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Evangelista Torricelli

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Scientist

The Resume

    (October 15, 1608-October 25, 1647)
    Born in Faenza, Italy
    Namesake of the torr, a unit of pressure used in vacuum measurements
    Wrote 'Trattato del moto' (before 1641), 'De dimensione parabolae' (1644), 'Opera Geometrica' (1644), 'Lezioni accademiche' (printed 1715), and 'Esperienza dell'argento vivo' (printed 1897)
    Court mathematician to Grand Duke Ferdinando II of Tuscany (January 8, 1642-October 25, 1647)
    Invented the barometer by creating a sustained vacuum (1643)
    Discovered Torricelli's law, which states that the speed of a flowing liquid is jointly proportional to the square root of the distance between the liquid surface and the opening's center and to the square root of twice the acceleration caused by gravity (1643)
    Also discovered Torricelli's trumpet AKA Gabriel's horn, a cone-like figure with a finite volume but an infinite surface area
    Died of typhus in Florence

Why he might be annoying:

    Even though he was universally credited for inventing the barometer, historical documents revealed that Gasparo Berti unwittingly created the first one at some point between 1640 and 1643.
    He never published his discoveries on his first barometer because he was too focused on his mathematical studies.
    He used other mathematicians' methods so much that he got into disputes with them over priority.
    Gilles Personne de Roberval accused him of plagiarizing his solution to the quadrature on the cycloid, and the dispute continued even after Torricelli's own death.
    After his successful experiment on air pressure, he unsuccessfully tried to test life conditions in the vacuum because they were crushed by the mercury's weight.
    Shortly after his death, the Italian tradition of pioneering in science declined to the point that the focus of science had shifted north.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He grew up poor.
    He lost his father at an early age.
    He was a friend and supporter of Galileo, even developing his work when he died.
    He made improvements to the microscope and telescope.
    He had to conduct his experiments in secret because his neighbors circulated false rumors that he was engaging in witchcraft.
    His contributions in the field of mathematics, particularly on curves, solids, and rotations, filled the gap between ancient Greek geometry and calculus.
    The barometer has been instrumental in predicting short-term weather forecasts by measuring atmospheric pressure.

Credit: Big Lenny


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 23 Votes: 52.17% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 38 Votes: 52.63% Annoying