This Day in Science History

yevaud · Mar 15, 2006

March 15 People Sir Charles Vernon Boys Born 15 Mar 1855; died 30 March 1944. English physicist and inventor of sensitive instruments. He graduated in mining and metallurgy, self-taught in a wide knowledge of geometrical methods. In 1881, he invented the integraph, a machine for drawing the antiderivative of a function. Boys is known particularly for his utilization of the torsion of quartz fibres in the measurement of minute forces, enabling him to elaborate (1895) on Henry Cavendish's experiment to improve the values obtained for the Newtonian gravitational constant. He also invented an improved automatic recording calorimeter for testing manufactured gas (1905) and high-speed cameras to photograph rapidly moving objects, such as bullets and lightning discharges. Upon retirement in 1939, he grew weeds. William Rutter Dawes Born 15 Mar 1799; died 2 Feb 1868. English amateur astronomer who set up a private observatory and made extensive measurements of binary stars and on 25 Nov 1850 discovered Saturn's inner Crepe Ring (independently of William Bond). In 1864, he was the first to make an accurate map of Mars. He was called "Eagle-eyed Dawes" for the keenness of his sight with a telescope (though otherwise, he was very near-sighted). He devised a useful empirical formula by which the resolving power of a telescope - known as the Dawes limit - could be quickly determined. For a given telescope with an aperture of d cm, a double star of separation 11/d arcseconds or more can be resolved, that is, be visually recognized as two stars rather than one. Nicholas Louis De Lacaille Born 15 Mar 1713; died 21 Mar 1762. Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille was a French astronomer who named 15 of the 88 constellations in the sky. He spent 1750-1754 mapping the constellations visible from the Southern Hemisph <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

yevaud · Mar 16, 2006

March 16 People R. Walter Cunningham Born 16 Mar 1932 Ronnie Walter Cunningham is an American astronaut and civilian participant in the Apollo 7 mission , in which the first manned flight of Apollo Command and Service modules was made. On 11 Oct 1968, he occupied the lunar module pilot seat for the eleven-day flight of Apollo 7. With Walter M. Schirra, Jr., and Donn F. Eisele, he participated in maneuvers enabling the crew to perform exercises in transposition and docking and lunar orbit rendezvous with the S-IVB stage of their Saturn IB launch vehicle; in test ignitions of the service module propulsion engine; in measuring the accuracy of performance of all spacecraft systems; and provided the first effective television transmission of onboard crew activities. Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov Born 16 Mar 1927; died 24 April 1967. Soviet cosmonaut, the first man known to have died during a space mission. He flew on two space missions. He was Command Pilot of Voskhod I, on a day-long mission, 12-13 Oct 1964. Also on board were Dr. Yegorov, a medical doctor as flight physiologist; and the spacecraft engineer Feoktistov. For this landing, the spacecraft's parachutes opened at an altitude of 7 km followed by a soft-landing system that used streams of gases from nozzles to reduce touchdown velocity to near zero. Komarov died during the landing after his second space mission, when he was Commander of Soyuz-I, 23-24 Apr 1967, on a nearly 27 hour flight. On its return, his spacecraft became entangled in its main parachute and fell several miles to Earth. Frederick Reines Born 16 Mar 1918; died 26 Aug 1998. American physicist who was awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize for Physics for his detection in 1956 of neutrinos, working with his colleague Clyde L. Cowan, Jr. The neutrino is a subatomic particle, a ti <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

yevaud · Mar 17, 2006

March 17 People Wilhelm Johann Eugen Blaschke Died 17 Mar 1962 (born 13 Sep 1885) German mathematician whose major contributions to geometry concerned kinematics and differential geometry. Kinetic mapping (important later in the axiomatic foundations of various geometries) he both discovered and established as a tool in kinematics. He also initiated topological differential geometry (the study of invariant differentiable mappings). Christian Doppler Died 17 Mar 1853 (born 29 Nov 1803) Austrian physicist who first described how the observed frequency of light and sound waves is affected by the relative motion of the source and the detector, known as the Doppler effect. In 1845, to test his hypothesis, Doppler used two sets of trumpeters: one set stationary at a train station and one set moving on an open train car, all holding the same note. As the train passed the station, it was obvious that the frequency of the notes from the two groups didn't match. Sound waves would have a higher frequency if the source was moving toward the observer and a lower freqency if the source was moving away from the observer. Edwin Hubble used the Doppler effect of light from distant stars to determine that the universe is expanding. Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Died 17 Mar 1846 (born 22 Jul 1784) German astronomer. In 1809, at the age of 26, Bessel was appointed director of Frederick William III of Prussia's new Königsberg Observatory and professor of astronomy, where he spent the rest of his career. His monumental task was determining the positions and proper motions for about 50,000 stars, which allowed the first accurate determination of interstellar distances. Bessel's work in determining the constants of precession, nutation and aberration won him further honors. Other than the sun, he was the first to measur <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

