blaise pascal

Pas·cal   (pā-skāl', pä-skäl')    French mathematician, philosopher and inventor. His early work included the invention of the adding machine and syringe, and the co-development with Fermat of the mathematical theory of probability. Later he became a Jansenist and wrote on philosophy and theology, notably as collected in the posthumous Pensées (1670).

Pascal, Blaise [(blez pa-skal, pah-skahl)]

A seventeenth-century French mathematician, scientist, and religious thinker. Pascal came to believe that reason alone could not satisfy people's hopes and aspirations and that religious faith was therefore necessary. His religious thoughts are collected in Pensées (Thoughts).

Note: “Pascal's wager” refers to Pascal's idea that it is prudent to believe in God's existence, as little can be lost if there is no God, and eternal happiness can be gained if there is one.

PASCAL 

Main Entry: pas·cal
Pronunciation: pas-'kal
Function: noun
: a unit of pressure in the mks system equivalent to one newton per square meter or to 1.45× 10⁻⁴ pounds per square inch
Pasácal /pos-kol/, Blaise (1623–1662), French mathematician, physicist, and religiousphilosopher. A mathematical prodigy as a child, Pascal completed an original treatise on conic sections by the time he was 16. He undertook the study of geometry, hydrodynamics, and hydrostatic andatmospheric pressure. From 1651 to 1654 he composed treatises on the weight and density of air, on Pascal's triangle, and on the equilibrium of liquid solutions. In this last treatise he formulatedPascal's law of pressure. He is also credited with laying the foundations for the theory of probability. Pascal is a major figure in French literature and religious philosophy.

pascal pas·cal (pā-skāl', pä-skäl')
n.
A unit of pressure equal to one newton per square meter.