Napoleon recognized that irregular plate vibration patterns resist mathematical analysis

Evidence

Chladni presented his research at the Paris Institute of Science, at the invitation of Pierre-Simon Laplace, one of the most famous mathematicians of the day. With the encouragement of Laplace, Napoleon invited Chladni to a two-hour audience in his private chambers in 1808. The demonstration was a big success. Napoleon aptly summed up Chladni’s accomplishment, stating: “Chladni has made sound visible.” According to Chladni, Napoleon also remarked that the nodal pattern for irregularly shaped plates would be much harder to understand than those of circles, squares, and the like. This is true, and while it had probably occurred to Chladni, it is amazing that Napoleon had this insight. Indeed, scientists and mathematicians are still trying to understand the nodal patterns for certain irregular shapes. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 1387

Categorization

• CANDY: Napoleon funding acoustics research and foreseeing a problem still unsolved two centuries later is a fun, tweetable bit.