Yvette cauchois biography

Yvette Cauchois facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Professor Yvette Cauchois
Born	()19 December Paris, France
Died	19 November () (aged 90) Paris
Resting place	Monastery Bârsana, Romania
Nationality	French
Education	Sorbonne
Known for	Inventing the Cauchois spectrometer Development and use of Synchrotron light President of the French Society of Physical Chemistry
Awards	Ancel Prize from the Société chimique de France () Officer of the Legion of Honour Officers of the National Order of Merit (France) Gold medal of the University of Paris
Scientific career
Fields	X-ray spectroscopy X-ray optics
Institutions	CNRS National Laboratories of Frascati Laboratory for the Use of Electromagnetic Radiation, Orsay University of Paris XI Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Sorbonne
Thesis	Extension de la spectroscopie des rayons X. Spectrographe à focalisation par cristal courbé; spectre d'émission X des gaz()
Influenced	Christiane Bonnelle

Solvay Conference on Physics in Brussels Left to right, sitting:Crussaro, N.P. Allen, Cauchois, Borelius, Bragg, Moller, Sietz, Hollomon, Frank; middle row:Rathenau,⁽⁾Koster, Rudberg,⁽⁾, Flamache, Goche, Groven, Orowan, Burgers, Shockley, , C.S.

Smith, Dehlinger, Laval, Henriot; top row:Gaspart, Lomer, Cottrell, Homes, Curien

Yvette Cauchois ( 19 December – 19 November ) was a French physicist known for her contributions to x-ray spectroscopy and x-ray optics, and for pioneering European synchrotron research.

Education

Cauchois attended school in Paris, and pursued undergraduate studies at the Sorbonne who awarded her a degree in the physical sciences in July Cauchois undertook graduate studies at the Laboratory of Physical Chemistry with the support of a National Fund for Science studentship, and was awarded her doctorate in for her work on the use of curved crystals for high-resolution x-ray analysis.

Academic career

After completing her doctoral studies, Cauchois was appointed research assistant in the laboratory of Jean Perrin at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS).

She was promoted to research associate in , and in the same year participated in the launch of the Palais de la Découverte.

In January Cauchois was named head of the Physical Chemistry Laboratory in the Faculty of Sciences of Paris. When World War II broke out, Cauchois maintained continuity at the Laboratory, acting as Head of Studies when Jean Perrin had to flee to the United States.

Yvette cauchois biography images Cauchois was particularly interested in assisting young and underprivileged people. With a flat crystal only a very small area is used about 8 minutes of arc around the Bragg angle. Quick facts for kids. After completing her doctoral studies, Cauchois was appointed research assistant in the laboratory of Jean Perrin at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique CNRS.

In , when the Liberation led to the dismissal of Louis Dunoyer de Segonzac, Cauchois was promoted to Professor at the Sorbonne. She became Chair of Chemical Physics in , succeeding Edmond Bauer to take charge of the laboratory.

With the number of researchers outgrowing the available space in the Laboratory, Cauchois founded the Centre de Chimie Physique at Orsay in She directed this organisation for ten years, whilst simultaneously continuing her work at the Sorbonne.

She joined the University of Paris VI in following the division of the Sorbonne.

Cauchois chaired the French Society of Physical Chemistry from – She was only the second woman to do so, after Marie Curie. From until her retirement in , Cauchois was Professor Emeritus at the University of Paris VI. Cauchois was still conducting active laboratory research as late as (aged 83).

Over her lifetime she produced more than publications, which continue to be cited today.

Research on x-rays and crystals

In the early s, Cauchois established the fundamental principles of a new x-ray spectrometer that was both easy to use and had a high resolution, satisfying the Bragg reflection condition. The new spectrometer was named after her, and from she used it to observe gas emissions and multiplets.

The new technique was used around the world for the analysis of x-rays and gamma rays and prompted a wave of new scholarship in radiation studies.

Yvette cauchois biography husband Using x-ray and gamma-ray spectroscopy, observed atomic transitions and energy levels of a large number of elements including radioactive element such as polonium, radon, protactinium, neptunium and plutonium. Research on X-rays and crystals [ edit ]. Read Edit View history. She was only the second woman to do so, after Marie Curie.

Cauchois pioneered developments in x-ray imaging and observed that x-ray radiation could be focused using curved crystal for use in monochromators and x-ray scattering. Cauchois' work on soft x-ray distributions was the first step in determining the photo-absorption spectra. She used the radiation reflected from crystals to study the electronic structure of materials.

Cauchois systematically studied the x-ray spectra of heavy elements and actinides.

In , Cauchois and Horia Hulubei claimed to have discovered element 85 via X-ray analysis, conducting further research and publishing on follow-up studies in With McTaggart in she determined the differential absorption of X-rays by Zirconium and Hafnium.

Yvette cauchois biography The new spectrometer was named after her, and from she used it to observe gas emissions and multiplets. Her work covers a period of six decades from into the s and her over publications are often cited. See also [ edit ]. She was the first person in Europe to realise the potential of the radiation emitted by electrons rotating in the synchrotron as a source for understanding the properties of matter.

Cauchois, Sonia Cotelle, and Hulubei proved the presence of polonium and neptunium, and Cauchois later pioneered studies on the x-ray spectra of transuranic elements.

A fascination with astrophysics led Cauchois to study extraterrestrial x-ray radiation, especially the solar x-ray spectrum using missile experiments.

In she produced x-ray images of the sun.

Synchrotron and solar research

From , Cauchois initiated a research programme in collaboration with the Istituto Superiore di Sanità at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati to explore the possibilities of synchrotron research. She was the first person in Europe to realise the potential of the radiation emitted by electrons rotating in the synchrotron as a source for understanding the properties of matter.

In the early s, Cauchois carried out her experiments at LURE (Laboratoire pour l'utilisation des radiations électromagnétiques).

Personal life and death

Cauchois was particularly interested in assisting young and underprivileged people. She also enjoyed poetry and music, and was a skilled grand piano player.

Yvette cauchois biography wikipedia Parcours des Sciences in French. Cauchois systematically studied the x-ray spectra of heavy elements and actinides. Research on X-rays and crystals [ edit ]. Cauchois was particularly interested in assisting young and underprivileged people.

After meeting a priest from the monastery of Bârsana and discussing religious themes with him, Cauchois decided to be baptized in the Orthodox religion. She travelled to Maramures, Romania in , aged 90, and was baptized there. Cauchois contracted bronchitis on this trip, and died a few days after returning to Paris. She was buried in the Monastery Bârsana, to whom she bequeathed her assets.