Christiaan Huygens (pronounced in English (IPA): [ˈhaɪ.gənz]; in Dutch: [ˈhœy.ɣəns]) (April 14, 1629 – July 8, 1698), was a Dutch mathematician, astronomer and physicist; born in The Hague as the son of Constantijn Huygens. He studied law and mathematics at the University of Leiden and the College of Orange in Breda before turning to science. Historians commonly associate Huygens with the scientific revolution. Image File history File links Christiaan_Huygens-painting. ... April 14 is the 104th day of the year (105th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 261 days remaining. ... Events March 4 - Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter. ... Coordinates: , Country Netherlands Province South Holland Area (2006)  - Municipality 98. ... is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Jan. ... Coordinates: , Country Netherlands Province South Holland Area (2006)  - Municipality 98. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Not to be confused with physician, a person who practices medicine. ... Leonhard Euler, considered one of the greatest mathematicians of all time A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and research is the field of mathematics. ... ... Louis XIV visiting the Académie in 1671 The French Academy of Sciences (Académie des sciences) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. ... Leiden University, located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands[1]. It is a member of the Coimbra Group, the Europaeum and the League of European Research Universities. ... A pendulum clock uses a pendulum as its time base. ... Wave refraction in the manner of Huygens. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... April 14 is the 104th day of the year (105th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 261 days remaining. ... Events March 4 - Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter. ... is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 4 - Palace of Whitehall in London is destroyed by fire. ... Euclid, Greek mathematician, 3rd century BC, as imagined by by Raphael in this detail from The School of Athens. ... An astronomer or astrophysicist is a person whose area of interest is astronomy or astrophysics. ... This is a discussion of a present category of science. ... Coordinates: , Country Netherlands Province South Holland Area (2006)  - Municipality 98. ... Constantijn Huygens (September 4, 1596 - March 28, 1687) was a Dutch poet and composer, Secretary to two Princes, and the father of Christiaan Huygens. ... Leiden University in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. ... Grote Kerk (main church) or Onze Lieve Vrouwe Kerk (Church of Our Lady). ... The event which many historians of science call the scientific revolution can be dated roughly as having begun in 1543, the year in which Nicolaus Copernicus published his De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) and Andreas Vesalius published his De humani corporis fabrica (On the...

Huygens generally receives minor credit for his role in the development of modern calculus and his original observations on sound perception (see Repetition Pitch). He also achieved note for his arguments that light consisted of waves; (see: wave-particle duality). In 1655, he discovered Saturn's moon Titan. He also examined Saturn's planetary rings, and in 1656 he discovered that those rings consisted of rocks. In the same year he observed and sketched the Orion Nebula. His drawing, the first such known of the Orion nebula, was published in Systema Saturnium in 1659. Using his modern telescope he succeeded in subdividing the nebula into different stars. (The brighter interior of the Orion Nebula bears the name of the Huygens Region in his honour.) He also discovered several interstellar nebulae and some double stars. Huygens formulated as first what is now known as the second law of motion of Isaac Newton in a quadratic form. Newton reformulated and generalized that law. Calculus (from Latin, pebble or little stone) is a branch of mathematics that includes the study of limits, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series, and constitutes a major part of modern university education. ... A sensation of pitch (psychophysics) often occurs in free nature when the sound of a sound source reaches the ear of an observer directly and also after being reflected against a sound-reflecting surface. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A wave is a disturbance that propagates through space or spacetime, transferring energy and momentum and sometimes angular momentum. ... In physics, wave-particle duality holds that light and matter exhibit properties of both waves and of particles. ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 140 kPa Hydrogen >93% Helium >5% Methane 0. ... Titan (, from Ancient Greek Τῑτάν) or Saturn VI is the largest moon of Saturn and the only moon known to have a dense atmosphere. ... A planetary ring is a ring of dust and other small particles orbiting around a planet in a flat disc-shaped region. ... The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated south of Orions Belt. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... STAR is an acronym for: Organizations Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers], the self-regulatory body for the entertainment ticket industry in the UK. Society for Telescopy, Astronomy, and Radio, a non-profit New Jersey astronomy club. ... The Triangulum Emission Nebula NGC 604 The Pillars of Creation from the Eagle Nebula For other uses, see Nebula (disambiguation). ... When two stars are so nearly in the same direction as seen from Earth that they appear to be a single star to the naked eye but may be separated by the use of telescopes, they are referred to as a double star. ... Newtons First and Second laws, in Latin, from the original 1687 edition of the Principia Mathematica. ... Sir Isaac Newton FRS (4 January 1643 – 31 March 1728) [ OS: 25 December 1642 – 20 March 1727][1] was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, and alchemist. ...

