- Macedonio Melloni
Infobox Scientist
name = Macedonio Melloni
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caption = Macedonio Melloni
birth_date =April 11 1798
birth_place =Parma
death_date =August 11 1854
death_place =Portici
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nationality = Italian
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field =physics
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known_for =radiant heat
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Macedonio Melloni (April 11 1798 –August 11 1854 ) was an Italianphysicist , notable for demonstrating thatradiant heat has similar physical properties to those oflight .Life
Born at
Parma , in 1824 he was appointed professor at the local University but was compelled to escape toFrance after taking part in the revolution of 1831. In 1839 he went toNaples and was soon appointed director of theVesuvius Observatory , a post that he held until 1848.He died at
Portici , near Naples, ofcholera , aged 56.Work
Melloni's reputation as a physicist rests principally on his discoveries in radiant heat, made with the aid of the "thermomultiplier", a combination of thermopile and
galvanometer . In 1831, soon after the discovery ofthermoelectricity byThomas Johann Seebeck , he andLeopoldo Nobili employed the instrument in experiments especially concerned with characteristics of (in modern language)black body radiation transmitted by various materials.He used an
optical bench fitted with thermopiles, shields and light and heat sources, such asLocatelli's lamp andLeslie's cube , in order to show that radiant heat could be reflected, refracted and polarised in the same way as light.His most important book, "La thermocrose au la coloration calorifique" (Vol. I., Naples, 1850), was unfinished at his death.
He also studied the
magnetism of rocks,electrostatic induction andphotography .Honours
*
Rumford Medal of theRoyal Society , (1834);
*Correspondent of theAcadémie des Sciences , (1835);
*Foreign member of the Royal Society, (1839).
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