François Villette (1621- 1698) was an engineer,

optician An optician, or ''dispensing optician'', is a technical practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses lenses for the correction of a person's vision. Opticians determine the specifications of various ophthalmic appliances that will give the nec ...

and

fireworks Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...

expert at the court of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

of France. An early demonstrator of the potential of

solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...

technology, he designed a tin-plated bronze mirror, almost one meter in diameter, which he used to reflect the sun’s rays onto objects which melted from the high temperatures produced. It was demonstrated with great effect at the court of

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. It could melt pot-iron in 50 seconds, and vitrify quarry-stone in 45 seconds.

References

* ''Description du grand miroir ardent, fait par les sieurs Villette père et fils natifs de Lion avec quelques remarques sur les efets surprenans et admirables quIil produit''. A Liege, Chez Guillaume Barnabe Imprimeur de son Altesse Serenissime Electorale, 1715, 16 pp. Digitized by Google from a book at the Austrian National Library (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek). * A Description of the Great Burning-Glass Made by Mr. Villette and his Two Sons, Born at Lyons. With some Remarks upon the surprising and wonderful Effects thereof (London, 1718). *John Harris and John Theophilis Desaguliers, ‘ An Account of Some Experiments Tried with Mons. Villette's Burning Concave, in June 1718’, PT 30 (1719), p. 976-977. 1621 births 1698 deaths People associated with solar power 17th-century French inventors 17th-century French engineers {{France-engineer-stub

References

Further reading