Luigi Palmieri (22 April 1807 – 9 September 1896) 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 cau ...

and

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

. He was famous for his scientific studies of the eruptions of Mount

Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of ...

, for his researches on earthquakes and meteorological phenomena and for improving the

seismograph A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The outpu ...

of the time.

Biography

Palmieri was born in

Faicchio Faicchio is a small village in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about 50 km northeast of Naples and about 30 km northwest of Benevento. Faicchio borders the following villages: Cusano Mutri, Gioia Sann ...

Benevento Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and '' comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...

, Italy and died in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

, Italy at the age of 89. Palmieri received a degree in physics from the

University of Naples The University of Naples Federico II ( it, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) is a public university in Naples, Italy. Founded in 1224, it is the oldest public non-sectarian university in the world, and is now organized into 26 depar ...

. In 1845, he was made Professor of Physics at the Royal Naval School in Naples and in 1847 was appointed as Chair of Physics at the university. In 1848, he began working at the

Vesuvius Observatory The Vesuvius Observatory ( it, Osservatorio Vesuviano) is the surveillance centre for monitoring the three volcanic areas of Campania, Italy: Mount Vesuvius, the Phlegrean Fields and Ischia. Founded in 1841 on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius by Fe ...

and in 1854 was appointed as Director of the Observatory. Using an electromagnetic

seismometer A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The outpu ...

for the detection and measurement of ground tremors, Palmieri was able to detect very slight movements in trying to predict volcanic eruptions. Furthermore, he was the first to detect the presence of

Helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic ta ...

on Earth on the lava of Mount Vesuvius. Using a modified

Peltier electrometer Peltier is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Autumn Peltier (born 2004), climate activist * Harvey Peltier, Jr. (1923-1980), American politician * Harvey Peltier, Sr. (1899-1977), American politician *Jean Charles Athanase ...

, he also carried out research in the field of

atmospheric electricity Atmospheric electricity is the study of electrical charges in the Earth's atmosphere (or that of another planet). The movement of charge between the Earth's surface, the atmosphere, and the ionosphere is known as the global atmospheric electr ...

. Other scientific contributions included the development of a modified

Morse telegraph Electrical telegraphs were point-to-point text messaging systems, primarily used from the 1840s until the late 20th century. It was the first electrical telecommunications system and the most widely used of a number of early messaging systems ...

, and improvements to the

anemometer In meteorology, an anemometer () is a device that measures wind speed and direction. It is a common instrument used in weather stations. The earliest known description of an anemometer was by Italian architect and author Leon Battista Alberti ...

and

pluviometer A rain gauge (also known as udometer, pluvia metior, pluviometer, ombrometer, and hyetometer) is an instrument used by meteorologists and hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of liquid precipitation over a predefined area, over a perio ...

. Biography * Royal Society of Naples (Academy of Sciences) – 1861 * Academy of the Lincei (Florence) – 1871 *

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

(Philadelphia) -- 1873

Honours

* The crater

Palmieri Palmieri is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Andrea Matteo Palmieri (1493–1537), Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal *Davide Cocco Palmieri (1632-1711), Italian Roman Catholic Bishop of Malta *Domenico Palmier ...

on the Moon * Member of the Superior Council of Meteorology * Senator of the London tower * Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy * Commander of the Order of Rosa del Brazile

Publications

Palmieri, Luigi – Leggi ed origine dell'elettricità atmosferica, 1885 – BEIC 6562880

* "''Annali dell' osservatorio Vesuviano''". 1859–1873. * "''Incendio Vesuviano del 26 Aprile 1872''". Naples, 1872. (Ger.: Berlin, 1872) * "''Il Vesuvio e la sua storia''". Milan, 1880. * "''Nuove lezioni di fisica sperimentale e di fisica terrestre''". Naples, 1883. * "''Die Atmospharische Elektrizität''". Vienna, 1884. * "''Les lois et les origines de l'électricité''". Paris, 1885. *

References

External links

* "
Luigi Palmieri
'". Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XI. Robert Appleton Company, 1911. (K. Knight, 2003) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmieri, Luigi 19th-century Italian physicists Italian meteorologists People from the Province of Benevento 1807 births 1896 deaths

Biography

See also

Honours

Publications

References

External links