Antonio Pacinotti (17 June 1841 – 24 March 1912) was an Italian
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
, who was Professor of Physics at the
University of Pisa.
Biography
Pacinotti was born in
Pisa
Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
, where he also died. He was the son of Luigi Pacinotti and Caterina Catanti, attended the ''istituto arcivescovile Santa Caterina'', and took part in the second war of Italian independence as ''sergente volontario''. He was a student of
Carlo Matteucci and graduated in mathematics at Pisa under
Riccardo Felici. He was appointed as assistant to the astronomer
Giovanni Battista Donati in 1862, professor at the technological institute of
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
in 1864, professor of physics at the
University of Cagliari
The University of Cagliari () is a public research university in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It was founded in 1606 and is organized in 11 faculties.
History
The ''Studium Generalis Kalaritanum'' was founded in 1606 along the lines of the old ...
in 1873, and, finally, successor to his father in 1881 in the chair of technological physics at the
University of Pisa. Among his students was
Augusto Righi
Augusto Righi (; 27 August 1850 – 8 June 1920) was an Italian physicist who was one of the first scientists to produce microwaves.
Biography
Born in Bologna, Righi was educated in his home town, taught physics at Bologna Technical College bet ...
.
Pacinotti died in Pisa.
Scientific studies and invention of the dynamo
He is best known for inventing an improved form of
direct-current
Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or even ...
electrical generator
In electricity generation, a generator, also called an ''electric generator'', ''electrical generator'', and ''electromagnetic generator'' is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy for use in an extern ...
, or
dynamo
"Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, )
A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos employed electromagnets for self-starting by using residual magnetic field left in the iron cores ...
, which he built in 1860 and described in a paper published in ''
Il Nuovo Cimento'' of 1865. It used a ring armature around which was wrapped a coil of wire, to produce a smoother current than that available from previous types of dynamo. He found that the device could also be used as an
electric motor
An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...
.
In July 1862, Pacinotti was one of several independent discoverers of the
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...
109P/Swift-Tuttle.
Lungarno Pacinotti, an embankment of the
Arno River in Pisa, is named after him.
LUNGARNO PACINOTTI
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References
External links
*
Anthology of Italian Physics, entry for Antonio Pacinotti, from the website of the University of Pavia
La prima macchina dinamo-motore di Antonio Pacinotti
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacinotti, Antonio
1841 births
1912 deaths
19th-century Italian physicists
19th-century Italian astronomers
19th-century Italian inventors
People associated with electricity
Academic staff of the University of Cagliari
Academic staff of the University of Pisa