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Subject Related: Fluid Mechanics-IPresented By: Mujahid HussainRegn. No. AUIC-14FL-BECE-0797Presented To: Dr. Salik Javaid

ISLAMABAD CAMPUS

(DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING)

2

HISTORY & ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE FAMOUS SCIENTISTBLAISE PASCALTOPIC:-

(BLAISE PASCAL)1623-1662

Field Specialization:MathematicianScientistPhilosopherPhysicistTheologian

An-Overview

19 June 1623 19 August 1662, was a FrenchMathematician,Physicist, Inventor, Writer andChristian Philosopher. He was achild prodigywho was educated by his father, a tax collector inRouen. Pascal's earliest work was in the natural and applied sciences where he made important contributions to the study offluids, and clarified the concepts ofpressureandvacuumby generalizing the work ofEvangelista Torricelli. Pascal also wrote in defense of thescientific method.In 1642, while still a teenager, he started some pioneering work on calculating machines. After three years of effort and fifty prototypes, he built 20 finished machines (calledPascal's calculatorsand later Pascalines) over the following ten years, establishing him as one of the first two inventors of themechanical calculator.

Pascal was an important mathematician, helping create two major new areas of research: he wrote a significant treatise on the subject ofprojective geometryat the age of 16, and later corresponded withPierre de Fermatonprobability theory, strongly influencing the development of modern economics andsocial science. Following Galileoand Torricelli, in 1646, he refutedAristotle's followers who insisted thatnature abhors a vacuum. Pascal's results caused many disputes before being accepted.In 1646, he and his sister Jacqueline identified with the religious movement withinCatholicismknown by its detractors asJansenism.His father died in 1651. Following a religious experience in late 1654, he began writing influential works on philosophy and theology. His two most famous works date from this period. In that year, he also wrote an important treatise on the arithmetical triangle. Between 1658 and 1659 he wrote on thecycloidand its use in calculating the volume of solids.Pascal had poor health, especially after his 18th year, and his death came just two months after his 39th birthday.

Early Life and Education

Birth & Place:Blaise Pascal was born on June 19, 1623, in Clermont-Ferrand, FranceFamily Members:Father:-tienne Pascal (15881651), a Tax CollectorMother:-Antoinette Begon, (died when Pascal was just 3 years old)Elder Sister:-GilberteYounger Sister:Jacqueline

Education:In 1631, five years after the death of his wife,tienne Pascal moved with his children to Paris. He had decided to educate Blaise a child prodigyat home so he could design an unorthodox curriculum and make sure that Blaise was able to express his own innate curiosity. It's also believed that Blaise may have been educated at home due to issues around his health. Ironically, Etienne omitted mathematics from his son's early curriculum out of concern that Blaise would become so fascinated with geometry that he wouldnt be able to focus on classical subjects.The beginning of Blaises education was geared toward languages, especially Latin and Greek. Even so, Etienne's plan backfired: The fact that mathematics was a forbidden topic made the subject even more interesting to the inquisitive boy, who at the age of 12 began exploring geometry on his own. He made up his own terminology, not having learned official mathematical terms, and quickly managed to work out that the sum of a triangle's angles are equal to two right angles.

Inventions & Publications:In 1640, Pascal also published his first written work,Essay on Conic Sections. The writings constituted an important leap forward in projective geometry, which involved transferring a 3-D object onto a 2-D field.In 1642, while still a teenager, he started some pioneering work on calculating machines. After three years of effort and fifty prototypes, he built 20 finished machines (calledPascal's calculatorsand later Pascalines) over the following ten years, establishing him as one of the first two inventors of themechanical calculator.The Pascaline was a numerical wheel calculator with movable dials, each representing a numerical digit.

Pascline

Contributions to Mathematics:Pascal continued to influence mathematics throughout his life. His "Treatise on the Arithmetical Triangle" of 1653 described a convenient tabular presentation forbinomial coefficients, now calledPascal's triangle. In 1654, Pascal later used a probabilistic argument,Pascal's Wager, to justify belief in God and a virtuous life. The work done by Fermat and Pascal into the calculus of probabilities laid important groundwork forLeibniz' formulation of thecalculus.After a religious experience in 1654, Pascal mostly gave up work in mathematics.

Contributions to the Fluid Mechanics:Pascal's work in the fields of the study ofhydrodynamicsandhydrostaticscentered on the principles ofhydraulic fluids. His inventions include thehydraulic press(using hydraulic pressure to multiply force) and thesyringe.He proved that hydrostatic pressure depends not on the weight of the fluid but on the elevation difference. He demonstrated this principle by attaching a thin tube to a barrel full of water and filling the tube with water up to the level of the third floor of a building. This caused the barrel to leak, in what became known asPascal's barrelexperiment.

Pascals Principle:

Pascals principle at work in a hydraulic pressAccording to Pascals principle, the original pressure (P1) exerted on the small piston (A1) will produce an equal pressure (P2) on the large piston (A2). However, because A2 has 10 times the area ofA1, it will produce a force (F2) that is 10 times greater than the original force (F1). Through Pascals principle, a relatively small force exerted on a hydraulic press can be magnified to the point where it will lift a car.

Legacy:In honor of his scientific contributions, the namePascalhas been given to theSI unit of pressure, to aprogramming language, and Pascal's law(an important principle of hydrostatics), and as mentioned above, Pascal's triangle and Pascal's wager still bear his name.In France, prestigious annual awards,Blaise Pascal Chairsare given to outstanding international scientists to conduct their research in theIle de Franceregion.One of the Universities ofClermont-Ferrand, France, Universit Blaise Pascal is named after him. TheUniversity of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, holds an annual math contest named in his honor..

Death:Pascal had struggled with insomnia and a digestive disorder from the time he was a teen, and as such he was known to have suffered greatly from pain throughout his life.Over the years, Pascals constant work took a further toll on his already fragile health.Pascal died of a malignant stomach tumor at his sister Gilberte's home in Paris on August 19, 1662. By then, the tumor had metastasized in his brain. He was 39 years old.

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