Gabriel Lippmann

**Jonas Ferdinand Gabriel Lippmann** (16 August 1845 – 13 July 1921) was a Franco-Luxembourgish physicist and inventor. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on color photography.

## Early life and education
Gabriel Lippmann was born in Bonnevoie, Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: Bouneweg), on 16 August 1845. At that time, Bonnevoie was part of the commune of Hollerich.  Bonnevoie is now a district of Luxembourg City.) His father, Isaïe was a French Jew. He managed the family glove-making business. In 1848, the family moved to Paris. At first, Lippmann was tutored by his mother, Miriam Rose (Lévy). He later studied at the Lycée Napoléon (now Lycée Henri-IV). In school, Lippmann did not do well at paying attention. He did have a special interest in mathematics. In 1868, he was admitted to the École normale supérieure in Paris, In 1872, the French government sent him to Heidelberg University. He was able to specialize in electricity  Lippmann receiving a doctorate with "summa cum laude" distinction in 1874. Lippmann then returned to Paris in 1875. he continued to study until 1878. He then became professor of physics at the Sorbonne.

## Career
Lippmann made important contributions to different areas of physics.

### The capillary electrometer
One of Lippmann's early discoveries was the relationship between electrical and capillary phenomena. This let him create a sensitive capillary electrometer. It became known as the Lippmann electrometer. This device was used in the first ECG machine. 

### Piezoelectricity
In 1881, Lippmann predicted the converse piezoelectric effect.

### Color photography
s or dyes of any kind.]]
Lippmann is remembered as the inventor of a way to reproducing colors by photography. It is based on the interference phenomenon. This work earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1908.

In practice, the Lippmann process was not easy to use. Higher resolution needed smaller grains. Smaller grains were less affected by light so they needed to be exposed to the light for a longer amount of time.  With a lens with a large opening and a very brightly sunlit subject, a camera exposure of less than one minute were rare. Exposures measured in minutes were normal. Pure colors photographed well, but the colors of real-world objects could be a problem to photograph. The process could not make color prints on paper. It was not possible to make a good copy of a Lippmann color photograph by rephotographing it.  The requirements needed to see the colors to best effect meant the photographs could not be used for casual use. 

### The coelostat
Lippmann also invented the coelostat. It is a tool used in astronem that compensated for the rotation of the Earth. This lets people photograph areas of the sky without apparent movement.

## References
## Further reading
* J.P. Pier & J.A. Massard (eds) (1997):*Gabriel Lippmann: Commémoration par la section des sciences naturelles, physiques et mathématiques de l’Institut grand-ducal de Luxembourg du 150e anniversaire du savant né au Luxembourg, lauréat du prix Nobel en 1908.* Luxembourg, Section des sciences naturelles, physiques et mathématiques de l’Institut grand-ducal de Luxembourg en collaboration avec le Séminaire de mathématique et le Séminaire d’histoire des sciences et de la médecine du centre universitaire de Luxembourg, 139 p.
* Lebon, Ernest, "Savants du jour : biographie, bibliographie analytique des écrits", comprenant Portrait de Gabriel Lippmann. – 1911. p.&nbsp;70, Gauthier-Villars (Paris), 1909–1913.
* Isabelle Bergoend, *Le Dagobert optique*, Editions Thierry Marchaisse, 2015.

## Other websites
* Gabriel Lippmann in Jewish Encyclopedia
* Centre de Recherche Public – Gabriel Lippmann