Part 1 Study Flashcards
(20 cards)
(June 13, 1911 – September 1, 1988) was an American experimental physicist, inventor
Nobel Prize in Physics in 1968 for his discovery of resonance states in particle physics using the hydrogen bubble chamber.
contributed to a number of World War II radar projects, from early improvements to Identification friend or foe (IFF) radar beacons, now called transponders
worked for Robert Oppenheimer on the Manhattan project
Luis Alvarez
(21 May 1799 – 9 March 1847) was an English fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist. She became known internationally for her discoveries in Jurassic marine fossil beds in the cliffs along the English Channel. She made a living selling the fossils she collected out of a shop she ran
As a woman - treated as an outsider to the scientific community. At the time in Britain, women were not allowed to vote, hold public office, or attend university. The newly formed, but increasingly influential Geological Society of London did not allow women to become members, or even to attend meetings as guests.
knew more about fossils and geology than many of the wealthy fossilists to whom she sold, it was always the gentlemen geologists who published the scientific descriptions of the specimens she found, often neglecting to mention her name. She became resentful of this.
Mary Anning
287BC-212BC
Greece
Astronomer, scientist, physicist
Murdered by a Roman soldier when Archimedes would not leave his math problem to come with him
Known for: Archimedes Screw (used in crop irrigation and sewage treatment plants today)
Archimedes’ principle of buoyancy - He discovered this while taking a bath and yelled “Eureka” according to legend
Created a formula to calculate the area of the underside of a parabola
Invented the catapult, the compound pulley, system of burning mirrors to focus the sun’s rays on enemies’ ships
Archimedes
(November 4, 1942 – May 30, 2019) was an American ophthalmologist and humanitarian - first African-American to serve as a doctor at NY University.
first African-American woman to work as a doctor/surgeon at the UCLA Medical Center.
Bath was the first African-American woman doctor to receive a patent for a medical purpose. A holder of five patents
she founded the non-profit American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness in Washington, D.C.
Patricia Bath
March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born Canadian-American inventor, scientist, and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone
founded the American Telephone and Telegraph Company
Bell worked extensively in medical research and invented techniques for teaching speech to the deaf.
Invented the telephone, graphophone, mine detector,
-brothers died of tuberculosis
-taught at schools for the deaf, where he met wife
- invented a way to search for bullets in the body, saving soldiers’ lives during WWI
- experimented with aircraft after Wright brothers flights
Alexander Graham Bell
(3 February 1821 – 31 May 1910)
American physician
first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the United Kingdom.
played an important role in both the United States and the United Kingdom as a social reformer, and was a pioneer in promoting education for women in medicine.
not initially interested in a career in medicine.She became a schoolteacher in order to support her family. This occupation was seen as suitable for women during the 1800s; however, she soon found it unsuitable for her.
Her interest in medicine was sparked after a friend fell ill and remarked that, had a female doctor cared for her, she might not have suffered so much.
Elizabeth Blackwell
1627-1691
England/Ireland
Physicist, chemist
Known for Boyle’s Law (relationship between a gas and pressure in a closed system when the temperature remains the same) volume of gas decreases with increasing pressure
Invented the vacuum pump, discovering that air was necessary for burning
Believed that all matter was made of tiny corpuscles (which we now know as atoms) - an early form of atomic theory
-discovered that air was necessary for burning
-founding the Royal Society
Robert Boyle
30 March 1811– 16 August 1899) was a German chemist.
Developed the Bunsen burner an improvement on the laboratory burners then in use (they are used in chemistry laboratories today)
He investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium (in 1860) and rubidium (in 1861)
-development of spectrometry (interactions between light and matter)
-he lost sight in one eye working with arsenic compounds and almost died from arsenic poisoning
Robert Bunsen
May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964
American marine biologist and writer, environmentalist
Credited with advancing marine conservation and the global environmental movement.