yevaud · Mar 18, 2006

March 18 People Jakob Steiner Born 18 Mar 1796; died 1 Apr 1863. Swiss mathematician, one of the founders of modern synthetic, or projective, geometry. The goal of his work was to discover the organic unity of all the objects of mathematics. In 1826, he published the first systematic development of the theory of the power of a point with respect to a circle and of the points of similitude of circles; he also proved his most famous theorem on series of circles. He also studied conic sections and surfaces, the theory of second-degree surfaces, centre-of-gravity problems; and he developed the principle of symmetrization (1840-41). In a short paper of fundamental importance (1848), Steiner first defined and examined various polar curves with respect to a given curve, and introduced the "Steiner Curves." Sir Harold Jeffreys Died 18 Mar 1989 (born 22 Apr 1891) British astronomer and geophysicist noted for his wide variety of scientific contributions. Norbert Weiner Died 18 Mar 1964 (born 26 Nov 1894) U.S. mathematician, who established the science of cybernetics, a term he coined, which is concerned with the common factors of control and communication in living organisms, automatic machines, and organizations. He attained international renown by formulating some of the most important contributions to mathematics in the 20th century. His work on generalised harmonic analysis and Tauberian theorems won the Bôcher Prize in 1933 when he received the prize from the American Mathematical Society for his memoir Tauberian theorems published in Annals of Mathematics in the previous year. Wiener had an extraordinarily wide range of interests, including stochastic processes, quantum theory and during World War II he worked on gunfire control. (Pierre-Eugène-) Marcellin Berthelot <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

alokmohan · Mar 18, 2006

Steiner possibly is not so relevant.Why is Jeffries important?

yevaud · Mar 19, 2006

March 19 People Mario Molina Born 19 Mar 1943 Mexican-born American chemist who was jointly awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, along with chemists F. Sherwood Rowland and Paul Crutzen, for research in the 1970s concerning the decomposition of the ozonosphere, which shields the Earth from dangerous solar radiation. The discoveries of Molina and Rowland, that some industrially manufactured gases deplete the ozone layer, led to an international movement in the late 20th century to limit the widespread use of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases. Frederick Joliot-Curie Born 19 Mar 1900; died 14 Aug 1958. French physical chemist, husband of Irène Joliot-Curie, who were jointly awarded the 1935 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their discovery of artificially prepared, radioactive isotopes of new elements. They were the son-in-law and daughter of Nobel Prize winners Pierre and Marie Curie. Wilhelm Von Biela Born 19 Mar 1782; died 18 Feb 1856. (Baron) Austrian astronomer, known for his measurement (1826) of a previously known comet as having an orbital period of 6.6 years. Subsequently, known as Biela's Comet, it was observed to break in two (1846), and in 1852 the fragments returned as widely separated twin comets that were not seen again. However, in 1872 and 1885, bright meteor showers (known as Andromedids, or Bielids) were observed when the Earth crossed the path of the comet's known orbit. This observation provided the first concrete evidence for the idea that some meteors are composed of fragments of disintegrated comets. William Rutter Dawes Born 19 Mar 1799; died 15 Feb 1868. English astronomer known for his extensive measurements of double stars and for his meticulous planetary observations. Louis Victor De Broglie <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

