Jean Cabannes (; 12 August 1885 – 31 October 1959) was a French

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 ...

specialising in

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...

Education and career

Cabannes studied at the Lycée de Nice and entered the

École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

in 1906. From 1910 to 1914, Cabannes worked in the laboratory of

Charles Fabry Marie Paul Auguste Charles Fabry (; 11 June 1867 – 11 December 1945) was a French physicist working on optics. Together with Alfred Pérot he invented the Fabry–Pérot interferometer. He is also one of the co-discoverers of the ozone l ...

Aix-Marseille University Aix-Marseille University (AMU; ; formally incorporated as ) is a Public university, public research university located in the Provence region of southern France. It was founded in 1409 when Louis II of Anjou, List of rulers of Provence, Count of ...

on the topic launched by

Lord Rayleigh John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh ( ; 12 November 1842 – 30 June 1919), was an English physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1904 "for his investigations of the densities of the most important gases and for his discovery ...

at the end of the 19th century of how

gas Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as ...

molecule A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by Force, attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemi ...

s diffused

light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

. In 1914, he showed that pure gases could scatter light. This was published in Comptes Rendus in 1915. His career was then interrupted for five years by

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1919, Cabannes returned to Fabry's laboratory to complete his thesis, after which he moved to

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier () is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous opera ...

, and later on to

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

. In 1925 he and Jean Dufay calculated the height of the

ozone Ozone () (or trioxygen) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic molecule with the chemical formula . It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope , break ...

layer. Cabannes along with Pierre Daure and

Yves Rocard Yves-André Rocard (; 22 May 1903 – 16 March 1992) was a French physicist who helped develop the atomic bomb for France. Lifes Rocard was born in Vannes. After obtaining a double doctorate in mathematics (1927) and physics (1928) he was aw ...

were among the scientists who, in 1928, discovered that gases diffusing monochromatic light could also change their wavelength (the Cabannes-Daure effect). This was identified independently by C. V. Raman and

K. S. Krishnan Sir Kariamanikkam Srinivasa Krishnan (4 December 1898 – 14 June 1961) was an Indian physicist. He was a co-discoverer of Raman scattering, for which his mentor C. V. Raman was awarded the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics. Early life Kariama ...

in liquids, and by G. S. Landsberg and L. I. Mandelstam in crystals. Cabannes was among the candidates for the

Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...

of 1929 (proposed by

), which was awarded to de Broglie and the 1930 prize went to C. V. Raman.

Honors and awards

In 1949, he was elected a member of l'

Académie des Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

. In 1924, he received the

Prix Félix-Robin The Prix Félix-Robin is a prize awarded by the Société française de physique to reward a physicist for a career’s work. The prize originated from the will of the engineer Félix Robin. He donated money aimed at rewarding remarkable scientif ...

and in 1951 the first ever awarded Prix des Trois Physiciens from the

Fondation de France The Fondation de France ("Foundation of France") is an independent private organisation, recognised as being in the public interest, and created at the instigation of Charles de Gaulle and André Malraux in an effort to stimulate and foster the g ...

. Cabannes was the President of the Société astronomique de France (SAF) (French astronomical society), from 1951 to 1953. List of presidents of the Société astronomique de France The

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

crater Cabannes was named after him.

Personal life

He was married to a daughter of Eugène Fabry (1856–1944), brother of

, and was the father of four children, among whom was the mathematician Henri Cabannes.

References

*J. Cabannes, Comptes Rendus, vol. 160, pp. 62–63 (1915). 1885 births 1959 deaths French physicists Scientists from Marseille École Normale Supérieure alumni Members of the French Academy of Sciences Academic staff of the University of Montpellier Academic staff of the University of Paris Aix-Marseille University alumni French optical physicists {{france-physicist-stub