French Literature Reviews - 2026
Émeric Falize, Buffon ou l'âge de la Terre. Naissance de l'Astrophysique de laboratoire
History, Politics and Society
Preface by Lionel Markus.
What was the first laboratory astrophysics experiment? When this question was posed to astrophysicist Émeric Falize, he could not have imagined that he was about to discover its connection to the age of the Earth. And yet, it is indeed the case! In 1767, while deeply engaged in writing his Histoire naturelle, Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon conducted experiments in his ironworks. To deduce the age of the Earth from the cooling rates of incandescent spheres, this Enlightenment scholar had no choice but to invent all the concepts used today in laboratory astrophysics. This remained unknown for 250 years, until the astrophysicist uncovered it in 2016. Tracing Buffon's footsteps, Émeric Falize bridges 21st-century astrophysics with 18th-century natural history. This ultimately led, in 2022, to the replication of Buffon's "iron sphere" experiment. This book chronicles the encounter between a modern-day astrophysicist and one of the most influential scientists of the 18th century. Émeric Falize invites you to join him on a train journey from Paris to Montbard and follow him on this fascinating adventure!
Holding a PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the Paris Observatory and serving as a research director at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Émeric Falize specializes in high-energy-density laboratory astrophysics. His research focuses on star formation, explosion phenomena on the surface of white dwarfs, and neutron stars.
Excerpt from the introduction...
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PDF Version: e-EAN 9782745364067. 14 EUR.
The 18th century was a pivotal era for natural history, characterized by an increasing reliance on empirical observation and experimental methods to understand the physical world. Figures such as Buffon sought to quantify geological and biological phenomena. By examining the cooling rates of iron spheres, Buffon attempted to determine the age of the Earth, a question that remains central to the history of geophysics. Readers interested in the history of science and the evolution of experimental methodology may find this account of his work relevant.
Laboratory astrophysics is a contemporary field that utilizes controlled experimental conditions to simulate the extreme environments found in space. This discipline allows researchers to investigate processes like star formation and the behavior of matter on white dwarfs or neutron stars. This book chronicles the encounter between astrophysicist Émeric Falize and the 18th-century experiments of Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon, including the 2022 replication of Buffon's iron sphere experiment, which Falize discovered in 2016.