After Blaise Pascal encouraged him to do so, Huygens wrote the first book on probability theory, which he had published in 1657. Blaise Pascal (pronounced ), (June 19, 1623 – August 19, 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher. ... Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with analysis of random phenomena. ...

He also worked on the construction of accurate clocks, suitable for naval navigation. In 1658 he published a book on this topic called Horologium. In fact his invention on Christmas 1656, the pendulum clock (patented 1657), was a breakthrough in timekeeping. Devices known as escapements regulate the rate of a watch or clock, and the anchor escapement represented a major step in the development of accurate watches. Subsequent to this publication, Huygens discovered that the cycloid was an isochronous curve and, applied to pendulum clocks in the form of cycloidal cheeks guiding a flexible pendulum suspension, would ensure a regular (i.e isochronous) swing of the pendulum irrespective of its amplitude, i.e. irrspective of how it moved side to side. The mathematical and practical details of this finding were published in "Horologium Oscillatorium" of 1673. Huygens also observed that two pendulums mounted on the same beam will come to swing in perfectly opposite directions, an observation he referred to as odd sympathy. Contrary to sometimes expressed popular belief Huygens was not a clockmaker, and is not known to have ever made any clock himself; he was a scholar, scientist and inventor, and the oldest known pendulum clocks were made "under the privilege" -i.e. based on a license from Huygens- by Salomon Coster in The Hague. The oldest known Huygens style pendulum clock is dated 1657 and can be seen at the Museum Boerhaave in Leiden ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}, which also shows an important astronomical clock owned and used by Huygens. For other uses, see Clock (disambiguation). ... Table of geography, hydrography, and navigation, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... A pendulum clock uses a pendulum as its time base. ... A simple escapement. ... Russian Poljot Siberia model finished movement viewed through crystal back For other uses, see Watch (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Clock (disambiguation). ... Cycloid (red) generated by a rolling circle A cycloid is the curve defined by a fixed point on a wheel as it rolls, or, more precisely, the locus of a point on the rim of a circle rolling along a straight line. ... A tautochrone curve is the curve for which the time taken by a particle sliding down it under uniform gravity to its lowest point is independent of its starting point. ... The phrase odd sympathy (the actual phrase used was odd kind of sympathy) was used by Dutch mathematician and physicist Christiaan Huygens in a letter to the Royal Society of London pertaining to the tendency of two pendulums to synchronize, or asynchronize, when mounted together on the same beam. ... In 1657, Salomon Coster, a Dutch clockmaker of the Hague, (Born circa 1620, died suddenly in 1659) was the first clockmaker to make a pendulum clock, which had been invented by Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695). ... Coordinates: , Country Netherlands Province South Holland Area (2006)  - Municipality 98. ... Museum Boerhaave is a natural history museum in Leiden, the Netherlands. ... Leyden redirects here. ...

