Thomas Young (nonfiction): Difference between revisions
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[[File:Thomas_Young.jpg|thumb|Thomas Young.]]'''Thomas Young''' (13 June 1773 – 10 May 1829) was an English polymath and physician. | [[File:Thomas_Young.jpg|thumb|Thomas Young.]]'''Thomas Young''' (13 June 1773 – 10 May 1829) was an English polymath and physician. | ||
Young made notable scientific contributions to the fields of vision, light, solid mechanics, energy, physiology, language, musical harmony, and Egyptology. He "made a number of original and insightful innovations" in the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs (specifically the Rosetta Stone) before Jean-François Champollion eventually expanded on his work. | Young made notable scientific contributions to the fields of vision, light, solid mechanics, energy, physiology, language, musical harmony, and Egyptology. He "made a number of original and insightful innovations" in the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs (specifically the Rosetta Stone) before [[Jean-François Champollion (nonfiction)|Jean-François Champollion]] eventually expanded on his work. | ||
In Young's own judgment, of his many achievements the most important was to establish the wave theory of light. To do so, he had to overcome the century-old view, expressed in the venerable [[Isaac Newton (nonfiction)|Isaac Newton]]'s ''Opticks'', that light is a particle. Nevertheless, in the early-19th century Young put forth a number of theoretical reasons supporting the wave theory of light, and he developed two enduring demonstrations to support this viewpoint. With the ripple tank he demonstrated the idea of interference in the context of water waves. With the Young's interference experiment, or double-slit experiment, he demonstrated interference in the context of light as a wave. | In Young's own judgment, of his many achievements the most important was to establish the wave theory of light. To do so, he had to overcome the century-old view, expressed in the venerable [[Isaac Newton (nonfiction)|Isaac Newton]]'s ''Opticks'', that light is a particle. Nevertheless, in the early-19th century Young put forth a number of theoretical reasons supporting the wave theory of light, and he developed two enduring demonstrations to support this viewpoint. With the ripple tank he demonstrated the idea of interference in the context of water waves. With the Young's interference experiment, or double-slit experiment, he demonstrated interference in the context of light as a wave. | ||
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== Fiction cross-reference == | == Fiction cross-reference == | ||
* [[Gnomon algorithm]] | |||
* [[Gnomon Chronicles]] | |||
== Nonfiction cross-reference == | == Nonfiction cross-reference == | ||
* [[Jean-François Champollion (nonfiction)]] | |||
* [[Albert Einstein (nonfiction)]] | * [[Albert Einstein (nonfiction)]] | ||
* [[Hermann von Helmholtz (nonfiction)]] | * [[Hermann von Helmholtz (nonfiction)]] | ||
* [[William Herschel (nonfiction)]] | |||
* [[Isaac Newton (nonfiction)]] | * [[Isaac Newton (nonfiction)]] | ||
* [[James Clerk Maxwell (nonfiction)]] | * [[James Clerk Maxwell (nonfiction)]] | ||
External links: | External links: | ||
Latest revision as of 03:45, 27 September 2019
Thomas Young (13 June 1773 – 10 May 1829) was an English polymath and physician.
Young made notable scientific contributions to the fields of vision, light, solid mechanics, energy, physiology, language, musical harmony, and Egyptology. He "made a number of original and insightful innovations" in the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs (specifically the Rosetta Stone) before Jean-François Champollion eventually expanded on his work.
In Young's own judgment, of his many achievements the most important was to establish the wave theory of light. To do so, he had to overcome the century-old view, expressed in the venerable Isaac Newton's Opticks, that light is a particle. Nevertheless, in the early-19th century Young put forth a number of theoretical reasons supporting the wave theory of light, and he developed two enduring demonstrations to support this viewpoint. With the ripple tank he demonstrated the idea of interference in the context of water waves. With the Young's interference experiment, or double-slit experiment, he demonstrated interference in the context of light as a wave.
He was mentioned by, among others, William Herschel, Hermann von Helmholtz, James Clerk Maxwell, and Albert Einstein.
In the News
Fiction cross-reference
Nonfiction cross-reference
- Jean-François Champollion (nonfiction)
- Albert Einstein (nonfiction)
- Hermann von Helmholtz (nonfiction)
- William Herschel (nonfiction)
- Isaac Newton (nonfiction)
- James Clerk Maxwell (nonfiction)
External links:
- Thomas Young (scientist) @ Wikipedia