He made important contributions to the study of electrochemistry,
meteorology, and agriculture. Antoine-Henri's father was Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel, who also made a name for himself in science. His research included studies on
photography,
heat, the conductivity of hot gases, and luminescence.
Becquerel's early education took place at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand from which he graduated in 1872. He then enrolled at the Ecole Polytechnique, and two years later he moved on to the Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées. It appears that there was never any question about the direction of Becquerel's career, as he concentrated on scientific subjects throughout his schooling. In 1877 he was awarded his engineering degree and accepted an appointment as an ingénieur with the National Administration of Bridges and Highways.
During his years at the Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées, Becquerel became particularly interested in English physicist Michael Faraday's research on the effects of magnetism on light. Faraday had discovered in 1845 that a plane-polarized beam of light (one that contains light waves that vibrate to a specific pattern) experiences a rotation of planes when it passes through a magnetic field; this phenomenon was called the Faraday effect. Becquerel developed a formula to explain the relationship between this rotation and the refraction the beam of light undergoes when it passes through a substance.
This is a free page. This page contains 194 words. This
biography contains 1,531 words (approx. 5 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Biography with our Antoine-Henri Becquerel Access Pass.
