|
Christiaan Huygens
Christiaan Huygens, Lord of Zeelhem, ( , , ; also spelled Huyghens; la, Hugenius; 14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor, who is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time and a major figure in the Scientific Revolution. In physics, Huygens made groundbreaking contributions in optics and mechanics, while as an astronomer he is chiefly known for his studies of the rings of Saturn and the discovery of its moon Titan. As an engineer and inventor, he improved the design of telescopes and invented the pendulum clock, a breakthrough in timekeeping and the most accurate timekeeper for almost 300 years. An exceptionally talented mathematician and physicist, Huygens was the first to idealize a physical problem by a set of mathematical parameters, and the first to fully mathematize a mechanistic explanation of an unobservable physical phenomenon.Dijksterhuis, F.J. (2008) Stevin, Huygens and the Dutch re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caspar Netscher
Caspar (or Gaspar) Netscher (1639 – January 15, 1684) was a Dutch portrait and genre painter. He was a master in depicting oriental rugs, silk and brocade and introduced an international style to the Northern Netherlands. Life According to Arnold Houbraken's 17th-century biographical study of Dutch painters he was born in Heidelberg or Prague.Gasper Netscher biography in ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'' (1718) by , courtesy of the Digital library for Dutch literat ...
[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birefringence
Birefringence is the optical property of a material having a refractive index that depends on the polarization and propagation direction of light. These optically anisotropic materials are said to be birefringent (or birefractive). The birefringence is often quantified as the maximum difference between refractive indices exhibited by the material. Crystals with non-cubic crystal structures are often birefringent, as are plastics under mechanical stress. Birefringence is responsible for the phenomenon of double refraction whereby a ray of light, when incident upon a birefringent material, is split by polarization into two rays taking slightly different paths. This effect was first described by Danish scientist Rasmus Bartholin in 1669, who observed it in calcite, a crystal having one of the strongest birefringences. In the 19th century Augustin-Jean Fresnel described the phenomenon in terms of polarization, understanding light as a wave with field components in transverse po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Septimal Tritone
A septimal tritone is a tritone (about one half of an octave) that involves the factor seven. There are two that are inverses. The lesser septimal tritone (also Huygens' tritone) is the musical interval with ratio 7:5 (582.51 cents). The greater septimal tritone (also Euler's tritone), is an interval with ratio 10:7 (617.49 cents). They are also known as the sub-fifth and super-fourth, or subminor fifth and supermajor fourth, respectively. The 7:5 interval (diminished fifth) is equal to a 6:5 minor third plus a 7:6 subminor third. The 10:7 interval (augmented fourth) is equal to a 5:4 major third plus an 8:7 supermajor second, or a 9:7 supermajor third plus a 10:9 major second. The difference between these two is the septimal sixth tone (50:49, 34.98 cents) . 12 equal temperament and 22 equal temperament do not distinguish between these tritones; 19 equal temperament does distinguish them but doesn't match them closely. 31 equal temperament and 41 equal temperament both disti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huygens–Steiner Theorem
The parallel axis theorem, also known as Huygens–Steiner theorem, or just as Steiner's theorem, named after Christiaan Huygens and Jakob Steiner, can be used to determine the moment of inertia or the second moment of area of a rigid body about any axis, given the body's moment of inertia about a parallel axis through the object's center of gravity and the perpendicular distance between the axes. Mass moment of inertia Suppose a body of mass is rotated about an axis passing through the body's center of mass. The body has a moment of inertia with respect to this axis. The parallel axis theorem states that if the body is made to rotate instead about a new axis , which is parallel to the first axis and displaced from it by a distance , then the moment of inertia with respect to the new axis is related to by : I = I_\mathrm + md^2. Explicitly, is the perpendicular distance between the axes and . The parallel axis theorem can be applied with the stretch rule and perpendi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lemniscate Of Gerono
In algebraic geometry, the lemniscate of Gerono, or lemniscate of Huygens, or figure-eight curve, is a plane algebraic curve of degree four and genus zero and is a lemniscate In algebraic geometry, a lemniscate is any of several figure-eight or -shaped curves. The word comes from the Latin "''lēmniscātus''" meaning "decorated with ribbons", from the Greek λημνίσκος meaning "ribbons",. or which alternative ... curve shaped like an \infty symbol, or figure eight. It has equation :x^4-x^2+y^2 = 0. It was studied by Camille-Christophe Gerono. Parameterization Because the curve is of genus zero, it can be parametrized by rational functions; one means of doing that is :x = \frac,\ y = \frac. Another representation is :x = \cos \varphi,\ y = \sin\varphi\,\cos\varphi = \sin(2\varphi)/2 which reveals that this lemniscate is a special case of a Lissajous figure. Dual curve The dual curve (see Plücker formula), pictured below, has therefore a somewhat different char ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huygens–Fresnel Principle
The Huygens–Fresnel principle (named after Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens and French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel) states that every point on a wavefront is itself the source of spherical wavelets, and the secondary wavelets emanating from different points mutually interfere. The sum of these spherical wavelets forms a new wavefront. As such, the Huygens-Fresnel principle is a method of analysis applied to problems of luminous wave propagation both in the far-field limit and in near-field diffraction as well as reflection. History In 1678, Huygens proposed that every point reached by a luminous disturbance becomes a source of a spherical wave; the sum of these secondary waves determines the form of the wave at any subsequent time. He assumed that the secondary waves travelled only in the "forward" direction and it is not explained in the theory why this is the case. He was able to provide a qualitative explanation of linear and spherical wave propagation, and to d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huygenian Eyepiece
