PHYSICISTS A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z                    HOME ABOUT CATEGORIES SITE MAP COPYRIGHT ADVERTISE CONTACT entire Web this site Biot, Jean Baptiste (1774-1862) French physicist, born in Paris, who carried out pioneering experiments on the polarization of light and optical rotation. He established, with Savart in 1820, a formula for the magnetic field of a long, straight, current-carrying conductor (known as the Biot-Savart law). Biot also demonstrated the cosmic origin of meteorites, which had been suggested by the Swiss physicist Marc Pictet (1752-1825). In 1803 his analysis of specimens from the l’Aigle meteor shower and eyewitness reports enabled him to show beyond doubt that the stones had from space. Biot began in his career in the artillery service but then entered science, becoming, in 1800, professor of Physics in the Collège de France. Along with Arago, he was sent to Spain (1806) to carrt out the measuring of a degree of the meridian, and in 1817 he visited England, and went as far north as the Shetland Islands, in order to make observations along the line of the British arc of meridian. He received the Rumford gold medal (1840) for his contributions on the polarization of light. Related category    • PHYSICISTS Also on this site: Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy & Sustainable Living Encyclopedia of History Transport Concepts & Designs (partner site) BACK TO TOP