It is no coincidence that it gave its name to a programming language: few scientific, mathematical and philosophical figures can boast its reputation.
Blaise Pascal contributed to the future in many different disciplines. From mechanical calculators to the hydraulic press and his theories, his work is a precious legacy for future times.
Almost 200 years after him, much of the technology that he envisioned was only boasted. In just 39 years of life and in full 1600, Blaise Pascal laid the foundations for the XNUMXth century. Practically the Mozart of technology, or if you prefer Giacomo Leopardi, given the poor health.
Here are the 5 Pascals, fundamental fruits of his work:
Pascal's theorem
Not everyone can boast of having impressed (at the age of 16!) one of the greatest mathematical minds to the point of arousing his envy. This is exactly what Pascal inspired in Descartes after he wrote a treatise on projective geometry in 1640, now well known as Pascal's Theorem. The landmark publication, called “On Conic Sections”, contains a theorem that still 200 years later Mobius was striving to improve. Pascal's theorem still forms the basis of conic theory today.
Pascalina
Shortly after producing his Theorem, Pascal devoted himself to a new mathematical problem, of a more practical nature: automate numerical addition or subtraction with a mechanical device.
Managing large numerical tables was a daunting task, and mathematicians had long wanted physical support for their calculations. In the early 20s an (unsuccessful) attempt by the German scientist Wilhelm schickard it had left everyone unsatisfied.
Pascal solved the problem by creating at the age of 18 the Pascalina, a mechanical instrument precursor of modern calculators, with a principle that IBM engineers were still exploiting in the 60s.
Probability theory
Pascal developed his theory during a close correspondence with the famous mathematician Pierre de Fermat. It was based on a classic problem in probability theory, the problem of sharing the stakes, which has been discussed for more than 200 years.
The problem - Two players, with equal probability of winning, compete in a game based on luck. The rule is that the first winner of a certain number of rounds will win the entire prize, a sum to which both players contribute equally. How do you divide the stakes fairly if the game ends early with no winners?
Pascal and Fermat provided a solution to the problem still considered fundamental in probability theory.
The two reasoned that a fair division could not only take into account how many rounds the two players had won before the stoppage. The chances of winning still remaining at the time of the interruption also had to be taken into account. In other words, the rounds still needed before victory. The approach that Blaise Pascal took in the 17th century led to the first theory of what modern science calls “expected value".
Atmospheric pressure
The composition of the atmosphere has been one of the objects of study by scholars around the world. The Greeks identified it as one of their 5 fundamental elements of matter, but it was only from the 17th century that modern techniques allowed a scientific study of the thing.
Pascal studied the work of Galileo and Evangelista Torricelli, then began conducting experiments on the atmosphere. His efforts led to the measurement of atmospheric pressure and paved the way for future developments in the field of hydrodynamics and hydrostatics. In honor of him, the unit of measurement of atmospheric pressure is called Pascal.
Pascal's law
During the atmospheric pressure experiments, Pascal developed several innovative study methods and tools. One of the most used is the hydraulic press, capable of distributing and transmitting a force through a liquid. This system is essential for current industrial processes, due to what we now call precisely Pascal's law.
Pascal's law (or principle) says that, when an increase in pressure occurs at one point of a confined fluid, this increase is also transmitted to every point of the fluid inside the container. This law and related experiments have been essential to all hydrodynamics.