Huygens also developed a balance spring clock more or less contemporaneously with, though separately from, Robert Hooke, and controversy over whose invention was the earlier persisted for centuries. In February 2006, a long-lost copy of Hooke's handwritten notes from several decades' Royal Society meetings was discovered in a cupboard in Hampshire, and the balance-spring controversy appears by evidence contained in those notes to be settled in favor of Hooke's claim. The balance spring is a scientific device invented by Robert Hooke. ... Robert Hooke, FRS (July 18, 1635 – March 3, 1703) was an English polymath who played an important role in the scientific revolution, through both experimental and theoretical work. ... The premises of The Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ...

The Royal Society elected Huygens a member in 1663. In the year 1666 Huygens moved to Paris where he held a position at the French Academy of Sciences under the patronage of Louis XIV. Using the Paris Observatory (completed in 1672) he made further astronomical observations. In 1684 he published "Astroscopia Compendiaria" which presented his new aerial (tubeless) telescope. The premises of The Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ... The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Louis XIV visiting the Académie in 1671 The French Academy of Sciences (Académie des sciences) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. ... Louis XIV King of France and Navarre By Hyacinthe Rigaud (1701) Louis XIV (Louis-Dieudonné) (September 5, 1638–September 1, 1715) reigned as King of France and King of Navarre from May 14, 1643 until his death. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Astronomy (disambiguation). ...

Huygens speculated in detail about life on other planets. In his book Cosmotheoros, further entitled The celestial worlds discover'd: or, conjectures concerning the inhabitants, plants and productions of the worlds in the planets (see online edition) he imagined a universe brimming with life, much of it very similar to life on 17th century Earth. The liberal climate in the Netherlands of that time not only allowed but encouraged such speculation. In sharp contrast, philosopher Giordano Bruno, who also believed in many inhabited worlds, was burned at the stake by the Italian authorities for his beliefs in 1600. This article is about Extraterrestrial life. ... Giordano Bruno. ...

In 1675, Christiaan Huygens patented a pocket watch. He also invented numerous other devices, including a 31 tone to the octave keyboard instrument which made use of his discovery of 31 equal temperament. For other uses, see Patent (disambiguation). ... A gold pocket watch with hunter case and watch chain A pocket watch (or pocketwatch) usually is a strapless personal timepiece that is carried in a pocket. ... In music, 31 equal temperament, called 31-tet, 31-edo, or 31-et, is the scale derived by dividing the octave into 31 equally large steps. ...

Huygens moved back to The Hague in 1681 after suffering serious illness. He attempted to return to France in 1685 but the revocation of the Edict of Nantes precluded this move. Huygens died in The Hague on July 8, 1695. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Jan. ...

Named after Huygens

• The Huygens probe: The lander for the Saturnian moon Titan, part of the Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn
• Asteroid 2801 Huygens
• A crater on Mars
• Mons Huygens, a mountain on the Moon
• Huygens Software, a microscope image processing package.
• Achromatic eyepiece design named about him
• The Huygens–Fresnel principle, a simple model to understand disturbances in wave propagation.
• Huygens wavelets, the fundamental mathematical basis for scalar diffraction theory
• W.I.S.V. Christiaan Huygens: Dutch study guild for the studies Mathemathics and Computer Science at the Delft University of Technology
• Huygens Laboratory: Home of the Physics department at Leiden University, The Netherlands
• Huygens Supercomputer: National Supercomputer facility of The Netherlands, located at SARA in Amsterdam
• The Huygens-building in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, first building on the Space Business park opposite Estec (ESA)
• The Huygens-building at the Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. One of the major buildings of the science department at the university of Nijmegen.

