Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Eppur' si muove...


I spent more than 40 years in Paris but I had never been into the Panthéon. Last Saturday I did and discovered many beautiful things including this fantastic Foucault's Pendulum - named after the French physicist Léon Foucault - which was originally installed there in 1851 as an experiment to demonstrate the rotation of the earth. Stunning.
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34 comments:

  1. buzzgirlMarch 28, 2006 at 12:56:00 AM GMT+2

    J'ai besoin de l'aide avec mon français, Eric! Ça veut dire quoi "Eppur' si muove" ?

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  2. nebelMarch 28, 2006 at 12:56:00 AM GMT+2

    We had one of those in our school! But not that beautiful, of course!

    Is the pendulum swining around the cat?

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  3. EricMarch 28, 2006 at 1:01:00 AM GMT+2

    LOL Buzzgirl. C'est un peu elliptique effectivement. En fait c’est de l’italien et ça veut dire « Et pourtant elle bouge ». C’est l’expression que l’on attribue à Galilée lorsqu’il a affirmé que la terre tournait…

    > Nebel, in fact there are many such pendulums like that throughout the world. It's a good way of showing the kids how the earth revolves.

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  4. yoriMarch 28, 2006 at 1:12:00 AM GMT+2

    Eric, reply E-mail please

    kfaction@naver.com

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  5. buzzgirlMarch 28, 2006 at 1:34:00 AM GMT+2

    Too funny! Of course I took a year of Italian in school. I loved it at the time but (obviously) can't even recognize it now :(

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  6. EricMarch 28, 2006 at 1:41:00 AM GMT+2

    I did Coldnoodle, I did! And now I am off to bed!

    Duane. French people are good at inveting, they are lousy at marketing and selling!

    Buona note Buzzgirl, buona note... (That's Italian 101!)

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  7. AnonymousMarch 28, 2006 at 3:07:00 AM GMT+2

    Just wanted to say your photos are wonderful! I found this through Yahoo! Widgets. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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  8. MarekMarch 28, 2006 at 3:08:00 AM GMT+2

    Tiens donc, moi j'ai tjs appris la traduction "et pourtant, elle tourne". D'ailleurs, Wikipedia nous apprend que:

    >Galilée n'a jamais prononcé le fameux « Et pourtant elle tourne » (Eppur si muove) : cela lui aurait valu le bûcher.

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  9. AnonymousMarch 28, 2006 at 3:13:00 AM GMT+2

    What is "Eppur' si muove..." ? I might be stupid, but....

    wonderful photo

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  10. AnonymousMarch 28, 2006 at 5:39:00 AM GMT+2

    I hope that cat hasn't used up all of her lives yet! nice photo.

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  11. la femmeMarch 28, 2006 at 7:10:00 AM GMT+2

    I love the Egyptian cat.

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  12. ::N::March 28, 2006 at 7:28:00 AM GMT+2

    Isn't it funny how one can be a tourist in one's own city??

    Today I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go to the National Mall near the Capital Building (I live in Washington DC). I took photos, I strolled (for once I wasn't in a hurry) and just took in the beauty. Sure, I looked like the average tourist, but it was well worth it!

    Just thought I'd share!

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  13. Tomate FarcieMarch 28, 2006 at 9:10:00 AM GMT+2

    Don't they have a very small one, too, at the CNAM? I could have sworn I saw a smaller version there, too.

    Glad to see the "real" one in action, though. A couple of years ago I tried to see it but it was out due to some kind of maintenance. Felt cheated!

    Thanks for showing it to us, Eric!

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  14. AnonymousMarch 28, 2006 at 10:30:00 AM GMT+2

    Hello Tomate Farcie. Yes your souvenirs are correct : there is one in the Musée des Arts et Métiers. See it on the french version of wikipedia : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendule_de_Foucault

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  15. RobMarch 28, 2006 at 12:13:00 PM GMT+2

    Very cool, Eric. Thanks for sharing it. This is something I will have to see when I finally get to Paris.

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  16. AnonymousMarch 28, 2006 at 12:49:00 PM GMT+2

    on peut le voir aussi au palais de la découverte
    http://www.palais-decouverte.fr/discip/physique/mecanique/index.htm
    Mais pas si beau !

    Amicalement

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  17. AnonymousMarch 28, 2006 at 1:03:00 PM GMT+2

    Eric, As always, your use of light is superb.

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  18. AnonymousMarch 28, 2006 at 2:13:00 PM GMT+2

    Beauty and science wrapped into one. I love it!

    And as long as we're damnding that you email people, Eric! (lol, just kidding!)

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  19. Cynthia QuirosMarch 28, 2006 at 2:44:00 PM GMT+2

    Flashback: umberto eco foucault´s pendulum...read about it but never seen it before, so thanks, Eric!
    Lovely bastet cat!

