Huygens

Or Huy·ghens

[hahy-guhnz, hoi-, hoi-gens]

noun

1. Christian 1629–95, Dutch mathematician, physicist, and astronomer.

Huygens

/ ˈhœixəns, ˈhaɪɡənz /

noun

1. Christiaan (ˈkristiːˌaːn). 1629–95, Dutch physicist: first formulated the wave theory of light

Huygens

1. Dutch physicist and astronomer who in 1655 discovered Saturn's rings and its fourth satellite, using a telescope he constructed with his brother. In 1657 he built the first pendulum clock. Huygens also proposed that light consists of transverse waves that vibrate up and down perpendicular to the direction in which the light travels. This theory, which explained some properties of light better than Newton's theory, was made public in 1690.

Example Sentences

In the 17th century, astronomers Christiaan Huygens and Giovanni Cassini pointed some of the earliest telescopes at Saturn and made a surprising discovery.

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In the 17th century, Christiaan Huygens and Giovanni Cassini focused their telescopes on Saturn and realized its bright bands were not solid features.

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The Huygens Institute, which helped digitise the archive, says this is a major barrier for people wishing to research the Netherlands' occupation, which lasted from its invasion in 1940 to 1945.

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First described by Christiaan Huygens in the 17th century, synchronisation was famously illustrated by the aligned swinging of his pendulum clocks.

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Isaac Newton concluded that light consists of particles in 1672; Christiaan Huygens developed his wave theory of light six years later.

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