yevaud · Mar 20, 2006

March 20 People Sergei Petrovich Novikov Born 20 Mar 1938 Russian mathematician who was awarded the Fields Medal in 1970 for his work in algebraic topology. His parents were both mathematicians, and Novikov showed his own talent while a youth. In 1960, the year he obtained his first degree, he published a paper on some problems in the topology of manifolds connected with the theory of Thom spaces. In 1965, he proved his famous theorem on the invariance of Pontryagin classes. He was unable receive the Fields Medal in person because Soviet authorities would not permit his travel. Thereafter he pursued an interest in mathematical physics, including the theory of solitons, quantum field theory and string theory. Walter M. Elsasser Born 20 Mar 1904; died 14 Oct 1991. German-born American physicist who contributed to science in several disciplines. In atomic physics, he interpreted electron scattering. In geophysics, during the 1940's, he provided insight into radiative heat transfer in the Earth's atmosphere, and also created the presently accepted dynamo theory as an explanation of the Earth's magnetism. He proposed that this magnetic field resulted from electric currents induced in the fluid outer core of the Earth. He pioneered study of the magnetic orientation of minerals in rocks to reveal the Earth's history of its magnetic field. The last fifty years of his life were to a large part given to studies relevant to biology: a theory of organisms. He wished to establish the distinction between living and inanimate matter. Baha ad-din Muhammad ibn Husayn, al-Amili Born 20 Mar 1546; died 20 Aug 1622. Syrian-born Iranian (a.k.a. Shaykh Baha'i) who was a theologian, mathematician and astronomer. He became a very learned Muslim whose genius touched every field of knowledge from mathematics and philo <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

yevaud · Mar 21, 2006

March 21 People Halton Christian Arp Born 21 Mar 1927 American astronomer noted for challenging the theory that red shifts of quasars indicate their great distance. Arp is one of the key actors in the contemporary debate on the origin and evolution of galaxies in the universe. His landmark compilation of peculiar galaxies led him to challenge the fundamental assumption of modern cosmology, that redshift is a uniform indicator of distance. Astronomers have debated Arp's assertion that quasars are related to peculiar galaxies since the late 1960's. Most astronomers believe that quasars are unrelated to the peculiar galaxies. Yet, no one has been able to explain why the quasars seem to be more numerous around the peculiar galaxies. George David Birkhoff Born 21 Mar 1884; died 12 Nov 1944. American mathematician, foremost of the early 20th century, who formulated the ergodic theorem. As the first American dynamicist, Birkhoff picked up where Poincaré left off, gaining distinction in 1913 with his proof of Poincaré's Last Geometric Theorem, a special case of the 3-body problem. Although primarily a geometer, he discovered new symbolic methods. He saw beyond the theory of oscillations, created a rigorous theory of ergodic behavior, and foresaw dynamical models for chaos. His ergodic theorem transformed the Maxwell- Boltzmann ergodic hypothesis of the kinetic theory of gases (to which exceptions are known) into a rigorous principle through use of the Lebesgue measure theory. He also produced a mathematical model of gravity. Ignatz Venetz Born 21 Mar 1788; died 20 Apr 1859. Swiss geologist who was one of the first to propose that vast glaciers once covered a substantial portion of the earth's surface. He came to this conclusion by observing that typical striations left in rock by glaciers extende <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

alokmohan · Mar 21, 2006

What is the purpose of this chain?There seems little response.

mikeemmert · Mar 21, 2006

Well, I like it. Maybe it's to relax people's minds after reading the morning news. I get all my news from the 'net these days but still have a habit of doing it in the morning. It's good to read about positive accomplishments.

telfrow · Mar 21, 2006

I agree. Keep it up Yevaud. Nice thread. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild. - Tennyson </div>

drwayne · Mar 21, 2006

Generally, I do not respond to an ongoing information thread of this nature, as it spoils the continuity. Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything." Admiral Jackie Fisher </div>

derekmcd · Mar 21, 2006

It's a thread of a strictly informative nature. I would say if you find something interesting and want to discuss it... you are more than welcome to start a new thread. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div> <div>"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</div> </div>

yevaud · Mar 21, 2006

It's simple history of Science - significant people and events, all related to Space Science and Physics, or as near as I can find. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

