Andre Marie Ampere
Created by Ye Min on December 2, 2015
Andre Marie Ampere was a French physicist and mathematician and is known for being a founder of classical electromagnetism.
Personal Life
Andre Marie Ampere was born in January 20, 1775 to Jean-Jacques Ampère, a successful businessman, and Jeanne Antoinette Desutières-Sarcey Ampère. He also had two sisters. At a young age, he was very curious and sought out knowledge. He began to read books on mathematics, history, travels, poetry, philosophy, and the natural sciences. He began to gain more interest in mathematics at the age of 13 and at this time started to study physics as well. When Ampere was 14, the French Revolution began. His father was appointed as justice of peace of a small town near Lyon. However in 1972 and 1973, Ampere experienced tragic losses of his sister and father. Due to this, he stopped his studies for a year. Andre Marie Ampere married Catherine-Antoinette Carron in 1799. They had one son a year later; however, his wife became ill with cancer and died in 1803. Three years later (1806), he remarried to Jeanne-Françoise Potot. This marriage was not successful and ended in separation soon after the birth of their only daughter. After getting pneumonia, he died in the city of Marseilles on 10 June 1836.
Career
In 1797 he began to teach mathematics as a private tutor and in 1799, he found a position as a mathematics teacher. Because of how successful and knowledgable he was, within a few years, he was appointed as a professor of physics and chemistry at the École Centrale in Bourg-en-Bresse in 1802. During his time as a professor he also researched mathematics and created ‘Considérations sur la théorie mathématique de jeu’ (“Considerations on the Mathematical Theory of Games”). In 1804, he found a new teaching position at the recently opened École Polytechnique. He was so successful in this position that he was appointed a professor of mathematics at the school in 1809 despite his lack of formal qualifications. Ampere was elected to the French Academy of Sciences in 1814. Not only was he a successful professor in mathematics, he taught subjects like philosophy and astronomy at the University of Paris in 1819-20. Along with teaching he was engaged in scientific and mathematical research. He was elected to the prestigious chair in experimental physics at the Collège de France in 1824. Besides the prestigious chair, in 1827 and 1828 Ampere was also elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society and a Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science respectively.
Education
His father believed very strongly in philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau that young boys should not pursue formal education but learn "direct from nature." Ampere satisfied his desires to learn by reading books in his father's well-stocked library.
Scientific Contribution
Electromagnestism
In April 1820, Danish physicist Hans Christian Oersted found a connection between electricity and magnetism which we know as electromagnetism. A few months later, Francois Arago, a friend of Ampere, demonstrated Oersted’s electromagnetic effect to the French Academy in Paris. Ampere found Oersted’s electromagnetic discoveries interesting and began working on them himself. After rigorous experiments, Ampere was able to show that two parallel wires carrying electric currents attract or repel each other, depending on whether the currents flow in the same or opposite directions, respectively. Having a lot of knowledge in both mathematics and physics, Ampere applied mathematics to generalize physical laws from the results of the experiments, and discovered the principle which is now known as “Ampere’s law”. His works provided a physical understanding of the electromagnetic relationship, allowing the theory of an “electrodynamic molecule” that served as the component element of both electricity and magnetism to form. After years of research and experimentation, Ampere published ‘Mémoire sur la théorie mathématique des phénomènes électrodynamiques uniquement déduite de l’experience’ (“Memoir on the Mathematical Theory of Electrodynamic Phenomena, Uniquely Deduced from Experience”) in 1827. The name of his discoveries became known as “Electrodynamics” was coined in this work which became known as its founding written document.
“Ever since I first heard of Oersted’s great discovery… of the action of electric current on a magnetized needle, I have thought about it constantly. All my time has been dedicated to writing a great theory about these phenomena… and attempting the experiments indicated by this theory, all of which succeeded.” -Ampere
Ampere's Circuital Law
Ampere’s circuital law relates the integrated magnetic field around a closed loop to the electric current passing through the loop. He also formulated Ampere's Law which states in its simplest form that two lengths of current-carrying wire is proportional to their lengths and to the intensities of their currents [math]\displaystyle{ \oint_C \mathbf{B} \cdot \mathrm{d}\boldsymbol{\ell} = \mu_0 \iint_S \mathbf{J} \cdot \mathrm{d}\mathbf{S} = \mu_0I_\mathrm{enc} }[/math]
Other Information
Fun Facts
- His name is inscribed on the Eiffel Tower
- He did not actually attend school because his father did not believe in formal education
- Ampere which is a unit of measuring electric current was named in honor of him
- He is credited for the invention of the astatic needle, a vital component of the modern astatic galvanometer
See also
Wikipedia page for Ampere's Law
Wikipedia page for Electromagnetism
Further reading
- Ampère, André-Marie by Williams, L. Pearce in Dictionary of Scientific Biography 1
- André-Marie Ampère by Hofmann, James R
External links
- http://ethw.org/Andre-Marie_Amp%C3%A8re
- http://www.juliantrubin.com/bigten/ampereexperiments.html
- http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01437c.htm