Huang Lü (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1769–1829) was a Chinese scientist and the first woman in the country to work with

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...

and

photographic Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed in many ...

images.Lily Xiao Hong Lee, Clara Lau, A.D. Stefanowska
Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: v. 1: The Qing Period, 1644–1911
/ref> Her father, an education officer, Huang Chao, encouraged her to acquire an education, leading her to study

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

and

arithmetic Arithmetic is an elementary branch of mathematics that deals with numerical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In a wider sense, it also includes exponentiation, extraction of roots, and taking logarithms. ...

. During these years, she became acquainted with Zheng Fuguang, who studied Western optics, which had been introduced in China then. She is known for constructing a type of

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

, a

camera A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

, and a

thermometer A thermometer is a device that measures temperature (the hotness or coldness of an object) or temperature gradient (the rates of change of temperature in space). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb ...

. Chen Wenshu (1775–1845) described her as "an extremely talented woman in every aspect of art and technology" in his poem "Tianjing ge Yong Huang Yingqin".

References

1829 deaths 19th-century Chinese scientists 18th-century Chinese scientists 18th-century Chinese women 19th-century Chinese women scientists 19th-century women inventors 18th-century women inventors {{China-scientist-stub

See also

References