Louis Georges Gouy

Louis Georges Gouy (February 19, 1854 – January 27, 1926) was a French physicist. He is the namesake of the Gouy balance, the Gouy–Chapman electric double layer model (which is a relatively successful albeit limited model that describes the electrical double-layer which finds applications in vast areas of studies from physical chemistry to biophysics) and the Gouy phase.

Gouy was born at Vals-les-Bains, Ardèche in 1854. He became a correspondent of the Académie des sciences in 1901, and a member in 1913.

Topics investigated His principal scientific work was related to the following subjects: The propagation velocity of light waves in dispersive media Propagation of spherical waves of small radius Distant diffraction (angles of dispersion reaching 150°) Electrostatics: Inductive capacity of dielectrics Surface charge Effect of the magnetic field on the discharge in rarefied gases Electrocapillarity Emission capacity of absorbent of the coloured flames Brownian motion

Measurement of magnetic susceptibility of transition metal complexes with Gouy balance The gouy phase shift, a feature of Gaussian beams

Solvay conference of 1913. Louis Georges Gouy is in the first row on the right