The Huygens probe, supplied by the European Space Agency (ESA) and named after the Dutch 17th century astronomer Christiaan Huygens, is an atmospheric entry probe carried to Saturns moon Titan as part of the Cassini-Huygens mission. ... This article is about Earths moon. ... Titan (, from Ancient Greek Τῑτάν) or Saturn VI is the largest moon of Saturn and the only moon known to have a dense atmosphere. ... This is an artists concept of Cassini during the Saturn Orbit Insertion (SOI) maneuver, just after the main engine has begun firing. ... 2801 Huygens is a small main belt asteroid, which was discovered by Hendrik van Gent in 1935. ... Huygens is an impact crater on mars named in honour of the Dutch astronomer, mathematician and physicist Christiaan Huygens. ... The Apennine Mountains of the Moon. ... This article is about Earths moon. ... Huygens software refers to different multiplatform microscope image processing packages from Scientific Volume Imaging, made for restoring and analyzing 2D and 3D microscopy images or time series. ... Microscope image processing is a broad term that covers the use of digital image processing techniques to process, analyze and present images obtained from a microscope. ... Diagram of an achromatic lens (doublet). ... A collection of different types of eyepieces. ... Wave refraction in the manner of Huygens. ... All wavelet transforms consider a function (taken to be a function of time) in terms of oscillations which are localised in both time and frequency. ... In linear algebra, real numbers are called scalars and relate to vectors in a vector space through the operation of scalar multiplication, in which a vector can be multiplied by a number to produce another vector. ... The intensity pattern formed on a screen by diffraction from a square aperture Diffraction refers to various phenomena associated with wave propagation, such as the bending, spreading and interference of waves passing by an object or aperture that disrupts the wave. ... Founded in 1842, the Delft University of Technology, in Delft, the Netherlands, is one of the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive technical universities in the Netherlands, with over 13,000 students and 2,100 scientists (including 200 professors). ... SARA (Stichting Academisch Rekencentrum Amsterdam) is a Dutch foundation that provides facilities in the area of supercomputers, colocation, networks and high-end visualisation. ...

External links

• O'Connor, John J; Edmund F. Robertson "Christiaan Huygens". MacTutor History of Mathematics archive.  
• Works by Christiaan Huygens at Project Gutenberg
  • Treatise on Light translated into English by Silvanus P. Thompson, Project Gutenberg etext.
• De Ratiociniis in Ludo Aleae or The Value of all Chances in Games of Fortune, 1657Christiaan Huygens' book on probability theory. An English translation published in 1714. Text pdf file.
• Huygensmuseum Hofwijck in Voorburg, The Netherlands, where Huygens lived and worked.
• Huygens Clocks exhibition from the Science Museum, London
• Huygens and music theory Huygens–Fokker Foundation —on Huygens' 31 equal temperament and how it has been used
• How to pronounce "Christiaan Huygens" (includes sound file of pronunciations by Dutch people)
• Systema Saturnium 1659 text a digital edition of Smithsonian Libraries
• Exhibition on Huygens in University Library Leiden (in Dutch)
• Christiaan Huygens on the 25 Dutch Guilder banknote of the 1950's.

The MacTutor history of mathematics archive is a website hosted by University of St Andrews in Scotland. ... Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive, and distribute cultural works. ... In music, 31 equal temperament, called 31-tet, 31-edo, or 31-et, is the scale derived by dividing the octave into 31 equally large steps. ...

References

1. ^ Hans van den Ende: "Huygens's Legacy, The Golden Age of the Pendulum Clock", Fromanteel Ldt., 2004,
2. ^ van Kersen, Frits & van den Ende, Hans: Oppwindende Klokken - De Gouden Eeuw van het Slingeruurwerk 12 September - 29 november 2004 [Exhibition Catalog Paleis Het Loo]; Apeldoorn: Paleis Het Loo,2004
3. ^ Hooijmaijers, Hans; Telling time - Devices for time measurement in museum Boerhaave - A Descriptive Catalogue; Leiden: Museum Boerhaave, 2005
4. ^ No Author given; Chistiaan Huygens 1629-1695, Chapter 1: Slingeruurwerken; Leiden: Museum Boerhaave, 1988

Biography

Andriesse, C.D., Huygens The Man Behind the Principle. Foreword by Sally Miedema, Cambridge University Press 2005 The headquarters of the Cambridge University Press, in Trumpington Street, Cambridge. ...