yevaud · Mar 22, 2006

March 22 People Burton Richter Born on 22 Mar 1931 An American physicist, awarded the 1976 Nobel Prize for Physics along with Samuel C.C. Ting, for the discovery of a new subatomic particle, the J/psi particle. Robert Andrew Milliken Born on 22 Mar 1868; died on 19 Dec 1953. An American physicist, who won the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the elementary charge of electricity and on the photoelectric effect. Millikan's famous oil-drop experiment (1911) was superior to prior determinations as to the charge of the electron, and also showed that the electron was a fundamental, discrete particle. When its value was included in Niels Bohr's formula for the hydrogen spectrum, the theory was validated by experimental results. Millikan's work convincingly provided the first proof of Bohr's quantum theory of the atom. In later work, Millikan coined the term "cosmic rays" in 1925 during his study of the radiation from outer space. Friderich Wilhelm August Argelander Born 22 Mar 1799; died 17 Feb 1875. German astronomer who established the study of variable stars as an independent branch of astronomy and is renowned for his great catalog listing the positions and brightness of 324,188 stars of the northern hemisphere above the ninth magnitude. He studied at the University of Königsberg, Prussia, where he was a pupil and later the successor of Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel. In 1837, Argelander published the first major investigation of the Sun's motion through space. In 1844 he began studies of variable stars. Adam Sedgwick Born 22 Mar 1785; died 27 Jan 1873. English geologist who first applied the name Cambrian to the geologic period of time, now dated at 570 to 505 million years ago. Ulugh Beg Born 22 Mar 1394; died <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

yevaud · Mar 23, 2006

March 23 People Werner Von Braun Born 23 Mar 1912; died 16 June 1977. Wernher Magnus Maximilian von Braun was a German-born American engineer who played a prominent role in all aspects of rocketry and space exploration, first in Germany and, after World War II, in the United States. His will to expand man's knowledge through the exploration of space led to the development of the Explorer satellites, the Jupiter and Jupiter-C rockets, Pershing, the Redstone rocket, Saturn rockets, and Skylab, the world's first space station. Additionally, he led to mankind setting foot on the moon. Richard Anthony Proctor Born 23 Mar 1837; died 12 Sep 1888. English astronomer who was the first to suggest (1873) that lunar craters were the result of meteor impacts, not volcanic action as had previously been assumed. In 1867 he made a map of the surface of Mars showing continents, seas, bays and straits. In this respect he followed Riccioli's mapping of the moon; he did not distinguish canals as did Schiaparelli after him. Norman Robert Pogson Born 23 Mar 1829; died Jun 1891. English astronomer who suggested a classification of the brightness of stars (1850) defining decimal increments of magnitude to refine the existing scale of only integer magnitudes. He used a scale whereby a first magnitude star was one hundred times brighter than a sixth magnitude star. Thus a factor of 2.512 increase in brightness would apply for a second star that is greater by one unit of magnitude than another star. On this scale, the Sun is magnitude -26.91, whereby objects brighter than first magnitude are expressed using negative numbers. Sirius is magnitude -1.58, and Barnard's Star is magnitude 9.5. Pierre-Simon LaPlace Born 23 Mar 1749; died 5 Mar 1827. (marquis) French mathematician, <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

yevaud · Mar 24, 2006

March 24 People Joseph H. Taylor Jr. Born 24 Mar 1941 American radio astronomer and physicist who, with Russell A. Hulse, was the corecipient of the 1993 Nobel Prize for Physics for their joint discovery of the first binary pulsar (1974). This unique phenomenon, two stars orbiting each other - one of them giving off regular radio-frequency "beeps" - has been important as a deep space proving ground for Einstein's general theory of relativity. Their research group at Princeton used the 1,000 foot radio telescope at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, the largest and most sensitive in the world for catching radio waves from space. Krafft Arnold Ehrike Born 24 Mar 1917; died 11 Dec 1984. German-born American physicist; rocketry engineer and space-travel theorist. During WW II, he was a key member of the famed Peenemunde Rocket Development team, specializing in the propulsion system for the German V-2 rocket (1942-45). He moved to the U.S. with Wernher Von Braun's rocket team in 1945. Entering the U.S. private industry in 1953, he helping develop the Atlas missile at General Dynamics. Subsequently, he invented the first liquid hydrogen propelled upper stage launch vehicle, the Centaur which enabled the U.S. to explore the solar system by launching planetary probes. A vial of his cremated remains accompany those of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and others in space orbit, launched 20 Apr 1997. Walter Baade Born 24 Mar 1893; died 25 Jun 1960. German-American astronomer who, with Fritz Zwicky, proposed that supernovae could produce cosmic rays and neutron stars (1934), and Baade made extensive studies of the Crab Nebula and its central star. During WW II blackouts of the Los Angeles area Baade used the 100-inch Hooker telescope to resolve stars in the central region of the Andromeda Galaxy for the first time. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

