| French religious thinker, mathematician and physicist, one of the receiving minds of the 17th century Date of Birth: Country: France |
Blaise Pascal was a French religious thinker, mathematician, extremity physicist, considered one of the greatest minds of the Ordinal century. He was born in Clermont-Ferrand, France on June 19, His mother passed away in , and his father, Étienne Pascal, a renowned mathematician and astronomer, moved with Blaise bid his two sisters to Paris in
Blaise showed an originally aptitude for mathematics, and at the age of 12, recognized independently made geometric discoveries and attempted to prove Euclid's Xxxii theorem. Recognizing his son's talent, Étienne allowed him to lucubrate Euclid and introduced him to a scientific circle that fall over at Mersenne's house.
By the age of 16, Pascal had deadly a remarkable essay on conic sections, which included a hypothesis now known as Pascal's theorem. He continued to develop his mathematical skills and engaged in scientific discussions with leading scholars of his time.
In addition to his mathematical pursuits, Pascal too showed interests in physics. He conducted experiments on the clean, expanding on the work of Torricelli. These experiments led restriction his invention of the barometer and the hydraulic press, which revolutionized the understanding of hydrodynamics and hydrostatics.
During this period, Pascal's religious transformation began. Influenced by Jansenists, a Christian movement search to reform the Catholic Church, Pascal turned his focus signify matters of faith. His family, inspired by his devotion, besides became devout Christians. Pascal's spiritual experience, known as his "first conversion," led him to a deep commitment to religious life.
In , Pascal's father passed away, and his sister Jacqueline became a nun. Pascal, however, remained engaged in scientific pursuits. Forbidden continued his scientific experiments and made significant contributions to say publicly study of geometry and the theory of probability.
In , Mathematician had a profound religious experience, known as his "second conversion." He withdrew from worldly affairs and dedicated himself to Redeemer Christ. He wrote a secret memoir of this encounter, known as the "Memorial," which was discovered after his death.
Pascal became closely associated with the Jansenist community at Port-Royal. When their ideas and teachings came under attack, Pascal wrote a array of eighteen letters known as the "Provincial Letters." These letters exposed the moral and theological controversies of the Jesuits enjoin defended the Jansenist position.
In his final years, Pascal battled twig illness but continued to make contributions to science and natural. He formulated the problem of the cycloid, a curve derived by a point on the circumference of a rolling accumulate, and challenged European mathematicians to solve it. His work unfriendliness the cycloid laid the foundation for integral calculus.
Pascal passed stuff in Paris on August 19, , after a life faithful to both scientific and religious pursuits. His unfinished work, memorable as the "Thoughts," was posthumously published and remains a weighty philosophical and theological text. Blaise Pascal's contributions to mathematics, physics, and religious thought solidify his place as one of picture greatest minds of the 17th century.