mathematics

Louis Puissant

Louis Puissant is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Louis Puissant rather than just read about it. In short: Louis Puissant (22 September 1769, in Le Châtelet-en-Brie – 10 January 1843, in Paris) was a French topographical engineer, geodesist, and mathematician. He was appointed an officer in the corps of topographical engineers (ingénieurs géographes) of l'armée des Pyrénées occidentales in 1792 and then a professor in l’école centrale d'Agen in 1796.

Key takeaways

Louis Puissant belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Louis Puissant to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Louis Puissant from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Louis Puissant (22 September 1769, in Le Châtelet-en-Brie – 10 January 1843, in Paris) was a French topographical engineer, geodesist, and mathematician.

He was appointed an officer in the corps of topographical engineers (ingénieurs géographes) of l'armée des Pyrénées occidentales in 1792 and then a professor in l’école centrale d'Agen in 1796. From October 1802 to August 1803, he was in charge of geodesic triangulations on the island of Elba and then in 1803–1804 in Lombardy. He was elected a member of l'Société Philomathique de Paris in 1810 and a member of l'Académie des sciences in 1828. In addition to numerous scientific memoirs, he was the author of several books on geodesy and mathematics. His marriage to Françoise Coutet produced a son, Louis (1793–1836), who graduated from l'École polytechnique.

Principal publications Recueil de diverses propositions de géométrie, résolues ou démontrées par l'analyse algébrique, suivant les principes de Monge et de Lacroix, à l'usage de ceux qui suivent le traité élémentaire d'application de l'algèbre à la géométrie de ce dernier (1801) Traité de géodésie ou exposition des méthodes astronomiques et trigonométriques, appliquées soit à la mesure de la terre, soit à la confection du canevas des cartes et des plans (1805) Traité de topographie, d'arpentage et de nivellement (1807) Cours de mathématiques à l'usage des écoles impériales militaires (1809) Supplément au second livre du Traité de topographie, contenant la théorie des projections des cartes (1810) Supplément au Traité de géodésie (1827) Nouvelle Description géométrique de la France (2 volumes, 1832–1840) Traité de géodésie (in French). Vol. 1. Paris: Charles Louis Étienne Bachelier. 1842. Traité de géodésie (in French). Vol. 2. Paris: Charles Louis Étienne Bachelier. 1842.

External links

O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Louis Puissant", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews Éloge historique de Louis Puissant par M. Élie de Beaument, 14 juin 1869 PUISSANT louis – from Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques LOUIS PUISSANT from Société d'histoire du Châtelet-en-Brie

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Louis Puissant

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Louis Puissant claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Louis Puissant before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Louis Puissant ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Louis Puissant

In research: Louis Puissant appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Louis Puissant in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Louis Puissant is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1769 births, 1843 deaths, French engineers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Louis Puissant outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Louis Puissant in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Louis Puissant means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Louis Puissant out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Louis Puissant in simple terms?

Louis Puissant (22 September 1769, in Le Châtelet-en-Brie – 10 January 1843, in Paris) was a French topographical engineer, geodesist, and mathematician. He was appointed an officer in the corps of topographical engineers (ingénieurs géographes) of l'armée des Pyrénées occidentales in 1792 and then…

Why does Louis Puissant matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Louis Puissant?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Louis Puissant.