Carlo MATTEUCCI (1811-1868) Italian physicist... - Lot 322 - Ader

Lot 322
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500 - 700 EUR
Carlo MATTEUCCI (1811-1868) Italian physicist... - Lot 322 - Ader
Carlo MATTEUCCI (1811-1868) Italian physicist and politician.6 L.A.S. and 2 L.S., Pisa, Turin, Geneva, 1852-1865, to various correspondents (including one to Claude Bernard); 17 pages in-8 and in-4 (tears to 2 letters); in French. Beautiful correspondence from a pioneer of electrophysiology. Matteucci writes about his electrophysiology experiments on frogs, the presentation of one of his works to the Academy of Sciences, his application for a position as a correspondent of the Institute (with a list of his works), the publication of an article in response to Le Verrier's attacks, the sending of bismuth rods from his galvanometer (with a drawing), the insertion of a note following the erroneous assertions of Abbé Moigno, the communication of a manuscript destined for Annales, etc. We will quote two excerpts. Pisa, December 24, 1858, to Claude Bernard: "I leave it to the physicists to judge my work of physics properly speaking. But no one is in a better position than you to judge my work on electrophysiology. It is a part of physics which did not exist and which now results from experiments as sure and clear as those of gravity. Pure physicists do not know what it is to make a good experiment of animal physics. Perhaps only I know what it took to prove that the frog current and the muscle current are phenomena of the living organism explained by the muscle electromotor. Nobili had done nothing of the sort; on the contrary, he had distorted the nature of the phenomenon. We now know the truth"... Turin June 30 [1865], to an "illustrious colleague": "I see now with great regret that the newspapers Les Mondes and Cosmos have published an extract of my letters that I addressed to them in order to spread my answer and to defend myself as much as possible from the relentless and incredible attack of M. Le Verrier. I beg you, illustrious fellow-member, to help me to spread this truth among our fellow-members and not to be accused of resorting to these means of publication, other than in a case where I believed I had to do so in my defense. I am very angry about this and I want my colleagues to know it. Besides, Mr. Le Verrier can accuse me, I do not know of what, that I will not answer any more "...
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