Conférence "Buffon ou l'âge de la Terre"

In the 18th century, Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon turned the world on its head by tackling a controversial question: the age of the Earth.
By developing a new cosmological vision, the scholar from Montbard conducted a series of experiments in his forges, from which he drew conclusions that were revolutionary for his time.
Combining experimental daring with philosophical reflection, Buffon laid the foundations for a science capable of recreating natural phenomena in the laboratory.
This lecture, by Émeric FALIZE, explores both his discoveries and the controversies they sparked. It also offers an epistemological perspective on their contemporary significance, demonstrating how current theories and modern technologies are building on this ambition by giving astrophysics a truly experimental dimension.

Émeric FALIZE, who holds a PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the Paris Observatory and is a research director at the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), is a specialist in laboratory astrophysics. His research focuses on the study of star formation, nova and supernova explosions, and the scale-invariance properties of astrophysical phenomena. He is the author of the book *Buffon or the Age of the Earth: The Birth of Laboratory Astrophysics*, published in November 2025 by Honoré Champion.