7 Contributions by Blaise Pascal to the World of Science

The Contributions by Blaise Pascal For the most prominent science include Pascal's theorem, the Pascaline, the existence of vacuum or his experiments on atmospheric pressure.

Blaise Pascal - born June 19, 1623 - was a prodigious mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and French theologian. He revolutionized the world from an early age, with inventions ranging from the first calculator to the first public transport service.

One of the most important pascal contributions was the pascaline

He was a man whose purpose was to change the way the world was handled and to give all his knowledge to the hands of science.

Considered one of the greatest minds of the seventeenth century, he was raised by his father after his mother died.

Contrary to what one might imagine, Pascal was not exposed to mathematics from an early age. His father, a tax collector and mathematician, wanted his son to learn the arts and letters before learning about numbers.

Even so, Pascal was drawn to the geometry And in a self-taught way, drawing figures in his room at age 12 discovered that"the sum of the internal angles of a triangle is 180 °."

Since that age, because of the display of his abilities and exceptional intelligence, his father authorized Pascal to participate in the mathematical meetings he attended, in that way Pascal would be exposed to ideas that would help him to develop and that were key to To fan their desire to discover and contribute to science.

You may be interested The 31 Most Famous and Important Mathematicians in History.

7 outstanding contributions of Pascal to science

1- Pascal's theorem

Published in 1639, in"The Essay of Conics". Known as Pascal's mystical hexagon, his theorem explains that"if a hexagon is inscribed in a conic section then the points of intersection of the pairs of opposite sides are collinear."

That is, if we extend the lines of a hexagon inscribed in a conic section then the pairs of sides at its intersection will create a straight line.

This theorem summarized the properties of the conic sections in a single example and was an advance in the application of projections and projective geometry whose principles are used in art and architecture. 7 Contributions by Blaise Pascal to the World of Science

2- Pascaline

Precursor of modern calculators. Made in 1645, it was the first calculator to be produced, used and distributed; As well as having been the only operative mechanical calculator of the seventeenth century.

It was invented to relieve her father's work and thereby calculate taxes. He could only add and subtract, yet he was so advanced for his time that he got the real privilege of patenting his product and being the only one who could design and manufacture calculators in France.

The numbers were entered and a crank driven to the correct side was performing the operation.

3- The existence of the void

Pascal, in 1647, demonstrated for the first time the existence of the void. Against the thought of Aristotle And Descartes, Pascal performed a series of experiments with the barometer and the mercury, thus demonstrating what Torricelli had theorized.

Thus he succeeded in proving what many believed impossible: that the space above a liquid within a barometer is the void. This experiment laid the groundwork for his next study on atmospheric pressure.

4- The atmospheric pressure

Although it was a subject previously treated, Pascal was the one that realized the decisive experiment on the atmospheric pressure.

He filled two barometers with mercury, (B1 and B2). B1 was taken to the top of a mountain and B2 was left at the beginning of this.

The mercury level was constant at B2 but as B1 ascended, the mercury level dropped. In this way, it proved that at higher altitude less atmospheric pressure.

This experiment is the basis of studies on hydrostatics and hydrodynamics.

5- Beginning of Pascal

Formulated in 1648, this principle states that when pressure is exerted at any point on a confined fluid, this pressure will be exerted at all points of this fluid.

For example, if an inflatable mattress makes three perforations, the air will come out with the same pressure for each one.

This principle revolutionized the world of hydraulics that is based on all types of mechanics from aeronautics to fluid.

To test the theory, Pascal performed an experiment and created a syringe to demonstrate the pressure, this syringe would be precursor to the syringe used in modern medicine. And from this principle came the invention of the hydraulic press .

6- The Pascal Triangle

7 Contributions by Blaise Pascal to the World of Science 1

It was formulated in 1653, in its Traité du triangle arithmétique . (Treaty of the Arithmetic Triangle) and laid the foundations for the development of the theory of probability that saw light a year later.

Although this type of numerical pattern was studied thousands of years earlier, it was Pascal who gave him a correct interpretation.

The triangle starts from above with a one and both of its sides are ones, the sum of the upper numbers results in the lower numbers and thus the structure of the triangle is formed.

Because the numbers are infinite, the triangle is also infinite. It has broad uses in algebra, probabilities, combinatorics, fractals and in other different branches of mathematics.

7- The theory of probability

It arose in 1654, being formulated by Pascal and Pierre de Fermat.

Pascal made use of his triangle to be able to give form to this theory, because the probabilities can of some form be calculated if one takes into consideration what has been happening before them.

It was applied with the following example: a game of chance is interrupted before it can be finalized, the profits must be distributed.

Using the triangle, Pasca and Fermat established the numerical probabilities with mathematical precision, which could have been the result of having been able to continue the game in order to distribute the profit fairly.

This theory is still used in mathematics, cryptology and even in everyday life.

References

  1. Shea, W (2003) Designing Experiments & Games of Chance: The Unconventional Science of Blaise Pascal. Science History Publications.
  2. .Gerbis, N. Pascal tackles physics and metaphysics: What were the famous Blaise Pascal inventions?. Excerpted from science.howstuffworks.com.
  3. 10 major contributions of Blaise Pascal. (2017) Excerpted from learnodo-newtonic.com
  4. Fairman, G (1996) Pascal's principle and hydraulics. Excerpted from grc.nasa.gov.
  5. Wood, D. Applications of Pascal's principle. Excerpted from study.com.
  6. Ross, J (2004) Pascal's legacy. Excerpted from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
  7. Knill, O (2009) Probability theory and Stochastic processes with applications. Overseas Press. Excerpted from math.harvard.edu.
  8. Coolman, R (2015) Properties of Pascal's triangle. Excerpted from livescience.com
  9. Freiberger, P and Swaine M. Pascaline. Extracted from britannica.com.


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