Luigi Palmieri was an Italian physicist

Physicist

A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...

 and meteorologist. He was famous for his scientific studies of the eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, for his researches on earthquakes and meteorological phenomena and for improving the seismographer of the time.

Biography

Palmieri was born in Faicchio

Faicchio

Faicchio is a comune in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about 50 km northeast of Naples and about 30 km northwest of Benevento. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,867 and an area of 43.9 km²...

, Benevento

Benevento

Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and died in Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 at the age of 89.

Palmieri received a degree in architecture from the University of Naples. In 1845, he was made Professor of Physics at the Royal Naval School in Naples and in 1847 was appointed as Chair of Physics at the university. In 1848, he began working at the Vesuvius Observatory

Vesuvius Observatory

The Vesuvius Observatory is the surveillance centre for monitoring the three volcanoes which threaten the Campanian region of Italy: Mount Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei and Ischia. Founded in 1841 on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius , it is the oldest volcanology institute in the world....

 and in 1854 was appointed as Director of the Observatory. Using an electromagnetic seismometer

Seismometer

Seismometers are instruments that measure motions of the ground, including those of seismic waves generated by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other seismic sources...

 for the detection and measurement of ground tremors

Oscillation

Oscillation is the repetitive variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value or between two or more different states. Familiar examples include a swinging pendulum and AC power. The term vibration is sometimes used more narrowly to mean a mechanical oscillation but sometimes...

, Palmieri was able to detect very slight movements in trying to predict volcanic eruptions. Furthermore, he was the first to detect the presence of Helium

Helium

Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...

 on Earth on the lava of Mount Vesuvius.

Using a modified Peltier electrometer, he also carried out research in the field of atmospheric electricity

Atmospheric electricity

Atmospheric electricity is the regular diurnal variations of the Earth's atmospheric electromagnetic network . The Earth's surface, the ionosphere, and the atmosphere is known as the global atmospheric electrical circuit...

. Other scientific contributions included the development of a modified Morse telegraph, and improvements to the anemometer

Anemometer

An anemometer is a device for measuring wind speed, and is a common weather station instrument. The term is derived from the Greek word anemos, meaning wind, and is used to describe any airspeed measurement instrument used in meteorology or aerodynamics...

 and pluviometer.

Biography

• Royal Society of Naples (Academy of Sciences) – 1861
• Academy of the Lincei (Florence) – 1871

Honours

• The crater Palmieri
  Palmieri (crater)
  Palmieri is a lunar crater that lies to the southwest of the Mare Humorum, in the southwestern quadrant of the Moon's near side. It lies due south of the crater Liebig and east-northeast of the larger Fourier....
  
   on the Moon
• Member of the Superior Council of Meteorology
• Senator of the Kingdom
• Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy
• Commander of the Order of Rosa del Brazile

Publications

• "Annali dell' osservatorio Vesuviano". 1869–1873.
• "Incendio Vesuviano del 26 Aprile 1872". Naples, 1872. (Ger.: Berlin, 1872)
• "Il Vesuvio e la sua storia". Milan, 1880.
• "Nuove lezioni di fisica sperimentale e di fisica terrestre". Naples, 1883.
• "Die Atmospharische Elektrizität". Vienna, 1884.
• "Les lois et les origines de l'électricité". Paris, 1885.

External links and references

• "Luigi Palmieri". Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XI. Robert Appleton Company, 1911. (K. Knight, 2003)