-wrote a book called “Silent Spring” influencing tighter control on pesticides
- warned the public on the use of DDT (a chemical insecticide that was later banned due to its harmful effects on humans and wildlife)
Rachel Carson
1864-1943
American
Agricultural scientist and inventor, botanist
promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion
Known for: used peanuts in a variety of inventions and products.
Taught at the Tuskegee Institute. Promoted crop rotation to help keep soil from becoming depleted from nutrients.
Developed a mobile classroom to take out in the fields to the farmers.
Became a member of England’s Royal Society of Arts
George Washington Carver
20 October 1891 – 24 July 1974
English physicist
who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1935 for his discovery of the neutron
He was the head of the British team that worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II
-inspired the US govt to begin atom bomb research efforts as part of the MAUD committee
- he was knighted in 1945
James Chadwick
1473-1543
Poland
Astronomer, mathematician
Known for: Heliocentric Model of the Universe (theory that sun was the center of the universe, not Earth which was a controversial claim at this time)
Discovered planets orbit the Sun, Earth is a planet, Earth turns on its own axis once daily, very slow changes in this axis account for the equinoxes (seasons)
Galileo used his ideas to prove his theories
-spoke multiple languages
Nicolaus Copernicus
11 June 1910 – 25 June 1997 French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author
co-invented the first successful open-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA)
-invented the “aqualung” in 1943
wrote many books describing his undersea explorations
-car crash in 1936 almost killed him
-discovered the nocturnal deep sea creature called the nautilus
1966 to 1976, he hosted The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
Jacques Cousteau
1867-1934
Poland-France
Physicist and chemist
conducted pioneering research on radioactivity -discovered polonium and radium, pioneer in the discovery and use of X-rays
-first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win a Nobel Prize twice, & the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields (in Physics & Chemistry)
-known for her great memory as a child
-first women to receive a doctor of science degree in France
Marie Curie
1766 – 1844
English chemist, physicist and meteorologist.
He also researched colour blindness
-he was color blind as well
-atoms of different elements combine to form compounds
He introduced the atomic theory into chemistry (all matter is composed of extremely small particles called atoms - atoms cannot be subdivided, created, or destroyed)
-atoms of different elements have different weights and different chemical properties
John Dalton
1809-1882
England/British
Naturalist, geologist, biologist
Known for: Theory of Evolution and Natural Selection (theory that humans descended from animals through a process called natural selection)
His ideas have created controversy.
Believed species change over time, giving rise to new species with a common ancestor
-discovered 4 different species of giant ground sloths
Charles Darwin
31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650
French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician
father of modern philosophy
-also worked on geometry - using algebraic formulas to describe geometric figures - leading to Cartesian geometry
Famous quote “I think, therefore I am”
-argued that humanity could be divided into two parts (the mind and the body)
Rene’ Descartes
300 BC
Greek mathematician
Ancient Greek, “father of geometry”
-wrote the book “The Elements” that influenced Western Mathematics for over 2000 years
- established the foundations of geometry
- proved the Pythagorean theorem of triangles
- his book is the most translated, published and studied book outside of the Bible
Euclid
15 April 1707 – 18 September 1783
Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, logician, geographer, and engineer
-went blind in both eyes due to eye strain and cataract
-greatest mathematician of the 18th century
- introduced the notation f(x) to represent a function applied to an argument. This is a fundamental building block of algebraic thinking today.
- developed the trigonometric functions to represent sine, cosine, and tangent
credited for popularizing the Greek letter
π (lowercase pi) to denote the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter
Leonhard Euler
1791-1867
England/British
Physicist and chemist
Known for: Discovered electromagnetic induction
Father of the electric motor, electric generator, electric transformer, and electrolysis
He wrote the Law of Induction - a changing magnetic field can create an electric current in a conductor
Known for the Faraday Effect - light polarization to rotate when it passes through a material in a magnetic field
Known as “father of electricity”
Discovered benzene (flammable liquid used in plastics, dyes, paint thinner, gasoline)
Michael Faraday
