Joachim d'Alencé or Joachim Dalence (c. 1640 – 1707) was a French scientist known only from books on meteorological instruments. He was among the first to consider the use of two standards for graduating a thermometer scale. He is known largely for his two books ''Traitte de l'aiman'' (1687) on magnetism and ''Traittez des barometres, thermometres, et notiometres, au hygrometres'' (1688) on barometers, thermometers and hygrometers.
D'Alencé's father, Martin, was a surgeon who influenced the creation of a position as a royal advisor in 1663. Joachim made a trip to England in 1668 where he obtained a telescope and became a friend of
Henry Oldenburg
Henry Oldenburg (also Henry Oldenbourg) FRS (c. 1618 as Heinrich Oldenburg – 5 September 1677), was a German theologian, diplomat, and natural philosopher, known as one of the creators of modern scientific peer review. He was one of the fo ...
. He later corresponded with
Huygens and
Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of ma ...
. He is best remembered for his book describing thermometers and the system of graduating thermometers with two reference points - the freezing point of water and the melting point of butter. He suggested the use of a 3:1 mixture of water and nitric acid held in a bulb for the thermometer fluid. The two reference temperatures were to be divided into ten equal divisions and ten similar divisions above and below the upper and lower reference marks thus making up a 30 degree scale. In this 1688 book he claimed that the inventor of the thermometer was
Cornelis Drebbel
Cornelis Jacobszoon Drebbel ( ) (1572 – 7 November 1633) was a Dutch engineer and inventor. He was the builder of the first operational submarine in 1620 and an innovator who contributed to the development of measurement and control systems, op ...
.
References
External links
Traittez des barométres, thermométres, et notoométres, ou hygrométres(1688)
Traitté de l'aiman(1687)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalence, Joachim
French scientists
1640 births
1707 deaths
Year of birth uncertain