Mathematicians Of The Day

24th August



On this day in 1804, the first balloon ascent made for scientific purposes was by Jean-Baptiste Biot and Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac from the garden of the Conservatoire des Arts. They achieved a height of 4000 metres and measured magnetic, electrical, and chemical properties of the atmosphere at various heights.

The postage stamp of one of today's mathematicians at THIS LINK was issued in 1954.

Click on for a poster.


Quotation of the day

From Rudolf Clausius
Die Energie der Welt ist konstant. Die Entropie der Welt strebt einem Maximum zu.

The energy of the world is constant. its entropy tends to a maximum.
Quoted in A L Mackay, Dictionary of Scientific Quotations (London 1994)