Monday 5 May 2014

A tour around Scientific Paris

Paris is one of my favourite cities. I have been there countless times. Thanks to a book I have just read, I now realise that as a scientist I have missed all the important places to visit!

The great scientific experiments in Paris” by Frédéric Borel, is amazing just to look at. The pages are glossy (like in magazines!) and the illustrations are colourful. Someone I know described it as “The Lonely Planet Guide to Scientific Paris” because it tells you where these experiments took place, where to find commemorative stuff, and even where the scientists lived and had their labs! Don’t worry if you are not a physicist or a chemist, there’s an explanation of the experiments at the end of each entry.


But what really caught my attention was the mention of wonderful women who played a role in the scientific discoveries. Three of them were wives of eminent scientists. We have a phrase in Mexico that goes something like “Behind every great man there’s a great woman”. It is easy to imagine that a scientist like Lavoisier had a clever wife who put up with him playing in his lab, became his assistant and then learned chemistry herself.

So let’s start with Madame Lavoisier, whose complete name was Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze. Being educated in a convent, she married Lavoisier when she was about 13 years old. The family came from a noble background, so they were able to build their own chemistry lab. Marie became more interested in her husband’s scientific experiments and she managed to get formal training. Together they worked as a team in which Lavoisier was the head scientist and Marie became his assistant. Sadly, their happiness was halted by the French Revolution; Lavoisier was one of the many geniuses whose heads succumbed to the guillotine. But as a widow Marie did not give up, she published Lavoisier’s memoirs containing all their contributions to chemistry. Thanks to this, their work did not get lost and lived to be part of the foundations of chemistry.


On to another woman who, like Marie, became a widow. Her name was... She is known as Madame Lebon, wife of Philippe Lebon, who invented gas lamps and heaters. The name used for those types of lamps was “thermolampes”. After his death, his wife continued to present and demonstrate the gas lamps models to the public. Like Marie, she also fought to get the recognition of her husband’s contribution to the invention of internal combustion engines. I could not find more online information; perhaps my searching skills are not that good. I’d love to learn more about her, or at least know her name! So if anyone has more information or ideas on how to find it please let me know.


Next on the list is a very brave woman, Jeanne Geneviève Labrosse. She was a balloonist and the first female parachutist! She met André-Jacques Garnerin (also a balloonist), became his pupil and eventually his wife. She was amongst the first females to fly in a balloon and was the very first to descend using her husband’s frameless parachute. I have also read that it was her who filed the patent for such parachute on behalf of André.  As a couple they were very popular in Europe, they even toured England giving demonstrations. Still, I am intrigued as to why Jeanne became passionate about balloons and parachutes. Was it because she was genuinely interested in them or because she fell in love with a balloonist?


And last but not least, Elisabeth de Riquet de Caraman-Chimay, otherwise known as The Countess Greffulhe. Unlike the previous three women, Elisabeth was not married to a scientist but she was deeply interested in inventions. As faith would have it, she met someone called Edouard Branly, who happened to be working in the field of wireless telegraphy. Edouard did not come from a rich family and could not afford to build a lab. However, by meeting this wonderful lady, he got financial help to continue with his research. Not only that, but she also promoted his work and, according to this book, persuaded him to invent the remote control!

  
I hope I have motivated you to read the book and to know more about these brave, clever and wonderful women. And remember, next time you visit Paris, don’t buy a travel guide, take this book along instead!