Charles Augustin de Coulomb
Charles Augustin de Coulomb
French, France
June 14, 1736, Angouleme, France - August 23, 1806, Paris, France, (aged 70)
Charles-Augustin de Coulomb was a French physicist best known for the formulation of Coulomb's law, which defines the force between two electrical charges and is, in fact, one of the principal forces in atomic reactions. Performed extensive research on the friction encountered in machinery and windmills, the elasticity of metal and silk fibers, and the description of the electrostatic force of attraction and repulsion. He also did important work on friction.
The SI unit of
electric charge, the coulomb, was named in his honor in 1880.