yevaud · Mar 25, 2006

March 25 People Kenneth Linn Franklin Born 25 Mar 1923 American astronomer who discovered that the giant planet Jupiter emits radio waves (1955). Dr. Bernard F. Burke and Franklin, astronomers at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, were scanning the sky for radio waves from galaxies. By chance, they found a radio signal that resembled short bursts of static, similar to interference by lightning on home radios. After weeks of study, finding the signals were periodic, four minutes earlier each day, they pin-pointed Jupiter as the source. Never before had radio sounds from a planet in our solar system been detected. Later it was discovered that the radio waves were circularly polarized, so a magnetic field was involved. Pierre Ernest Weiss Born 25 Mar 1865; died 24 Oct 1940. French physicist who investigated magnetism and determined the Weiss magneton unit of magnetic moment. His chief work was on ferromagnetism. Hypothesizing a molecular magnetic field acting on individual atomic magnetic moments, he was able to construct mathematical descriptions of ferromagnetic behaviour, including an explanation of such magnetocaloric phenomena as the Curie point. His theory succeeded also in predicting a discontinuity in the specific heat of a ferromagnetic substance at the Curie point and suggested that spontaneous magnetization could occur in such materials; the latter phenomenon was later found to occur in very small regions known as Weiss domains. Giovanni Amici Born 25 Mar 1786; died 10 Apr 1863. Giovanni Battista Amici was an Italian microscopist, astronomer, optical instrument designer, and botanist, who is best known for his invention of the achromatic lens. He also introduced the Amici-Bertrand lens, a lens for the inspection of an objective's rear focal plane. The lens system he designed <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

yevaud · Mar 26, 2006

March 26 People Max Abraham Born 26 Mar 1875; died 16 Nov 1922. German physicist whose life work was almost all related to Maxwell's theory. The text he wrote was the standard work on electrodynamics in Germany for a long time. Throughout his life, he remained strongly opposed to Einstein's Theory of Relativity, objecting to its postulates which he felt were contrary to classical common sense. He further held that the experimental evidence did not support that theory. In 1902, he had developed a theory of the electron in which he held that an electron was a perfectly rigid sphere with a charge distributed evenly over its surface. He also believed in the ether theory, thought that future astronomical data would validate it, and thus relativity was not in fact a good description of the real world. William C. Redfield Born 26 Mar 1789; died 12 Feb 1857. American meteorologist who observed the whirlwind character of tropical storms. Following a hurricane that struck New England on 3 Sep 1821, he noted that in central Connecticut trees had toppled toward the northwest, but in the opposite direction 80-km further west. He found that hurricanes are generated in a belt between the Equator and the tropics, then veer eastward when meeting westerly winds at about latitude 30ºN. In 1831, he published his evidence that storm winds whirl counterclockwise about a centre that moves in the normal direction of the prevailing winds. He also promoted railroads and steamships. He co-founded the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences and was president at its first meeting (Sep 1848). Sir Benjamin Thomas Rumford Born 26 Mar 1753; died 21 Aug 1814. American-born British physicist, government administrator, and a founder of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, London. His investigations of heat o <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

yevaud · Mar 27, 2006

March 27 People John Robinson Pierce Born 27 Mar 1910 U.S. communications engineer, scientist, and father of the communications satellite. Pierce was influential in the development of microwaves and radar during WW II, then began working on the theory of satellite communication in 1954. His writings, which detailed the use of satellites in beaming radio signals around the world, were largely ignored. However, he convinced NASA to convert the Echo balloon satellite into a radio wave reflector. His successful experiments with Echo in 1960 led to the development of Telstar, which initiated modern television and radio communications by amplifying signals from one station on Earth and beaming them to another. Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen Born 27 Mar 1845; died 10 Feb 1923. German physicist who was a recipient of the first Nobel Prize for Physics, in 1901, for his discovery of X rays, which heralded the age of modern physics and revolutionized diagnostic medicine. Johann Wilhelm Hittorf Born 27 Mar 1824; died 28 Nov 1914. German physicist who was a pioneer in electrochemical research. His early investigations were on the allotropes (different physical forms) of phosphorus and selenium. He was the first to compute the electricity- carrying capacity of charged atoms and molecules (ions), an important factor in understanding electrochemical reactions. He investigated the migration of ions during electrolysis (1853-59), developed expressions for and measured transport numbers. In 1869, he published his laws governing the migration of ions. For his studies of electrical phenomena in rarefied gases, the Hittorf tube has been named for him. Hittorf determined a number of properties of cathode rays, including (before Crookes) the deflection of the rays by a magnet. Sir Malcolm Brown <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

