Alexis-Marie de Rochon
Encyclopedia
Alexis-Marie de Rochon, known as Abbé Rochon, was born in Brest, France
on 21 February 1741, and died in Paris
on 5 April 1817. He was a French astronomer
, physicist
and traveller. He worked on lens
design and crystal optics
, inventing the Rochon prism
polariser.
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
on 21 February 1741, and died in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on 5 April 1817. He was a French astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
, physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
and traveller. He worked on lens
Lens (optics)
A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmits and refracts light, converging or diverging the beam. A simple lens consists of a single optical element...
design and crystal optics
Crystal optics
Crystal optics is the branch of optics that describes the behaviour of light in anisotropic media, that is, media in which light behaves differently depending on which direction the light is propagating. The index of refraction depends on both composition and crystal structure and can be...
, inventing the Rochon prism
Rochon prism
A Rochon prism is a type of polariser. It is made from two prisms of a birefringent material such as calcite, which are cemented together.The Rochon prism was invented by and is named after Abbé Alexis Marie Rochon. It is in many ways similar to the Wollaston prism, but one ray passes through...
polariser.
See also
- French Wikipedia article on Rochon, which has much more detail.