Jean-Baptiste Biot

Jean-Baptiste Biot

Jean-Baptiste Biot (April 21 1774, Paris – February 3 1862, Paris) was a French physicist, astronomer and mathematician. In the early 1800s, he studied the polarisation of light passing through chemical solutions, as well as the relationship between electrical current and magnetism. The Biot-Savart law which describes the magnetic field generated by a steady current is named after him and Félix Savart.

He was the first person to discover the unique optical properties of mica, and therefore the mica-based mineral biotite was named after him.

In 1804 he made a hot-air balloon ascent with Joseph Gay-Lussac to a height of five kilometres in an early investigation of the Earth's atmosphere.

There is a small crater on the Moon that is named for him.

The J. B. Biot who helped make and fly the Massia-Biot glider is a different person. See list of early flying machines.

[edit] External links

Catholic Enyclopedia article
O'Connor, John J., and Edmund F. Robertson. "Jean-Baptiste Biot". MacTutor History of Mathematics archive.

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Preceded by: Charles Lacretelle Jeune	Seat 12 Académie française 1856–1862	Succeeded by: Louis de Carné