Interesting Facts About Famous Scientists
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Recognize this little guy? Take a guess ....
You may know him as the father of the Theory of Relativity or for possibly the World's most famous and destructive equation, the mass-energy equivalence formula E=mc^2. Interestingly though, when Dr. Einstein won the Nobel Prize in Physics back in 1921, it was for neither of these notable works. Solstice in fact owe a great debt of gratitude to the great German Physicist as our technology would not be possible were it not "for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect". - The Nobel Foundation
You may know him as the father of the Theory of Relativity or for possibly the World's most famous and destructive equation, the mass-energy equivalence formula E=mc^2. Interestingly though, when Dr. Einstein won the Nobel Prize in Physics back in 1921, it was for neither of these notable works. Solstice in fact owe a great debt of gratitude to the great German Physicist as our technology would not be possible were it not "for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect". - The Nobel Foundation
- Shortly after settling in to his position at Princeton University, Einstein also played an important role in the University's NAACP Chapter, workign with Civil Rights Activists including the famous W. E. B. Du Bois.
- In his elderly year, Einstein transitioned to a vegetarian, even stating that "the vegetarian manner of living by its purely physical effect on the human temperament would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind".
- Dr. Einstein sadly passed away in 1955, just 15 years after receiving his citizenship the to US.
Marie Curie is an incredibly notable scientists becoming the first person to win two Nobel Prizes (1903 Physics, 1911 Chemistry) and the first female Professor at The University of Paris.
- According the the Nobel Foundation: "The Nobel Prize in Physics 1903 was divided, one half awarded to Antoine Henri Becquerel "in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by his discovery of spontaneous radioactivity", the other half jointly to (her husband) Pierre Curie and Marie Curie, née Sklodowska "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel"." See the original presentation speech here http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1903/press.html
- Madam Curie's second Nobel prize, this time in Chemistry, was awarded just eight years later "in recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, by the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element".
- Unfortunately Madam Curie's work with radioactivity lead to her untimely demise in 1934 from aplastic anemia, a form of bone marrow damage. Perhaps just as awful, Curie was predeceased by her husband Pierre in 1906 when he was tragically run over by a horse-drawn carriage.
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Sir Isaac Newton, often referred to as the man who started it all, was absolutely instrumental to our modern day understanding of anything within the Universe. Newton died nearly a half century before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but the time period actually served to be very important to his work.
In 1665, at the young age of just 22, Newton return home from his studies Cambridge whent he University was closed due to the outbreak of "The Plague". During the 3 month recess, Newton spent countless hours exploring his fascination of mathematics attempting to develop the theory of uniform circular motion, noting the relationship between the inverse-square and Kepler's rule relating the square of the planetary periods to the cube of their mean distance from the Sun. (In essence the orbital shape of the plants around the sun.) In order to solve the complex mathematical equation necessary for this work, Newton discovered modern calculus, setting the stage for an enormity of extremely important technological discoveries later in history.
In 1665, at the young age of just 22, Newton return home from his studies Cambridge whent he University was closed due to the outbreak of "The Plague". During the 3 month recess, Newton spent countless hours exploring his fascination of mathematics attempting to develop the theory of uniform circular motion, noting the relationship between the inverse-square and Kepler's rule relating the square of the planetary periods to the cube of their mean distance from the Sun. (In essence the orbital shape of the plants around the sun.) In order to solve the complex mathematical equation necessary for this work, Newton discovered modern calculus, setting the stage for an enormity of extremely important technological discoveries later in history.
- Newton also developed universal gravitation and the three Laws of Motion
- Despite his incredibly contribution to various scientific field, Newton actually published more literature about religion and the Bible than about astronomy, mathematics or physics. In 1704, Newton wrote a manuscript, which contained different scientific notes based on the Holy Bible. One of his most fascinating observations in the manuscript was a prediction that Earth will end in 2060. (For you Trekkie fans out there that just 3 years before Dr. Zefram Cochrane's invention of Warp Drive from the movie "First Contact"
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Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788-1827) invented the "Fresnel Lens" a new type of optical device originally designed for lighthouses. The multi-prizim lens allows incoming light to be defracted to varying specifications while significantly reducing the glass needed to create the lens savign weight and cost.
- Fresnel's contributions to research also helps proved the wave theory of light and show via mathematical methods that polarization could be explained only if light was entirely transverse.
- Fresnel's name is one of just 72 enscribed on the famous Eiffel Tower.
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Alexander Graham Bell was a very unique individual most know for his invention of the telephone and metal detector.
- While Bell if credited with much of the telephones adoption, it was actually simultaneously and independently "invented" by Elisha Gray with Bell filing the patent February 14th 1876 just two hours before Gray!
- The first successful transmitted sentence, sent to Bell's assistant Thomas Watson, on Bell's phone was "Come here Watson, I want you."
- Bell advertised using the phrase "Ahoy" when answering a phone which inevitably lost out to the more accepted term used by competitor Thomas Edision "Hello" which was published in the first Telephone Etiquette Books sold with the first phones. Bell was stubborn and continued to say "Ahoy" until his death. Interestingly though the same Etiquette books also advertised the best way to end a conversation as "that is all" rather than today's accepted "good-bye".
- Bell was the only child out of three in his family who did not die from tuberculosis.
- Bell was kicked out of grad school at age 15 due to poor performance.
More to come soon! ....