James Fourier

French mathematician and physicist. Famous for the Fourier transform and Fourier series in mathematics

[ Born: 1768 / Auxerre, France ]

[ Died: 1830 / Paris, France. ]

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• 1822 - Fourier proposed that any function of a variable, continuous or discontinuous, can be expanded into a series of sines of multiples of that original variable.
• The Fourier series subsequently gave rise to the Fourier transform which is a mathematical operation which converts a complex function of a real variable to another, (e.g. in signal processing it converts a time function to a frequency function)
• In 1824 Fourier discovered the Greenhouse Effect as he discovered that gases in the atmosphere might increase the Earth’s surface temperature
• Proposed Fourier’s law of conduction of heat – whereby heat transfer through a body is proportional to the negative temperature gradient.

Trivia - Fourier died in 1830 after tripping and falling down his stairs.

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