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PAUL LANGEVIN (1872-1946) was a renowned French physicist, humanist, and educationalist. This biography by his son André, originally published in French in 1972 and here translated into English for the first time, is enhanced by numerous quotations from his friends, scientific and political colleagues, family and by Paul Langevin himself. Close to the Curies, Einstein, and Rutherford, this is a vivid account of a life lived at the core of physics turned upside down by the discovery of radioactivity and X-rays, by the theory of quanta, by relativity and by wave mechanics. Langevin himself was the originator of ultrasonics, a profound theorist of magnetism and of statistical mechanics and an evangelist for relativity. His utter commitment to rational science was equally applied to social justice. His life was deeply affected by both world wars and the political turmoil between them, during which he publicly opposed fascism and supported communist principles. In this personal, intimate account of his life, we find a generous, courageous, loving, brilliant human being. There is much in his understanding of humanity and the resolution of conflicts that remains relevant today.

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9782759827824

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André LANGEVIN (1901-1977), was the second son of Paul Langevin and his wife Jeanne Desfosses. He was a student of physics at the École Supérieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielle where he became head of works in applied electricity in 1938. He was married to Luce Dubus, physicist, and communist activist, who assisted in writing this biography. He published on piezoelectricity and petrography, completing his doctorate in 1942. During the post-war period he was active in the National Union of Scientific Researchers and the National Education Federation. This biography of his father was written after his retirement in 1965. Francis DUCK is a retired medical physicist. During his career developing many aspects of the medical uses of ultrasound, he worked at University College Hospital, London, Memorial University of Newfoundland, the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, the Institute of Cancer Research UK, and finally in Bath UK. He has published widely. His 1990 Physical Properties of Tissue remains a key sourcebook. Since retirement he has followed his interest in the history of medical physics. His historical review, Physicists and Physicians, was published in 2013 and his joint biography of the early radiological sisters Edith and Florence Stoney, was published in 2019. The 150th anniversary of Langevin's birth in 2022 has brought him back to his roots in ultrasonics.

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