The Life of a Mathematician
Daniel Bernoulli was born on January 29, 1700. He was the son of Johann Bernoulli, a mathematician who contributed to calculus in its early days who also educated Leonhard Euler. His uncle was Jacob Bernoulli, who worked on the Bernoulli distribution, a principle used in discrete probability. Daniel was encouraged to become a merchant or study medicine, but he was able to follow in his father's footsteps and pursue mathematics! He would largely succeed: achieving prestigious positions in Italy, Germany, France, England, and Russia!
Bernoulli started in Venice, where he pioneered an hourglass that would tell the time consistently on a ship regardless of how turbulent the weather was. This creation was well received and recognized through the mathematical community. The Russian head of state Catherine the Great was so impressed that she offered Bernoulli a position as a chair of mathematics in St. Petersburg. When he was hesitant at first, Catherine offered another another position to Bernoulli's brother, Nicolaus.
At St. Petersburg, Bernoulli accomplished his finest work. After his brother Nicolaus died shortly after going to St. Petersburg, Johann Bernoulli sent his pupil, Euler, to study with Daniel Bernoulli. While in St. Petersburg, Euler and Bernoulli worked on several different fields of mathematics, including probability, oscillations, and hydrodynamics, a field Bernoulli helped pioneer. Shortly after his return to Switzerland, he transitioned to a life more focused on medicine.
Bernoulli's Accomplishments
As stated above, the creation of the hourglass earned Bernoulli much praise in the scientific world, as it allowed sailors to keep track of time when normally the ship being tossed and blow would affect that rate at which the sand moved in the hourglass.
Additionally, he studied oscillations and energy. He proved that strings on musical instruments like violins are an infinite series of harmonic vibrations superimposed on the string. And while it had been known that kinetic energy turned into potential energy (and vice versa) for solids, Bernoulli proved that for liquids, kinetic energy is turned into pressure.
What Bernoulli is most well known for, however, is his work with hydrodynamics, a term he created. Bernoulli published his findings in his most acclaimed work, Hydrodynamica. In this work, he explored energy as it relates to gases and fluids. He wrote down the basic laws of kinetic theory of gases and, a century before Van der Wals discovered it, wrote down the foundation of the equation of state. This work would influence several different fields, including mathematics, physics, and chemistry!
What Bernoulli is most well known for, however, is his work with hydrodynamics, a term he created. Bernoulli published his findings in his most acclaimed work, Hydrodynamica. In this work, he explored energy as it relates to gases and fluids. He wrote down the basic laws of kinetic theory of gases and, a century before Van der Wals discovered it, wrote down the foundation of the equation of state. This work would influence several different fields, including mathematics, physics, and chemistry!
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