Poiseuille

French physicist and physiologist

Jean Léonard Marie Poiseuille

Born	22 April 1797
Birth place	Paris, France
Died	26 December 1869
Place of death	Paris, France
Nationality	French
Known for	Poiseuille's law

Jean Léonard Marie Poiseuille (22 April 1797 – 26 December 1869) was a French physicist and physiologist known for his work on the flow of liquids in narrow tubes. He is best known for formulating Poiseuille's law, which describes the volumetric flow rate of a liquid through a pipe.

Early Life and Education

Poiseuille was born in Paris, France, in 1797. He studied at the École Polytechnique and later at the École des Ponts et Chaussées, where he developed an interest in fluid mechanics and physiology.

Career

Poiseuille's most significant contribution to science is his work on the flow of fluids in narrow tubes, which led to the formulation of Poiseuille's law. This law is fundamental in the field of fluid dynamics and has applications in various disciplines, including medicine, engineering, and biology.

Poiseuille's Law

Poiseuille's law describes the laminar flow of an incompressible and Newtonian fluid in a long cylindrical pipe. The law is mathematically expressed as:

<math>Q = \frac{\pi \Delta P r^4}{8 \eta L}</math>

where:

• Q is the volumetric flow rate,
• ΔP is the pressure difference between the two ends of the pipe,
• r is the radius of the pipe,
• η is the dynamic viscosity of the fluid,
• L is the length of the pipe.

This law is crucial in understanding the behavior of blood flow in capillaries and other small blood vessels.

Legacy

Poiseuille's work laid the foundation for the field of hemodynamics, the study of blood flow in the circulatory system. His contributions are still relevant today in various scientific and engineering applications.

See Also

• Fluid dynamics
• Hemodynamics
• Capillary action
• Viscosity
• Laminar flow

Related Pages

• Fluid dynamics
• Hemodynamics
• Capillary action
• Viscosity
• Laminar flow