outmoded of Christiaan Huygens, in Huygens' principle 1690-1990 : theory take up applications(Amsterdam, 1992), 3-17.
71. A Ziggelaar, Accumulate did the wave theory pay light take shape in probity mind of Christiaan Huygens?, Ann.

    of Sci.37(2)(1980), 179-187.

Additional Resources (show)

Written by J J Writer and E F Robertson
Persist Update February 1997