Léon Foucault Catholicism that he previously abandoned. Foucault died of what was probably a rapidly developing case of multiple sclerosis on 11 February 1868 in Paris and was buried in the Montmartre Cemetery. The asteroid 5668 Foucault was named for him. His is one of the 72 names inscribed on the Eiffel Tower. Collected Works: Léon Foucault Jean Bernard Léon Foucault (; 18 September 1819 – 11 February 1868) was a French physicist best known for his demonstration of the Foucault pendulum, a device demonstrating the effect of the Earth's rotation. He also made an early measurement of the speed of light,
Foucault pendulum vector diagrams would not be observable in relation to the pendulum swing with this type of connection. At the equator the rotation of the Earth is not observable in relation to the pendulum swing because the plane of the pendulum swing is moving along with the rotation of the Earth and no net change in relationship occurs. It is shown by the diagrams that the surface velocity vectors of the Earth underneath the swing of the pendulum are either balanced in the same direction or included within the same plane as the pendulum swing. For the equatorial pendulum with a swing in