Nicolas Fatio de Duillier
Encyclopedia
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
known for his work on the zodiacal light
Zodiacal light
Zodiacal light is a faint, roughly triangular, whitish glow seen in the night sky which appears to extend up from the vicinity of the sun along the ecliptic or zodiac. Caused by sunlight scattered by space dust in the zodiacal cloud, it is so faint that either moonlight or light pollution renders...
problem, for his very close relationship with Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
, for his role in the Newton v. Leibniz calculus controversy
Newton v. Leibniz calculus controversy
The calculus controversy was an argument between 17th-century mathematicians Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz over who had first invented calculus...
, and for originating the "push" or "shadow" theory of gravitation
Le Sage's theory of gravitation
Le Sage's theory of gravitation is a kinetic theory of gravity originally proposed by Nicolas Fatio de Duillier in 1690 and later by Georges-Louis Le Sage in 1748. The theory proposed a mechanical explanation for Newton's gravitational force in terms of streams of tiny unseen particles impacting...
. He also developed and patented a method of perforating jewels for use in clocks.
Life
Fatio was born in 1664 as the seventh of fourteen children of Jean-Baptiste and Cathérine Fatio in BaselBasel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Switzerland. The family moved in 1672 to Duillier
Duillier
Duillier is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.-Geography:Duillier has an area, , of . Of this area, or 75.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 7.8% is forested...
. In 1682 at the age of 18 Fatio travelled to Paris to perform astronomical studies under the astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini
Giovanni Domenico Cassini
This article is about the Italian-born astronomer. For his French-born great-grandson, see Jean-Dominique Cassini.Giovanni Domenico Cassini was an Italian/French mathematician, astronomer, engineer, and astrologer...
at the Parisian observatory. In 1686, Fatio by chance became a witness to a conspiracy aimed at William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, which he helped to foil. In the same year he made the acquaintance of Jakob Bernoulli and Christiaan Huygens, with whom a particularly close cooperation was developed. Main content of their work was the calculus
Calculus
Calculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...
. In 1687 he traveled to London and made the acquaintance with John Wallis and Edward Bernard
Edward Bernard
Edward Bernard was an English scholar and Savilian professor of astronomy at the University of Oxford, from 1673 to 1691.-Life:He was born at Paulerspury, Northamptonshire. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and St John's College, Oxford, where he was a scholar in 1655; he became a Fellow...
(1638-1697) and worked out a solution of the inverse tangent problem. He also was friendly connected with Gilbert Burnet
Gilbert Burnet
Gilbert Burnet was a Scottish theologian and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was respected as a cleric, a preacher, and an academic, as well as a writer and historian...
, John Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
, Richard Hampden
Richard Hampden
Richard Hampden was an English Whig politician and son of John Hampden. He was sworn a Privy Counsellor in 1689 and was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 18 March 1690 until 10 May 1694....
and his son John Hampden
John Hampden (1653-1696)
John Hampden , the second son of Richard Hampden, returned to England after residing for about two years in France, and joined himself to Lord William Russell and Algernon Sidney and the party opposed to the arbitrary government of Charles II...
. He became a fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in 1688 on the recommendation of John Hoskyns.
He had a close relationship with Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
, and from the beginning he was impressed by Newton's gravitational theory. In 1691, he planned to prepare a new edition of Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica
Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica
Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, Latin for "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy", often referred to as simply the Principia, is a work in three books by Sir Isaac Newton, first published 5 July 1687. Newton also published two further editions, in 1713 and 1726...
, but never finished it. (One of Newton's biographers [Michael White, in "Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer" {1997}] claimed that the relationship may have been romantic, though this is apparently based on subjective interpretations of incomplete letters.) In 1694, their relationship diminished. At this time, several letter exchanges with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz also took place.
In 1707, Fatio came under the influence of a fanatical religious sect, the Camisard
Camisard
Camisards were French Protestants of the rugged and isolated Cevennes region of south-central France, who raised an insurrection against the persecutions which followed the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685...
s, which ruined Fatio's reputation. He left England and took part in pilgrim journeys across Europe. After his return only a few scientific documents by him appeared. He died in 1753 near Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
, England. After his death his Geneva compatriot Georges-Louis Le Sage
Georges-Louis Le Sage
Georges-Louis Le Sage was a physicist and is most known for his theory of gravitation, for his invention of an electric telegraph and his anticipation of the kinetic theory of gases....
tried to purchase the scientific papers of Fatio. These papers together with Le Sage's are now in the Library of the University of Geneva
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...
.
Works
Fatio's greatest scientific success was the explanation of the nature of the zodiacal lightZodiacal light
Zodiacal light is a faint, roughly triangular, whitish glow seen in the night sky which appears to extend up from the vicinity of the sun along the ecliptic or zodiac. Caused by sunlight scattered by space dust in the zodiacal cloud, it is so faint that either moonlight or light pollution renders...
in 1684, which he attributed to particles reflecting the light of the sun
Sunlight
Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total frequency spectrum of electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. On Earth, sunlight is filtered through the Earth's atmosphere, and solar radiation is obvious as daylight when the Sun is above the horizon.When the direct solar radiation is not blocked...