yevaud · Mar 28, 2006

March 28 People Jerome Isacc Friedman Born 28 Mar 1930 American physicist who, together with Richard E. Taylor and Henry W. Kendall, received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1990 for their joint experimental confirmation of the fundamental particles known as quarks. Peter Andreas Hansen Died 28 Mar 1874 (born 8 Dec 1795) Danish astronomer whose most important work was the improvement of the theories and tables of the orbits of the principal bodies in the solar system. Danish astronomer. At Altona observatory he assisted in measuring the arc of meridian (1821). He became the director (1825) of Seeberg observatory, which was removed to Gotha in a new observatory built for him (1857). He worked on theoretical geodesy, optics, and the theory of probability. The work in celestial mechanics for which he is best known are his theories of motion for comets, minor planets, moon and his lunar tables (1857) which were in use until 1923. He published his lunar theory in Fundamenta ("Foundation") in 1838, and Darlegung ("Explanation") in 1862-64. Events Benjamin Franklin In 1747, the fascination with electricity upon reaching the American colonies was the subject of Benjamin Franklin's first of the famous series of letters in which he described his experiments on electricity to Peter Collinson, Esq., of London. He thanked Collison for his "kind present of an electric tube with directions for using it" with which he and others did electrical experiments. "For my own part I never was before engaged in any study that so totally engrossed my attention and my time as this has lately done; for what with making experiments when I can be alone, and repeating them to my friends and acquaintances, who, from the novelty of the thing, come continually in crowds to see them, I <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

yevaud · Mar 29, 2006

March 29 People Sir Harold Spencer Jones Born 29 Mar 1890; died 3 Nov 1960. English astronomer who was 10th astronomer royal of England (1933–55). His work was devoted to fundamental positional astronomy. While HM Astronomer at the Cape of Good Hope, he worked on proper motions and parallaxes. Later he showed that small residuals in the apparent motions of the planets are due to the irregular rotation of the earth. He led in the worldwide effort to determine the distance to the sun by triangulating the distance of the asteroid Eros when it passed near the earth in 1930-31. Spencer Jones also improved timekeeping and knowledge of the Earth’s rotation. After WW II he supervised the move of the Royal Observatory to Herstmonceux, where it was renamed the Royal Greenwich Observatory. Tullio Levi-Cevita Born 29 Mar 1873; died 29 Dec 1941. Italian mathematician who was one of the founders of absolute differential calculus (tensor analysis) which had applications to the theory of relativity. In 1887, he published a famous paper in which he developed the calculus of tensors. In 1900 he published, jointly with Ricci, the theory of tensors Méthodes de calcul differential absolu et leures applications in a form which was used by Einstein 15 years later. Weyl also used Levi-Civita's ideas to produce a unified theory of gravitation and electromagnetism. In addition to the important contributions his work made in the theory of relativity, Levi-Civita produced a series of papers treating elegantly the problem of a static gravitational field. Francesco Zantedeschi Died 29 Mar 1873 (born 1797) Italian priest and physicist. He published papers (1829, 1830) on the production of electric currents in closed circuits by the approach and withdrawal of a magnet, thereby anticipating Faraday's classic experiment (18 <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

