Charles Augustin De Coulomb

About Charles Augustin De Coulomb

Who is it?: French physicist
Birth Day: June 14, 1736
Birth Place: Angoulême, France, French
Died On: 23 August 1806(1806-08-23) (aged 70)\nParis, France
Birth Sign: Cancer
Alma mater: École royale du génie de Mézières
Known for: Coulomb's law

Charles Augustin De Coulomb Net Worth

Charles Augustin De Coulomb was born on June 14, 1736 in Angoulême, France, French, is French physicist. Charles Augustin de Coulomb was a French physicist best known for developing the law of physics which is named after him. Coulomb’s law, also known as Coulomb’s inverse-square law, describes the electrostatic interactions between electrically charged particles. It was his discoveries and studies during the late 18th century that formed the foundation for the development of the theory of electromagnetism later on. He made equally important contributions in the field of friction studies, torsions, applied mechanics, and magnetism. Born into a wealthy family, he received a good education and was a very studious and bright student. He graduated from the Royal Engineering School of Mézières (École royale du génie de Mézières) and held a number of engineering jobs over the course of his professional life. He was also interested in research and began to write papers on applied mechanics. Alongside his engineering career, he continued his own work on friction and magnetism. Once he was asked to report on the feasibility of a navigable canal. Through his research he concluded that the proposed plan was too expensive—this angered the French bureaucracy and he was penalized. Knowing that he was right, he felt disappointed with the French government and decided to invest his efforts in the study of physics instead.
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Famous Quotes:

the moment of the torque is, for wires of the same metal, proportional to the torsional angle, the fourth power of the diameter and the inverse of the length of the wire.

Biography/Timeline

1760

Charles-Augustin de Coulomb was born in Angoulême, Angoumois county, France, to Henry Coulomb, an inspector of the royal demesne originally from Montpellier, and Catherine Bajet. He was baptised at the parish church of St. André. The family moved to Paris early in his childhood, and he studied at Collège Mazarin. His studies included philosophy, language and literature. He also received a good education in mathematics, astronomy, chemistry and botany. When his father suffered a financial setback, he was forced to leave Paris, and went to Montpellier. Coulomb submitted his first publication to the Society of Sciences in Montpellier during this time. He went back to Paris and passed the exams for the École royale du génie de Mézières in 1760.

1761

He graduated in 1761 and joined the French army as an Engineer in the rank of lieutenant. Over the next twenty years, he was posted to a variety of locations where he was involved in engineering: structural, fortifications, soil mechanics, as well as other fields of engineering. His first posting was to Brest but in February 1764 he was sent to Martinique, in the West Indies, where he was put in charge of building the new Fort Bourbon and this task occupied him until June 1772. His health suffered setbacks during the three years he spent in Martinique that would affect him for the rest of his life.

1773

On his return to France, Coulomb was sent to Bouchain. However, he now began to write important works on applied mechanics and he presented his first work to the Académie des Sciences in Paris in 1773. In 1779 Coulomb was sent to Rochefort to collaborate with the Marquis de Montalembert in constructing a fort made entirely from wood near Île-d'Aix. During his period at Rochefort, Coulomb carried on his research into mechanics, in particular using the shipyards in Rochefort as laboratories for his experiments.

1781

In 1781, he was stationed at Paris. In 1787 with Tenon he visited the Royal Naval Hospital, Stonehouse and they were impressed by the revolutionary "pavilion" design and recommended it to the French government. On the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789, he resigned his appointment as intendant des eaux et fontaines and retired to a small estate which he possessed at Blois.

1784

In 1784, his memoir Recherches théoriques et expérimentales sur la force de torsion et sur l'élasticité des fils de metal (Theoretical research and experimentation on torsion and the elasticity of metal wire) appeared. This memoir contained the results of Coulomb's experiments on the torsional force for metal wires, specifically within a torsion balance. His general result is:

1785

In 1785, Coulomb presented his first three reports on Electricity and Magnetism:

1802

He was recalled to Paris for a time in order to take part in the new determination of weights and measures, which had been decreed by the Revolutionary government. He became one of the first members of the French National Institute and was appointed inspector of public instruction in 1802. His health was already very feeble and four years later he died in Paris.

1908

The SI unit of electric charge, the coulomb, was named in his honour in 1908.