Leon Foucault and the Triumph of Science . . seductively captivating and profoundly elucidatory.” — Simon Winchester, author of Krakatoa
u.s. ' ' jO Can.
n 1851, struggling, self-taught physicist Leon Foucault performed a dramatic demonstration inside the P an th eo n 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 comprised the cream of Parisian society, including the future emperor, Napoleon III— that the earth revolves on its axis.
I
T h ro u g h careful, prim ary research , w orldrenowned author Amir Aczel has revealed the life of a gifted physicist who had alm ost no formal education in science, and yet managed to succeed despite the adversity he suffered at the hands of his peers. T he range and breadth of Foucault’s discoveries is astonishing: He gave us the modem electric compass, devised an electric microscope, invented photographic technology, and made remarkable deductions about color theory, heat waves, and the speed of light. Yet until now so little has been known about his life. Richly detailed and evocative, Pendulum tells of th e illustrio u s period in France during th e Second Empire; of Foucault’s relationship with N apoleon III, a colorful character in his own rig h t; a n d — m ost n o ta b ly — of th e c ru c ia l triumph of science over religion. Dr. Aczel has crafted a fascinating narrative based on the life of this most astonishing and largely unrecognized scientist, whose findings answered many age-old scie Ac questions and posed new ones that are s; • ^ mt today.
PENDULUM
also
by
A
mir
D. A
czel
Entanglement: The Greatest Mystery in Physics The Riddle o f the Compass The Mystery o f the Aleph God's Equation Fermat's hast Theorem
Leon Foucault (1819—1868) Self-portrait, one o f the earliest daguerreotypes, 1840s. (CNAM, Paris)
PENDULUM Leon Foucault and the Triumph o f Science
A M I R D. ACZEL
A T R IA B O O K S NEW YORK LONDON TORONTO SYDNEY SINGAPORE
ATRI A B O O K S 1230 Avenue o f the Americas N ew York, N Y 10020 Copyright © 2003 by Amir D. Aczel Illustrations on pages 15,103,133,137, 242,244 by Michael Esposito Map on page 2 by Jeffrey L. Ward All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Atria Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, N ew York, N Y 10020 ISBN: 0-7434-6478-8 First Atria Books hardcover edition August 2003 10
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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For Miriam, who found the first Arago in Paris
C O N TEN TS +
Preface
1
1 A Stunning Discovery in the Cellar
5
2 Ancient Logic: Bible and Inquisition
9
3 Failed Experiments with Falling Bodies
27
4 A Science “Irregular” in the Age of the Engineer
45
5 The Meridian of Paris
65
6 “Come See the Earth Turn”
91
7 Mathematical Bedlam
99
8 A New Bonaparte
111
9 The Force of Coriolis
129
CONTENTS
10 The Pantheon
139
11 The Gyroscope
165
12 The Coup d’fitat and the Second Empire
173
13 An Unemployed Genius
185
14 The Observatory Physicist