. In 1688 he gave an account on the mechanical explanation of gravitation
Mechanical explanations of gravitation
Mechanical explanations of gravitation are attempts to explain the action of gravity by aid of basic mechanical processes, such as pressure forces caused by pushes, and without the use of any action at a distance. These theories were developed from the 16th until the 19th century in connection...
of Huygens before the Royal Society, whereby he tried to connect Huygens' theory with that of Newton. In 1690 he wrote a letter to Huygens, in which he outlined his own gravitational theory, which later was known as Le Sage's theory of gravitation
Le Sage's theory of gravitation
Le Sage's theory of gravitation is a kinetic theory of gravity originally proposed by Nicolas Fatio de Duillier in 1690 and later by Georges-Louis Le Sage in 1748. The theory proposed a mechanical explanation for Newton's gravitational force in terms of streams of tiny unseen particles impacting...
. Soon after that he read its content before the Royal Society. This theory, on which he worked until his death, is based on minute particles which push gross matter to each other.
However, Fatio is most known by his important role at the Newton v. Leibniz calculus controversy
Newton v. Leibniz calculus controversy
The calculus controversy was an argument between 17th-century mathematicians Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz over who had first invented calculus...
, over who was the inventor of the calculus
Calculus
Calculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...
. He indirectly reproached Leibniz in a letter in 1699, that Leibniz had taken hold of an intellectual property not belonging to him and therefore started the quarrel.
To optimize the capture of solar energy, and thereby plant productivity, Fatio in 1699 suggested using a tracking mechanism
Solar tracker
A solar tracker is a generic term used to describe devices that orient various payloads toward the sun. Payloads can be photovoltaic panels, reflectors, lenses or other optical devices....
which could pivot to follow the Sun. Around 1700 he and Pierre de Baufre tried to use jewel
Gemstone
A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...
s as wheel bearings
Jewel bearing
A jewel bearing is a plain bearing in which a metal spindle turns in a jewel-lined pivot hole. The hole is typically shaped like a torus and is slightly larger than the shaft diameter. The jewel material is usually synthetic sapphire...
in mechanical clocks
Clock
A clock is an instrument used to indicate, keep, and co-ordinate time. The word clock is derived ultimately from the Celtic words clagan and clocca meaning "bell". A silent instrument missing such a mechanism has traditionally been known as a timepiece...
. In 1705 both received a patent for that still common technology.
Popular culture
Fatio appears as a supporting character in Michael WhiteMichael White (author)
Michael White is a British writer based in Sydney, Australia. He has been a science editor of British GQ, a columnist for the Sunday Express in London and, 'in a previous incarnation', he was a member of the band the Thompson Twins and Colour me Pop...
's novel Equinox (2006).
Fatio appears as a supporting character in Neal Stephenson
Neal Stephenson
Neal Town Stephenson is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction.Difficult to categorize, his novels have been variously referred to as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk...
's novel series, The Baroque Cycle
The Baroque Cycle
The Baroque Cycle is a series of novels by American writer Neal Stephenson. It was published in three volumes containing 8 books in 2003 and 2004. The story follows the adventures of a sizeable cast of characters living amidst some of the central events of the late 17th and early 18th centuries in...
(2003-04).
Fatio appears as a supporting character in Gregory Keyes
Gregory Keyes
Gregory Keyes is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy who has written both original and media-related novels under both the names "J. Gregory Keyes" and "Greg Keyes". He is famous for his quartet The Age of Unreason, a steampunk/alchemical story starring Benjamin Franklin and Isaac...
's novel series, The Age of Unreason
The Age of Unreason
The Age of Unreason is a series of four novels written by Gregory Keyes:* Newton's Cannon , ISBN 1-56865-829-X* A Calculus of Angels , ISBN 0-7394-0260-9* Empire of Unreason , ISBN 0-345-40609-5...
(1998 - 2001).
External links
- Fatio de Duillier, N.: De la cause de la Pesanteur, 1690-1701, Bopp edition. On pp. 19-22 is an introduction by Bopp (in German). Fatio's paper starts at the end of p. 22 (in French).
- Fatio de Duillier, N.: De la Cause de la Pesanteur, 1690-1743, Gagnebin edition. For an introduction by Gagnebin, see Introduction
- Fatio de Duillier, N.: "Letters no. 2570, pp. 384-389 and 2582, pp. 407-412, 1690, Huygens Oeuvres, Vol. IX. These letters contain the first written expositions of his theory. Huygens gave an answer in letter no. 2572)
- MathPages - Nicolas Fatio and the Cause of Gravity