Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil
Marquise du Châtelet
Her inscription to
M. Malouin.
Photos courtesy of the Chemical Heritage Foundation, Philadelphia, PA.
Without telling
Voltaire, her famous lover, Châtelet entered the Académie des Sciences Grand
Prix competition of 1737. Voltaire also entered - but Euler
won! Fortunately, the Académie published her
entry, Dissertation sur la nature et
la propagation du feu which appears
above.
Her essay on the nature of fire focused on the relationships among Cartesian, Newtonian and Leibnizian philosophies, free will, God's power, and the nature of space, matter and force.
Her essay on the nature of fire focused on the relationships among Cartesian, Newtonian and Leibnizian philosophies, free will, God's power, and the nature of space, matter and force.