yevaud · Mar 30, 2006

March 30 People Fritz Wolfgang London Died 30 Mar 1954 (born 7 Mar 1900) German-American physicist who, with Walter Heitler, devised the first quantum mechanical treatment of the hydrogen molecule, while working with Schrödinger at the University of Zurich. In a seminal paper (1927), they developed a wave equation for the hydrogen molecule with which it was possible to calculate approximate values of the molecule's ionization potential, heat of dissociation, and other constants. These predicted values were reasonably consistent with empirical values obtained by spectroscopic and chemical means. This theory of the chemical binding of homopolar molecules is considered one of the most important advances in modern chemistry. The approach is later called the valence-bond theory. Sir Charles Vernon Boys Died 30 Mar 1944 (born 15 Mar 1855) English physicist and inventor of sensitive instruments. He graduated in mining and metallurgy, self-taught in a wide knowledge of geometrical methods. In 1881, he invented the integraph, a machine for drawing the antiderivative of a function. Boys is known particularly for his utilization of the torsion of quartz fibres in the measurement of minute forces, enabling him to elaborate (1895) on Henry Cavendish's experiment to improve the values obtained for the Newtonian gravitational constant. He also invented an improved automatic recording calorimeter for testing manufactured gas (1905) and high-speed cameras to photograph rapidly moving objects, such as bullets and lightning discharges. Upon retirement in 1939, he grew weeds. John Henry Poynting Died 30 Mar 1914 (born 9 Sep 1852) British physicist who introduced a theorem (1884-85) that assigns a value to the rate of flow of electromagnetic energy known as the Poynting vector, introduced in his paper On the T <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

yevaud · Mar 31, 2006

March 31 People Carlo Rubia Born 31 Mar 1934 Italian physicist who in 1984 shared with Simon van der Meer the Nobel Prize for Physics for the discovery of the massive, short-lived subatomic W particle and Z particle. Around 1960, he joined the newly founded CERN where he investigated the structure of weak interactions. In 1976, he suggested adapting CERN's Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) to collide protons and antiprotons in the same ring and the world's first antiproton factory was built, and started running in 1981. In Jan 1983, came the announcement, first from the UA1 detector, that W particles had been created. A couple of months later the even more elusive Z particles were also observed. These particles are the carriers of the so-called weak force involved in the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. Zhin’ichiro Tomonaga Born 31 Mar 1906; died 8 Jul 1979 . Japanese physicist who shared the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1965 (with Richard P. Feynman and Julian S. Schwinger of the U.S.) for independently developing basic principles of quantum electrodynamics. He was one of the first to apply quantum theory to subatomic particles with very high energies. Tomonaga began with an analysis of intermediate coupling - the idea that interactions between two particles take place through the exchange of a third (virtual particle), like one ship affecting another by firing a cannonball. He used this concept to develop a quantum field theory (1941-43) that was consistent with the theory of special relativity. WW II delayed news of his work. Meanwhile, Feynman and Schwinger published their own independent solutions. Sir Lawrence Bragg Born 31 Mar 1890; died 1 Jul 1971. Australian-born British physicist and X-ray crystallographer, who at the early age of 25, shared the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1915 (with h <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

yevaud · Apr 1, 2006

April 1 People Karl Severs Born 1 March 1893 died 17 January 1977 As a research Physicist during the 1930’s until his retirement, he made several crucial scientific discoveries, notably the “buttered bread face down” effect otherwise known to Quantum Physicists as the “Wha? Why does *that* keep happening?” effect. In his will, Doctor See specified that he be cremated along with the entire city of Peoria, Illinois. Peoria wasn’t thrilled with the idea, and said “no.” So we’re still waiting, and Doctor Severs is becoming a tad ripe. Sir Randolph Chalmondalay Born 19 February 1903 died 1 March 1989 Sir Randolph did nothing whatsoever in a long, insipid life of lousy science, bad financial decisions, and 5 failed marriages. He is most noted for causing the entire Royal Academy of Science to fall asleep during one of his long, droning speeches about numbers theory. Archimanaeus the Lesser Date of birth and death unknown, but date of death set as April 1st for convenience’s sake Archimanaeus was the first person on record to discover that flying a kite in a thunderstorm is a bad idea. Historical records state that the boom from the lightning strike was heard all the way at the Piraeus. He was never seen or heard from again, although his sandals were found on top of the Acropolis, 17 leagues away from the spot of his sudden demise. Jeremy LaFavre Born 8 June 1927 died 1 April 1949 Mister LaFavre was a janitor at NACA, the predecessor of today’s NASA. One evening, while cleaning up at White Sands, he sat down to rest in a convenient looking cushioned seat, and inadvertently rested his foot against a large, red button. Yes, the same large red button they’re always telling people not to press. Swiftly, at 16 G’s, he was shot down a 26 mile long track in t <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

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