Willebrord Snell

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Willebrord Snell is a wel-known mathematician and physicist, most known for his law of refraction.

Biography

Willebrord Snell, also known as Willebrordus Snellius or Willebrord Snel van Royen, was born in the late 1500s. Although the exact year of birth is unknown it is most commonly given as 1581. He was the son of Rudolph Snellius who was a mathematics professor at the University of Leiden, in Germany. Although Snell did not go to school, his dad taught him much about science and mathematics while he was growing up. Willebrord Snell was accepted into college where he pursued a law career due to his father's wishes but continued studying and teaching math in place of his father when he was not able to do so himself.

Main Contributions

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Law of Refraction

The Law of Refraction, also known as Snell's Law is used for determining the angle that a ray of light will bend away from the normal when it goes from one medium to another.

Computing Pi

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Modern Day Applications

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Connectedness

Although today we have more accurate ways to measure the radius of the Earth and the digits of pi, it is still awe-inspiring to know that he was able to have such accuracy without all the technology we have today. Most important, though, is his law of refraction. This is used in modern day for many practical applications such as making glasses for people to wear. Because glass bends light is it important to know the index of refraction and the angle that the light will bend so that the person wearing the glasses can see clearly.

See also

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Further reading

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External links

http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Snell.html

References

http://maple.dnr.cornell.edu/produc/refractometer.htm http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Snell.html