Leopoldo Nobili, born on 5 July 1784 in Trassilico (

Toscana it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

) and died on 22 August 1835 in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, was an Italian

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

who invented a number of instruments critical to investigating

thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws of the ...

and

electrochemistry Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference, as a measurable and quantitative phenomenon, and identifiable chemical change, with the potential difference as an outco ...

. Born Trassilico,

Garfagnana The Garfagnana () is a historical and geographical region of central Italy, today part of the province of Lucca, in Tuscany. It is the upper valley or basin of the river Serchio, and thus lies between the main ridge of the Northern Apennines t ...

, after attending the

Military Academy of Modena The Military Academy of Modena ( it, Accademia militare di Modena) is a military university in Modena, northern Italy. Located in the Palazzo Ducale in the historic center of the city, it was the first such military institution to be created in ...

he became an

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

officer. He was awarded the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

for his service in

Napoleon's invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

. In 1825 he developed the astatic galvanometer. He worked with

Macedonio Melloni Macedonio Melloni (11 April 1798 – 11 August 1854) was an Italian physicist, notable for demonstrating that radiant heat has similar physical properties to those of light. Life Born at Parma, in 1824 he was appointed professor at the local Uni ...

on the ''thermomultiplier'', a combination of

thermopile A thermopile is an electronic device that converts thermal energy into electrical energy. It is composed of several thermocouples connected usually in series or, less commonly, in parallel. Such a device works on the principle of the thermoelect ...

and

galvanometer A galvanometer is an electromechanical measuring instrument for electric current. Early galvanometers were uncalibrated, but improved versions, called ammeters, were calibrated and could measure the flow of current more precisely. A galvanom ...

, before being appointed professor of

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

at the Reale Museo di Fisica e Storia Naturale (Royal Museum of Physics and Natural History) in

where he worked with Vincenzo Antinori on

electromagnetic induction Electromagnetic or magnetic induction is the production of an electromotive force (emf) across an electrical conductor in a changing magnetic field. Michael Faraday is generally credited with the discovery of induction in 1831, and James Clerk ...

. He was also credited with the discovery of 'Nobili's Rings'. "When a dilute solution of copper acetate is placed on a bright silverplate and a strip of zinc is touched to the silver beneath the copper, a series of rings of copper are formed by electrolysis around the zinc."Thomas O'Conor Sloane, ''The Standard Electrical Dictionary: A Popular Dictionary of Words and Terms'', London 1898, p. 392

References

Works

* * 1784 births 1835 deaths People from Gallicano 19th-century Italian physicists {{Italy-physicist-stub