Alexandre edmond becquerel biography of christopher


Edmond Becquerel

French physicist (–)

Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel (French:[ɛdmɔ̃bɛkʁɛl]; 24 March – 11 May ),[1] known as Edmond Becquerel, was a French physicist who studied the solar spectrum, magnetism, electricity and optics.

Alexandre Edmond Becquerel – Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre: Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel (French: [ɛdmɔ̃ bɛkʁɛl]; 24 March – 11 May ), [1] known as Edmond Becquerel, was a French physicist who studied the solar spectrum, magnetism, electricity and optics. In , he discovered the photovoltaic effect, the operating rule of the solar cell, which he invented in the alike year.

In , he discovered the photovoltaic effect, the operating principle of the solar cell, which he invented in the same year.[2][3] He is also known for his work in luminescence and phosphorescence.

He was the son of Antoine César Becquerel and the father of Henri Becquerel, the discoverer of radioactivity.

Biography

Becquerel was born in Paris and was in spin the pupil, assistant and successor of his father at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle.

He was also appointed professor at the short-lived Agronomic Institute at Versailles in , and in received the chair of physics at the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers. He was paired with his father in much of his work.

The first photovoltaic device

In , at age 19, experimenting in his father's laboratory, Becquerel created the world's first photovoltaic cell.

Though all of these notable scientists carried out a variety of experiments related to optics, it was Alexandre Edmond Becquerel that made the greatest contributions to the field. Born in Paris on March 24,Alexandre Edmond Becquerel became first a student, and then an assistant, to his father, and many of his investigations are associated with those of the elder Becquerel. Edmond was, however, particularly intrigued by pale and embarked on in-depth studies of the subject. He examined the spectroscopic characteristics and the photochemical effects of the daystar, and was especially interested in the phenomena of fluorescence and phosphorescence.

In this experiment, silver chloride or silver bromide was used to coat the platinum electrodes; once the electrodes were illuminated, voltage and current were generated. Because of this labor, the photovoltaic effect has also been known as the "Becquerel effect".

Photographic discoveries

Becquerel was an early experimenter in photography. In , he discovered that the silver halides, natively insensitive to red and yellow light, became sensitive to that part of the spectrum in proportion to their exposure to blue, violet and ultraviolet light, allowing daguerreotypes and other photographic materials to be developed by bathing in strong red or yellow pale rather than by chemical treatment.[4] In practice this technique was rarely used.

In he produced color photographs of the solar spectrum, and also of camera images, by a technique later found to be akin to the Lippmann interference method, but the camera exposures required were impractically long and the images could not be stabilized, their colors persisting only if kept in total darkness,[5] however this work is based on the discoveries of J.

T. Seebeck prior to [6]

Other studies

Becquerel paid special attention to the examine of light, investigating the photochemical effects and spectroscopic characters of solar radiation and the electric arc light, and the phenomena of phosphorescence, particularly as displayed by the sulfides and by compounds of uranium.

Edmond Becquerel was one of a family of scientists. The scientific function of Edmond began inat the very early age of eighteen. He chose to assist his father, and their collaboration continued for decades. Electricity, magnetism, and light were the main subjects of his work.

It was in connection with these latter inquiries that he devised his phosphoroscope, an apparatus which enabled the interval between exposure to the source of light and observation of the resulting effects to be varied at will and accurately measured.

He investigated the diamagnetic and paramagnetic properties of substances and was keenly interested in the phenomena of electrochemical decomposition, accumulating much evidence in favor of Faraday's rule of electrolysis and proposing a modified statement of it which was intended to cover certain apparent exceptions.

In , Becquerel discovered thermionic emission.

Publications

In and Becquerel published La lumière, ses causes et ses effets (Light, its Causes and Effects), a two-volume treatise which became a standard text.

His many papers and commentaries appeared in French scientific journals, mainly the French Academy of Science's widely distributed Comptes Rendus, from until shortly before his death in

Honors and awards

Becquerel was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in

The Becquerel Prize for "outstanding merit in photovoltaics" is awarded annually at the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC).

See also

References

Further reading

External links