George Biddell Airy
See also: Airy
Sir George Biddell Airy (July 27th 1801 - January 2nd 1892) was a Mathématicien, Astronome, Géodésie N and British Physicien .
In 1819, it enters to the Trinity College to Cambridge.
In December 1826, it succeeds Thomas Turton like Professor lucasien of Mathématiques. It occupies this pulpit during a little more than one year, then is named Professor plumien astronomy and of experimental philosophy and becomes also director of the new observatory of Cambridge. Its work on the development of Télescope S is worth to him the Médaille Copley in 1831. In June 1835, Airy becomes royal Astronome. It succeeds this station with John Pond and begins a long career at the national observatory which is for much in his celebrity. He is prize winner of the Gold medal of Royal Astronomical Society in 1833, of the Prix Lalande in 1834 and of the Royal Medal in 1845. In 1881, at 80 years, Sir George Airy resigns of her station of Royal Astronomer.
It in particular developed a theory of the arcs in sky. With John Henry Pratt it is one of the initiators of the theory of isostasy and its name remains attached to the one of the model of isostasy. One owes him of many pendular measurements trying to determine the Masse of the Earth and, thus, the Constante of gravitation of Newton. The functions of Airy, connected to the functions of Bessel, are mathematical functions known as “special” extremely used in Physique, in Géodésie, Géodynamique and theoretical Sismologie.
George Biddell Airy became member of the Royal Society on January 21st, 1836.
Its name was given to a crater the Moon and a crater of Mars (Airy-0).
See too
- the Function of Airy
- the Spot of Airy