Willebrord snell law of refraction

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Willebrord snell pronunciation
How did willebrord snell discover refraction

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Scientist of the Day - Willebrord Snel

Willebrord Snel, a Dutch physical scientist, died Oct. 30, 1626, at the age of about 46. Snel (or Snellius or Snell) did important work in astronomy, mathematics, optics, and geodesy, and he has his name attached to the law of refraction of light (Snell’s law), although he was not the first to make that discovery. But today we focus on a book that he wrote in 1618, Coeli & siderum observationes, in which he published the astronomical observations made at the court of Landgrave Wilhelm IV of Hesse-Cassel in the late sixteenth century. The book is important in its own right, but our copy is special because of a brief ownership inscription on the title page. "Petri Crügeri" it says, in one hand; that entry is lightly crossed out, and then underneath, in a slightly different shade of ink, it says "Joh. Hevely / Ao 1664." Peter Crüger was a Polish astronomer working in Gdansk, and he was the teacher of Johannes Hevelius, who would become the world's most distinguished lunar observer a

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Willebrord Snell was an early seventeenth century Dutch mathematician who is best known for determining that transparent materials have different indices of refraction depending upon their composition. Snell was born to an affluent family in Leiden in 1580, and started studying mathematics as a very young man. His father was a scholar and professor of mathematics at the University of Leiden.

Snell entered the University of Leiden at a relatively young age where he originally studied law. His attention soon turned to mathematics and he was teaching at the university by the time he was 20 years old. After finishing with his degree at the university, he traveled to eastern Europe and visited most of the major astronomers of the day.

In 1613, Snell succeeded his father as professor of mathematics at Leiden and in 1617, he published Eratosthenes Batavus, which explained his methodology for measuring the Earth by triangulation. Snell had difficulty completing his work until the brother barons Sterrenberg took over and finished it with his assistance. This important work wove the

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Willebrord Snellius

Dutch astronomer and mathematician (1580-1626)

Willebrord Snellius^[1]^[2] (born Willebrord Snel van Royen)^[3] (13 June 1580^[4] – 30 October 1626) was a Dutch astronomer and mathematician, commonly known as Snell. His name is usually associated with the law of refraction of light known as Snell's law.^[5]

The lunar craterSnellius is named after Willebrord Snellius. The Royal Netherlands Navy has named three survey ships after Snellius, including a currently-serving vessel.

Biography

Willebrord Snellius was born in Leiden, Netherlands. In 1613 he succeeded his father, Rudolph Snel van Royen (1546–1613) as professor of mathematics at the University of Leiden.

Surveying

See also: Triangulation (surveying) § Willebrord Snell

In 1615, Snellius, after the work of Eratosthenes in Ptolemaic Egypt in the 3rd century BC, probably was the first to use triangulation to do a large-scale arc measurement for determining the circumference of the earth.^[7]^[8]