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  20. ElisabethMarch 28, 2006 at 3:25:00 PM GMT+2

    Science is beautiful - scary to me (because my mind is all but scientific). but truly beautiful.

    A lovely shot, Eric, and the Egyptian cat is truly the icing on the cake.

    I never went into the Pantheon until 1998, I think, and went back again last spring. A very cool place to visit (and yes, on a hot summer day, it is actually cool in there.)

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  21. AnonymousMarch 28, 2006 at 4:37:00 PM GMT+2

    salut éric,

    j'étais moi aussi dans le quartier du panthéon samedi dernier, et je commence à regretter de ne pas avoir poussé mes pas jusqu'à l'intérieur...

    du coup je suppose que tu as dû tomber sur la nuée de jonquilles de l'opération contre le cancer qui se trouvait sur la place du panthéon. j'essaier

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  22. AnonymousMarch 28, 2006 at 4:37:00 PM GMT+2

    salut éric,

    j'étais moi aussi dans le quartier du panthéon samedi dernier, et je commence à regretter de ne pas avoir poussé mes pas jusqu'à l'intérieur...

    du coup je suppose que tu as dû tomber sur la nuée de jonquilles de l'opération contre le cancer qui se trouvait sur la place du panthéon. j'essaierai de mettre un post là dessus ce soir.

    ... et comme je n'ai pas encore eu l'occasion jusqu'à aujourd'hui: bravo pour ton blog!

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  23. AnonymousMarch 28, 2006 at 4:46:00 PM GMT+2

    > goon : Honte à toi !!! l'opération "jonquilles contre le cancer" est sur le post d'il y a deux jours !!!!

    ;o)

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  24. LisiMarch 28, 2006 at 5:40:00 PM GMT+2

    Hi Eric, am watching TV news this very minute about the strike in Paris, geez, 3 million ppl on strike!

    Btw, this pic is like a book cover, very cool...

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  25. Brian DubéMarch 28, 2006 at 5:54:00 PM GMT+2

    So elegant.
    Lucy

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  26. JoeMarch 28, 2006 at 6:33:00 PM GMT+2

    In Italy a famouse writer Umberto Eco has published a book named "Il pendolo di Foucault" .

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  27. Tomate FarcieMarch 28, 2006 at 7:08:00 PM GMT+2

    Nasty GG!!! Good to see you! ;-)

    (and thank your brother for the info on the http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendule_de_Foucault , too! )

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  28. RodneyMarch 28, 2006 at 7:44:00 PM GMT+2

    Very nice!!! 40 years and this is the first time there? Great shot!

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  29. AnonymousMarch 29, 2006 at 12:01:00 AM GMT+2

    I also like Malraux's cat! Perhaps even better.

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  30. AnonymousMarch 29, 2006 at 10:26:00 AM GMT+2

    Initialement, le pendule a été installé par Foucault au sein du Panthéon pour plusieurs raisons :
    - c'est un des points les plus hauts accessibles pour avoir le plus long fil possible (et donc mesurer un vrai déplacement du pendule)
    - il est à l'intérieur (ca évite les aléas du vent)...

    L'expérience montre la rotation de la Terre de la façon suivante : lorsqu'on lache le pendule sur l'axe Nord Sud (par exemple, ou sur tout autre axe noté à l'origine), on remarquera que la trajectoire du pendule lors de ses allers-retours sera modifiée.

    On en conclut la rotation de la Terre via une série d'équations physiques d'un niveau Maths Sup...

    Merci pour le blog, j'ai beau habiter Paris, c'est un plaisir quotidien !

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  31. AnonymousMarch 29, 2006 at 1:29:00 PM GMT+2

    Am I the only one surprised that Dan Brown didn't also weave the Foucault's pendulum at the Pantheon somehow into his vast conspiracy theory thriller based in Paris. . .Now what do you suppose he'd make of that cat!? :-)
    Wonderful capture of the pendulum's movement, Eric!
    -Kim

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  32. Louis la VacheMarch 31, 2006 at 6:24:00 AM GMT+2

    Le Panthéon - and Foucault's Pendulum - are two of Louis la Vache's favorite things in Paris.

    Very nice photo.

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  33. AnonymousApril 6, 2006 at 2:50:00 PM GMT+2

    Son premier pendule, Foucault l'a installé, (il y a un siècle) dans l'escalier de son immeuble, au coin de la rue d'Assas et de la rue de Vaugirard.
    Si vous y allez, vous verrez, sur toute la hauteur de l'immeuble, un bas -relief, qui représente ce pendule.
    Le rez-de-chaussée est une banque, si je me souviens bien.

    His first pendulum was installed by Foucault, one century ago, in the stairs of his building, at the crossing of Assas and Vaugirard streets. There is a sculpture, on the wall, outside the building, showing the pendulum..

    =============

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