Charles François de Cisternay du Fay (14 September 1698 – 16 July 1739) was a French
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...
and superintendent of the
Jardin du Roi.
He discovered the existence of two types of electricity and named them "
vitreous
Vitreous may refer to:
Materials
* Glass, an amorphous solid material
** Vitreous enamel, a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing
* Vitreous lustre, a glassy luster or sheen on a mineral surface
Biology
* Vitreous body, ...
" and "
resinous
In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on natu ...
" (later known as positive and negative
charge
Charge or charged may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary
Music
* ''Charge'' (David Ford album)
* ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album)
* ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqua ...
respectively). He noted the difference between
conductors and
insulators
Insulator may refer to:
* Insulator (electricity), a substance that resists electricity
** Pin insulator, a device that isolates a wire from a physical support such as a pin on a utility pole
** Strain insulator, a device that is designed to work ...
, calling them 'electrics' and 'non-electrics' for their ability to produce
contact electrification
Contact electrification is a phrase that describes a phenomenon whereby surfaces become electrically charged, via a number of possible mechanisms, when two or more objects come within close proximity of one another. When two objects are "touched" ...
. He also discovered that alike-charged objects would repel each other and that unlike-charged objects attract. He also disproved certain misconceptions regarding electric charge, such as that of Dr.
Stephen Gray who believed that electric properties of a body depended on its colour. Du Fay's observations on electricity were reported in a paper written in December 1733 and printed in Volume 38 of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in 1734. He became a member of the
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...
in 1723.
Du Fay died of smallpox in 1739.
[The Story of Electrical and Magnetic Measurements: From 500 BC to the 1940s, Joseph F. Keithley, p. 20]
Publications
All Du Fay's publications appeared in the journal ''Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences: avec les mémoires de mathématique & de physique pour les mêmes années''
* ''Mémoire sur les baromètres lumineux''. 1723, PDF.
* ''Description d'une Pompe, qui peut servir utilement dans les Incendies''. 1725, PDF.
* ''Description d'une machine pour connaitre l'heure vraie du soleil tous les jours de l'annee''. 1725, PDF.
* ''Expériences sur la dissolubilité de plusieurs sortes de Verres''. 1727, PDF.
* ''Remarques sur les polygones réguliers inscrits et circonscrits''. 1727, PDF.
* ''Observations sur quelques expériences de l'aimant''. 1728, PDF.
* ''Mémoire sur la teinture et la dissolution de plusieurs espèces de pierres''. 1728, PDF.
* ''Mémoire sur un grand nombre de phosphores nouveaux''. 1730, PDF.
* ''Suite des Observations sur l'aimant''. 1730, PDF.
* ''Troisième Mémoire sur l'aimant''. 1731. PDF.
* ''Premier mémoire sur l'électricité, Histoire de l'électricité''. 1733, PDF.
* ''Second mémoire sur l'électricité, Quels sont les Corps qui sont susceptibles d'Electricité''. 1733, PDF.
* ''Troisième mémoire sur l'électricité, Des Corps qui sont le plus vivement attirés par les matiéres électriques…''. 1733, PDF.
* ''Quatrième mémoire sur l'électricité, De l'Attraction & Répulsion des Corps Electriques''. 1733, PDF.
* ''Cinquième mémoire sur l'électricité, Où l'on rend compte des nouvelles découvertes…'' 1734, PDF.
* ''Sixième mémoire sur l'électricité, Où l'on examine quel rapport il y a entre l'Electricité, & la faculté de rendre de la Lumiére''. 1734, PDF.
* ''Mémoire sur la roseé''. 1736, PDF.
* ''Observations sur la sensitive''. 1736, PDF.
* ''Septième mémoire sur l'électricité, Contenant quelques Additions aux Mémoires précédents''. 1737, PDF.
* ''Huitième mémoire sur l'électricité''. 1737, PDF.
* ''Versuche und Abhandlungen von der Electricität derer Cörper…'' Erfurt 1745
Online
References
External links
Two Kinds of Electrical Fluid: Vitreous and Resinous du Fay 1733
A Letter from Charles-François de Cisternay Du Fay concerning electricity.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fay, Charles Francois de Cisternay du
1698 births
1739 deaths
18th-century French chemists
Fellows of the Royal Society
Members of the French Academy of Sciences