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Joseph Fourier

French mathematician and physicist (1768 - 1830) · France · Academics · Died at 62

Joseph Fourier is read about 668 times a day, in 119 languages.

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His name is attached to one of mathematics' most powerful tools - the method that breaks any wave, any signal, any pattern into its underlying frequencies - and to the first description of how atmospheres trap heat.

ScientistsAcademicMathematicsPhysicsHistoryLiteratureFranceEurope

A life in dates

1830Died16 May 18301827“The question of terrestrial temperature, one of the most remarkable and difficult in natural philosophy... I have... condensed in a single essay... the results of this theory.”In their wordsAmerican Journal of Science, &c., Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 1-20. Tr. of Fourier's paper "M´emoire sur les Temp´eratures du Globe Terrestre et

“The earth would have only the same temperature as the heavens, were it not for two causes... One is the internal heat... possessed at its formation...”In their wordsAmerican Journal of Science, &c., Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 1-20. Tr. of Fourier's paper "M´emoire sur les Temp´eratures du Globe Terrestre et

“Liquids are very poor conductors of heat; but they have, like aeriform media, the property of carrying it rapidly in certain directions.”In their wordsAmerican Journal of Science, &c., Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 1-20. Tr. of Fourier's paper "M´emoire sur les Temp´eratures du Globe Terrestre et

1826Member of the Académie françaiseOffice1826-18301822“Primary causes are unknown to us; but are subject to simple and constant laws, which may be discovered by observation, the study of them being the object of natural philosophy.”In their wordsCh. 1, p. 1

“Profound study of nature is the most fertile source of mathematical discoveries.”In their wordsCh. 1, p. 7

1815Prefect of RhôneOffice1802Prefect of IsèreOffice1802-18141795“I regarded these events as the customary disturbances of a state in which a new usurper tends to pluck the sceptre from his predecessor.”In their wordsJuly 1795Letter to Edmé Pierre Alexanre Villetard (June/July, 1795) from prison, as quoted by , Joseph Fourier - The Man and the Physicist (1975) pp.

1768Born21 March 1768

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

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In their own words 10

,
Joseph Fourier
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10 statements, newest first

  1. The question of terrestrial temperature, one of the most remarkable and difficult in natural philosophy... I have... condensed in a single essay... the results of this theory.

    1827, American Journal of Science, &c., Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 1-20. Tr. of Fourier's paper "M´emoire sur les Temp´eratures du Globe Terrestre et, Own words

  2. The heat of the earth is derived from three sources...1. ...Solar rays; the unequal distribution of which causes diversities of climate.2.

    1827, American Journal of Science, &c., Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 1-20. Tr. of Fourier's paper "M´emoire sur les Temp´eratures du Globe Terrestre et, Own words

  3. The earth would have only the same temperature as the heavens, were it not for two causes... One is the internal heat... possessed at its formation...

    1827, American Journal of Science, &c., Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 1-20. Tr. of Fourier's paper "M´emoire sur les Temp´eratures du Globe Terrestre et, Own words

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Awards

Officer of the Legion of Honour
Grand prix des sciences mathématiques
Foreign Member of the Royal Society
72 names on the Eiffel Tower

About this person

Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier was born in Auxerre, Burgundy on 21 March 1768. A mathematician and physicist, he opened the investigation of what became Fourier series - techniques that evolved into Fourier analysis and harmonic analysis, now foundational across science and engineering. He applied the work to heat transfer and vibrations; the Fourier transform and Fourier's law of conduction carry his name. He's also credited with discovering the greenhouse effect. He died 16 May 1830.

Country
France
Category
Academics
Type
Academic
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1768 to 1830 · aged 62

In common with Joseph

Niels Henrik AbelBoth received Grand prix des sciences mathématiquesAugustin-Louis CauchyBoth received Grand prix des sciences mathématiquesAugustin-Jean FresnelBoth received Grand prix des sciences mathématiques

Academics from France 3

Henri Poincaré77.2Pierre-Simon Laplace76.4Michel Foucault77.4

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