x
Meteorology
He established, the first in Italy, a daily telegraphic exchange connecting the main
towns of the Papal States (Rome, Ancona, Bologna and Ferrara) for weather forecasting. He invented the meteorograph, a spectacular device recording meteorological data which was awarded at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1867. He
contributed to the dissemination in Italy of the theories of Matthew F. Maury on
atmospheric currents (Iafrate and Beltrano, Chap. 9, in this volume).
Physics
His main contribution was the treatise Sull’unità delle forze fisiche (On the Unity of
Physical Forces), where he disseminated new theories (aether, kinetics of gases,
etc.) which were not yet found in physics books in Italy. The treatise had a wide
distribution, with many editions and translations, but provoked a clash with neoThomists like Giovanni Maria Cornoldi S. J. (Chinnici 2019: 262–269; Capuzzo
Dolcetta, Chap. 11, in this volume).
Other
He invented a method now called the “Secchi disk” to measure water transparency,
during an oceanographic campaign headed in 1865 by Alessandro Cialdi, commander of the Pontifical Navy (Zielinski, Chap. 13, in this volume).
Amateur of archaeology and paleontology, he published some works in these
fields (Tuscano, Chap. 15, in this volume).
Public Works
1852 – Improvement of the time measurement service (Chinnici 2019: 79–81)
1854–55 – Measurement of the geodetic base at Via Appia (Aebischer, Chap. 12, in
this volume)
1856–1862 – Directorship of the meteorological service of the Papal States (Iafrate
and Beltrano, Chap. 9, in this volume)
1858 – Improvement of the lighthouses system in the Papal States ports (APUG,
Fondo Secchi, 110.I; Chinnici 2019: 92–95)
1865–1875 – Improvement of the water distribution pipelines around Rome (APUG,
Fondo Secchi, 112.II and 3.IV; Chinnici 2019: 90–91)
Angelo Secchi: Biographic Notes (Chinnici 2019)
Meteorology
He established, the first in Italy, a daily telegraphic exchange connecting the main
towns of the Papal States (Rome, Ancona, Bologna and Ferrara) for weather forecasting. He invented the meteorograph, a spectacular device recording meteorological data which was awarded at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1867. He
contributed to the dissemination in Italy of the theories of Matthew F. Maury on
atmospheric currents (Iafrate and Beltrano, Chap. 9, in this volume).
Physics
His main contribution was the treatise Sull’unità delle forze fisiche (On the Unity of
Physical Forces), where he disseminated new theories (aether, kinetics of gases,
etc.) which were not yet found in physics books in Italy. The treatise had a wide
distribution, with many editions and translations, but provoked a clash with neoThomists like Giovanni Maria Cornoldi S. J. (Chinnici 2019: 262–269; Capuzzo
Dolcetta, Chap. 11, in this volume).
Other
He invented a method now called the “Secchi disk” to measure water transparency,
during an oceanographic campaign headed in 1865 by Alessandro Cialdi, commander of the Pontifical Navy (Zielinski, Chap. 13, in this volume).
Amateur of archaeology and paleontology, he published some works in these
fields (Tuscano, Chap. 15, in this volume).
Public Works
1852 – Improvement of the time measurement service (Chinnici 2019: 79–81)
1854–55 – Measurement of the geodetic base at Via Appia (Aebischer, Chap. 12, in
this volume)
1856–1862 – Directorship of the meteorological service of the Papal States (Iafrate
and Beltrano, Chap. 9, in this volume)
1858 – Improvement of the lighthouses system in the Papal States ports (APUG,
Fondo Secchi, 110.I; Chinnici 2019: 92–95)
1865–1875 – Improvement of the water distribution pipelines around Rome (APUG,
Fondo Secchi, 112.II and 3.IV; Chinnici 2019: 90–91)
Angelo Secchi: Biographic Notes (Chinnici 2019)