MEMOIRE SUR LA LOI DES MODIFICATIONS QUE LA REFLEXION IMPRIME A LA LUMIERE POLARISEE

[Paris]: L'Academie des Science, 1823.[393]-433. 4to, rebound in green boards, boards scuffed & sunned, minor spotting in margins, otherwise generally in very good condition. Extract from a Scientific journal. Fresnel at a young showed great aptitude in the sciences and qualified as an engineer at an early age. He began researching theories on light and polarisation and further developed the wave-theory of light. He became a member of the Academie des Sciences in 1823, and in the same year had his work on light polarisation published. In 1827 he received the Royal Society's Rumford Medal and being of weak constitution, died a few days later at the age of 39. His work extended also to the distribution of light from lighthouses by way of a special lens rather than by reflectors. Fresnel's calculations on lenses and reflecting systems are still the foundations of lighthouse design. [Biographical Dictionary of Scientists].