Evangelista Torricelli

Evangelista Torricelli
Evangelista Torricelli
    Evangelista Torricelli
     Catholic_Encyclopedia Evangelista Torricelli
    Italian mathematician and physicist, born at Faenza, 15 October, 1608; died at Florence, 25 October, 1647. Modigliana, in Tuscan Romagna, and Piancaldoli, in the Diocese of Imola, are named as the birthplace by different biographers.
    Torricelli was educated at the Jesuit college of Faenza, where he showed such great aptitude for the sciences that his uncle, a religious of the order of the Camaldolesi, sent him to Rome in 1626 for the purpose of study. There he fell in with Castelli, the favorite pupil of Galileo, who instructed him in the work of the master on the laws of motion. Torricelli showed his thorough understanding by writing a thesis on the path of projectiles. Castelli sent this essay in manuscript to Galileo with strong recommendations of his young friend. Galileo invited Torricelli to his house but for personal reasons he was unable to accept until three months before the death of the blind scientist (1641). The grand duke prevailed upon him to remain at Florence and to succeed Galileo at the Academy. He solved some of the great mathematical problems of the day, such as the finding of the area and the centre of gravity of the cycloid. This problem gave rise to disagreeable discussion on the part of Roberval as to priority and originality. Torricelli's honesty, manliness, and modesty are distinctly shown in his reply.
    His chief invention was the barometer. Pumpmakers of the Grand Duke of Tuscany attempted to raise water to a height of forty feet or more, but found that thirty-two feet was the limit to which it would rise in the suction pump. Strange enough, Galileo, who knew all about the weight of the air, had recourse to the old theory that "nature abhors a vacuum", modifying the law by stating that the "horror" extended only to about thirty-two feet. Torricelli at once conceived the correct explanation. He tried the experiment with quicksilver, a a liquid fourteen times as heavy as water, expecting the column which would counterbalance the air to be proportionally smaller. He filled a tube three feet long, and hermetically closed at one end, with mercury and set it vertically with the open end in a basin of mercury, taking care that no air-bubbles should get into the tube. The column of mercury invariably fell to about twenty-eight inches, leaving an empty space (Torricellian vacuum) above its level (1643). He expressed his sorrow at the fact that Galileo had not made this discovery in connection with the pressure of air. The barometer is today one of the most important scientific instruments, while the Torricellian method of getting a very high vacuum is still often employed. Another discovery was the law of efflux of a liquid through a small aperture in the wall of a vessel. He also constructed a number of large objectives and small, short focus, simple microscopes.
    His literary contributions are noted for their conciseness, clearness, and elegance. His manuscripts have not all been published and are carefully preserved at Florence. The following have appeared in print:
    ♦ "Trattato del moto" (Florence, before 1641),
    ♦ "Opera geometrica" (Florence, 1644);
    ♦ "Lezioni accademichi" (Florence, 1715);
    ♦ "Esperienza dell argento vivo" (reprint, Berlin, 1897).
    WILLIAM FOX
    Transcribed by Tomas Hancil

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


Catholic encyclopedia.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Evangelista Torricelli — (* 15. Oktober 1608 in Faenza; † 25. Oktober 1647 in Florenz) war ein italienischer Physiker und Mathematiker. Leben Torricelli stammte aus …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Evangelista Torricelli — «Torricelli» redirige aquí. Para la unidad de presión homónima, véase Torr. Retrato de Evangelista Torricelli en la tapa de Lezioni d Evangelista Torricelli. Evangelista Torricelli (Faenza, Italia, 15 de octubre 1608 Florencia, Italia, 25 de… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Evangelista Torricelli — (15 de octubre de 1608 25 de octubre de 1647) físico y matemático italiano. Natural de Faenza, quedó huérfano a edad temprana, por lo que fue educado bajo la tutela de su tío, Jacobo Torricelli, un fraile camaldulense que le enseño humanidades.… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Evangelista Torricelli — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Evangelista et Torricelli. Torricelli inventant le baromètre à mercure Evangelista Torricelli (né le 15 octobre 1608 à Faenza, en Émi …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Evangelista Torricelli — Infobox Scientist name = PAGENAME box width = image size =220px caption =Evangelista Torricelli portrayed on the frontpage of Lezioni d Evangelista Torricelli birth date = October 15, 1608 birth place = Faenza death date = October 25, 1647 death… …   Wikipedia

  • Evangelista Torricelli (Эванджелиста Торричелли) — «Evangelista Torricelli» («Эванджелиста Торричелли») подводная лодка (Италия) Тип: подводная лодка (Италия). Водоизмещение: 1845/2463 тонны. Размеры: 95 м х 8,2 м х 5 м. Силовая установка: двухвальная, дизель/электромоторы. Вооружение: десять 533 …   Энциклопедия кораблей

  • Evangelista Torricelli — noun Italian physicist who invented the mercury barometer (1608 1647) • Syn: ↑Torricelli • Instance Hypernyms: ↑physicist …   Useful english dictionary

  • Evangelista Torricelli — barometer …   Inventors, Inventions

  • Torricelli — may refer to:People* Evangelista Torricelli, an Italian physicist * Robert Torricelli, a former United States politician * Moreno Torricelli, a former Italian football player * Giuseppe Antonio Torricelli, an Italian sculptorOther* Torricelli… …   Wikipedia

  • Evangelista — may refer to:People with the given name Evangelista:* Evangelista Santos (born 1977), Brazilian mixed martial arts fighter * Evangelista Torricelli (1608 1647), Italian physicist and mathematician * Jan Evangelista Purkyně (1787 1869), Czech… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”