World of Scientific Discovery on Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier
By the time Fourier was nine years old, he was an orphan. He was put in the military school at Auxerre where he began to develop an interest in mathematics. Fourier wanted to enter the army, but because of his low social position, he was only qualified to enter the artillery or engineering sections. He was turned down in his attempt at enlistment in the artillery and entered a Benedictine school at St. Bênoit-sur-Loire. Though his heart was not really set upon the priesthood, he hoped that he would eventually attend the Benedictine seminary in Paris where he could further his interests in mathematics. The French revolution terminated this potential direction in Fourier 's life. He returned to Auxerre and a teaching position at his old school in 1789.
Fourier was active in local affairs and defended the victims of the Terror during the Revolution. For this, he was arrested in 1794 and was released only after the execution of Robespierre several months later. Fourier then continued his education at the ill-fated Ecole Normale, which closed within a year. But his talent as a mathematician attracted attention and he was appointed as an assistant lecturer at the Ecole Polytechnique in 1795. Unfortunately, Fourier's political affiliations with the previous regime led, again, to his arrest. His colleagues at the Ecole Polytechnique sought his release and were successful and in 1798 Fourier was selected to join Napoleon's Egyptian campaign.
Fourier held diplomatic posts in North Africa at the same time he pursued mathematical research. After Fourier returned to France in 1801 he busied himself with the compiling and publishing of the work he had accomplished in Egypt as well as administrative duties given him by Napoleon. With this important business behind him, he next set to work on the scientific problem that was to lead to his most well-known discovery.
Fourier worked for several years on the problem of mathematically modelling the process of heat conduction through various media. His technique for dealing with this problem was to divide the process of heat diffusion into several parts which could be described with simple trigonometric equations. This method, later known as Fourier's Theorem or Fourier series, was revolutionary in that it could also be applied to any recurring, oscillating motion, including wave motion. Fourier series have since been used to study the entire gamut of wave phenomena, from sound waves to light waves. Using Fourier series, it is possible to reduce any complex, periodic wave form into a series of simple, sine waves whose sum produces the original complex wave. The use of Fourier series in this manner is called harmonic analysis. Perhaps one of the most common applications of this technique today is in the generation of complex sounds by digital music synthesizers. The importance of Fourier's discovery was recognized immediately after it was published in 1808. Napoleon was impressed with his friend and conferred a Baronetcy on Fourier. But Fourier's fortunes rose and fell with those of Napoleon and after the defeat at Waterloo, Fourier was out of favor in France for a while. Late in life, Fourier was infirm due to complications from diseases he had contracted while in Egypt; and in May of 1830, weakened by a thyroid condition, he fell down a flight of stairs. He died twelve days later.
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