Plateau's phenakistiscope

Joseph Antoine Ferdinand Plateau (October 14, 1801 - September 15, 1883) was a Belgian physicist. Joseph Plateaus phenakistiscope File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in Leap years). ... 1801 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... 1883 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The word physicist should not be confused with physician, which means medical doctor. ...

Born in Brussels, he studied at the University of Liège where he graduated as a doctor of physical and mathematical sciences in 1829. Emblem of the Brussels-Capital Region Flag of The City of Brussels Brussels (Dutch: Brussel, French: Bruxelles, German: Brüssel) is the capital of Belgium and is considered by many to be the de facto capital of the European Union, as two of its three main institutions have their headquarters... Liège (Dutch: Luik, German: Lüttich) is a major city located in the Belgian province of Liège, of which it is the capital. ... 1829 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1835, he was appointed Professor of experimental physics in the University of Ghent. 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... This page is about the Belgian city. ...

In 1836, Plateau invented an early stroboscopic device, the "phenakistiscope". It consisted of two disks, one with small equidistant radial windows, through which the viewer could look, and another containing a sequence of images. When the two disks rotated at the correct speed, the synchronization of the windows and the images created an animated effect. The projection of stroboscopic photographs, creating the illusion of motion, eventually led to the development of cinema. 1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... U-shaped Xenon Flash Lamp A xenon flash lamp is a gas discharge lamp designed to produce extremely intense, incoherent, full-spectrum white light for very short durations. ... The phenakistoscope (also spelled phenakistiscope) was an early animation device, the predecessor to the zoetrope. ...

Plateau also studied the phenomena of capillary action and surface tension (Statique expérimentale et théorique des liquides soumis aux seules forces moléculaires, 1873). The mathematical problem of existence of a minimal surface with a given boundary is named for him. Capillary action or capillarity is the ability of a narrow tube to draw a liquid upwards against the force of gravity. ... In physics, surface tension is an effect within the surface layer of a liquid that causes the layer to behave as an elastic sheet. ... 1873 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Plateaus problem is to show the existence of a minimal surface with a given boundary. ... Verrill Minimal Surface In mathematics, a minimal surface is a surface with a mean curvature of zero. ...

Fascinated by the persistence of luminous impressions on the retina, he performed an experiment in which he gazed directly into the sun for 25 seconds. Consequently, he lost his eyesight later in his life. Human eye cross-sectional view. ... A sun is the star at the center of a solar system. ...

He died in Ghent. This page is about the Belgian city. ...