Dominique Francois Arago

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Dominique François Arago

Dominique François Arago , 1786-1853, French physicist and astronomer. He is noted for his discoveries in magnetism and optics as well as for his astronomical observations. Arago was an ardent supporter of the wave theory of light. In 1811 he invented the polariscope and later developed a polarimeter. His collected works (1854-62) include his well-known Astronomie populaire (4 vol.).

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Arago, François

A Dictionary of Astronomy | 1997 | Â© A Dictionary of Astronomy 1997, originally published by Oxford University Press 1997. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Arago, François( Dominique Arago Jean Arago) (1786–1853)Frenchscientist and statesman. With the French physicist Augustin Jean Fresnel (1788–1827), he established the wave theory of light and studied its polarization. In 1811 he invented the polariscope for measuring the degree of polarization of light. This instrument allows light from solid and fluid surfaces to be distinguished, and Arago used it in several astronomical studies. One was an extensive study of the total solar eclipse of 1842, in which he determined that the Sun's limb is gaseous, and examined polarized light from the chromosphere and corona.

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	Postal Museum Unveils New Interactive Display Newspaper article from: The Washington Post; 11/14/2003; ; 639 words ; ...material on the museum's Web site. (The new center's computer program is called Arago, after the French physicist and astronomer Dominique Francois Arago, a friend of the Smithsonian's original benefactor, scientist James Smithson...
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	Rare and Costly Stamps to Go on Display News Wire article from: AP Online; 5/25/2006; ; 689 words ; ...site will go live May 27 at http://www.arago.si.edu. Arago allows browsing through the museum's collection...the system is named for 19th century scientist Dominique Francois Jean Arago, a friend of James Smithson, the founding...
	Rare stamps on display; Most valuable American stamp is featured at the Washington show Newspaper article from: Telegraph - Herald (Dubuque); 5/28/2006; ; 615 words ; ...launch its new online research Internet site called Arago. Arago allows browsing through the museum's collection...the system is named for 19th century scientist Dominique Francois Jean Arago, who advocated using the most advanced technology...