An eyepiece, or ocular lens, is a type of lens that is attached to a variety of optical devices such as telescopes and microscopes. It is named because it is usually the lens that is closest to the eye when someone looks through the device. The objective lens or mirror collects light and brings it to focus creating an image. The eyepiece is placed near the focal point of the objective to magnify this image. The amount of magnification depends on the focal length of the eyepiece. An eyepiece consists of several "lens elements" in a housing, with a "barrel" on one end. The barrel is shaped to fit in a special opening of the instrument to which it is attached. The image can be focused by moving the eyepiece nearer and further from the objective. Most instruments have a focusing mechanism to allow movement of the shaft in which the eyepiece is mounted, without needing to manipulate the eyepiece directly. The eyepieces of binoculars are usually permanently mounted in the binoculars ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunpowder Engine
A gunpowder engine, also known as an explosion engine or Huygens' engine, is a type of internal combustion engine using gunpowder as its fuel. The concept was first explored during the 1600s, most notably by famous Dutch polymath Christiaan Huygens. George Cayley also experimented with the design in the early 1800s as an aircraft engine, and claims to have made models that worked for a short time. There is also a persistent claim that conventional carboretted gasoline engine can be run on gunpowder, but no examples of a successful conversion can be documented. Earliest mentions The gunpowder engine is based on many previous ideas and scientific discoveries, developed by multiple people independently. Early devices just aimed at lifting and/or holding weight (usually to study and demonstrate the physics), while engines aim at doing work contentiously (usually with the intention of doing something useful). Vacuum devices to lift/hold weight Leonardo da Vinci described in 1508 a d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gambler's Ruin
The gambler's ruin is a concept in statistics. It is most commonly expressed as follows: A gambler playing a game with negative expected value will eventually go broke, regardless of their betting system. The concept was initially stated: A persistent gambler who raises his or her bet to a fixed fraction of the gambler's bankroll after a win, but does not reduce it after a loss, will eventually and inevitably go broke, even if each bet has a positive expected value. Another statement of the concept is that a persistent gambler with finite wealth, playing a fair game (that is, each bet has expected value of zero to both sides) will eventually and inevitably go broke against an opponent with infinite wealth. Such a situation can be modeled by a random walk on the real number line. In that context, it is probable that the gambler will, with virtual certainty, return to his or her point of origin, which means going broke, and is ruined an infinite number of times if the random walk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evolute
In the differential geometry of curves, the evolute of a curve is the locus of all its centers of curvature. That is to say that when the center of curvature of each point on a curve is drawn, the resultant shape will be the evolute of that curve. The evolute of a circle is therefore a single point at its center. Equivalently, an evolute is the envelope of the normals to a curve. The evolute of a curve, a surface, or more generally a submanifold, is the caustic of the normal map. Let be a smooth, regular submanifold in . For each point in and each vector , based at and normal to , we associate the point . This defines a Lagrangian map, called the normal map. The caustic of the normal map is the evolute of . Evolutes are closely connected to involutes: A curve is the evolute of any of its involutes. History Apollonius ( 200 BC) discussed evolutes in Book V of his ''Conics''. However, Huygens is sometimes credited with being the first to study them (1673). Huygen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saturn's Rings
The rings of Saturn are the most extensive ring system of any planet in the Solar System. They consist of countless small particles, ranging in size from micrometers to meters, that orbit around Saturn. The ring particles are made almost entirely of water ice, with a trace component of rocky material. There is still no consensus as to their mechanism of formation. Although theoretical models indicated that the rings were likely to have formed early in the Solar System's history, newer data from '' Cassini'' suggested they formed relatively late. Although reflection from the rings increases Saturn's brightness, they are not visible from Earth with unaided vision. In 1610, the year after Galileo Galilei turned a telescope to the sky, he became the first person to observe Saturn's rings, though he could not see them well enough to discern their true nature. In 1655, Christiaan Huygens was the first person to describe them as a disk surrounding Saturn. The concept that Saturn's ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Titan (moon)
Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and the second-largest natural satellite in the Solar System. It is the only moon known to have a dense atmosphere, and is the only known object in space other than Earth on which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found. Titan is one of the seven gravitationally rounded moons in orbit around Saturn, and the second most distant from Saturn of those seven. Frequently described as a planet-like moon, Titan is 50% larger (in diameter) than Earth's Moon and 80% more massive. It is the second-largest moon in the Solar System after Jupiter's moon Ganymede, and is larger than the planet Mercury, but only 40% as massive. Discovered in 1655 by the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, Titan was the first known moon of Saturn, and the sixth known planetary satellite (after Earth's moon and the four Galilean moons of Jupiter). Titan orbits Saturn at 20 Saturn radii. From Titan's surface, Saturn subtends an arc of 5.0 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
