Jean-Baptiste Biot

Jean-Baptiste Biot
Jean-Baptiste Biot
Born21 April 1774 (1774-04-21)
Paris, France
Died3 February 1862(1862-02-03) (aged 87)
Paris, France
NationalityFrench
Alma materÉcole Polytechnique
Known forBiot number
Biot–Savart law
Circular dichroism
Optical rotation
AwardsPour le Mérite (1850)
Rumford Medal (1840)
ForMemRS (1815)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics, astronomy and mathematics
Academic advisorsGaspard Monge[1]
Signature

Jean-Baptiste Biot (/ˈb, ˈbj/;[2] French: [bjo]; 21 April 1774 – 3 February 1862) was a French physicist, astronomer, and mathematician who co-discovered the Biot–Savart law of magnetostatics with Félix Savart, established the reality of meteorites, made an early balloon flight, and studied the polarization of light.

The biot (a CGS unit of electrical current), the mineral biotite, and Cape Biot in eastern Greenland were named in his honour.

  1. ^ O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Jean-Baptiste Biot", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews
  2. ^ "Biot-Savart law". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.