Revolutionary Science

Isaac Newton was born on December 25, 1642 in England.  He attended Trinity College at Cambridge University and earned a masters degree in mathematics in 1669.  After graduation, he because a professor for the university for twenty-seven years.  Newton was an absent-minded professor, sometimes forgetting to do routine tasks like eating and sleeping (Karwatka 2011).  This behavior was a result of his dedication to his scientific work.  His mind was always pondering why things were how they were and what could be done to figure out the reasons why.

   Newton’s first scientific work regarded optics.  He observed sunlight shining onto a prism and saw that the clear, white sunlight broke into colors of the rainbow.  He then put the refracted light from the first prism through a second prism, which resulted in the colored light going back to white (Karwatka 2011).  He proved that white light is not homogeneous and simple, but is really heterogeneous and complex.  It is a mixture of many different light rays (or colors), which each have their own wavelengths.  Each type of ray/color refracted through the first prism at a different angle dependent upon their wavelength (Shuster, 1997).  These different wavelengths were all present in the white sunlight, but they were each refracted differently through the first prism, producing the different colors because they were now all separated from each other.  When they were all refracted again through the second prism, they were converged, at the same angle, back to white light.

   This discovery led Newton to develop the first reflecting telescope in 1668.  Before this invention, scientists were just able to make fuzzy observations of the sky with glass lens, refracting telescope (Karwatka 2011).  Newton’s telescope made these observations much more clear and magnified.  He carved a mirror into a small bowl shape and placed it at the bottom of a 1.3 inch-diameter paper tube.  He then viewed planets with an eyepiece on the side of the tube and another mirror in the tube.  This gave him thirty to forty times magnification (Karwatka 2011).  The two mirror idea was completely new and revolutionary.  Light enters a reflecting telescope from the top, travels to the bottom of the tube, and hits the curved mirror.  The curved mirror reflects the light to the mirror right below the eyepiece, which reflects the light up through the eyepiece where people can view it.  Reflecting telescopes are still in use today with the largest one having a 410 inch diameter and residing in the Canary Islands (Karwatka 2011).  Newton’s advancements in optics boosted the science of astronomy and led to many other discoveries.

     Isaac Newton’s most revolutionary work was his work in physics and gravitation.  Newton published his Publication of Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica in 1687 (Newton’s Solitary Genius 1996).  This paper contained Newton’s theory of universal gravitation and his three laws of motion.  The theory of universal gravitation states that every particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle with a force that equals the sum of both particles’ masses divided by the distance between them squared (Sir Isaac Newton 2014).  This discovery led Newton to form revolutionary ideas about celestial bodies in the Milky Way.  He deduced that gravity is the main force controlling the motions of celestial bodies.  He also stated that Earth’s gravity extended to the moon, counteracting the moon’s centrifugal force, which is the force drawing a rotating body away from the center of rotation (Shuster, 1997).  These discoveries have been further proven today and are significant to today’s view of the solar system and world in general.

     Newton’s three laws of motion also were in his Principia.  Newton’s first law states that “every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it” (Newton’s Three Laws of Motion).  This law is also known as the Law of Inertia.  It means that an object at rest will stay at rest, or an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted on by an outside force.  Newton’s second law states that “the relationship between an object’s mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma. Acceleration and force are vectors; in this law the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector” (Newton’s Three Laws of Motion).  The formula shows how velocity changes (acceleration) when a force is applied, which is significant.  Newton’s third law states that “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction” (Newton’s Three Laws of Motion).  This law is shone when a person steps onto a dock from a small boat on a body of water.  The person propels himself towards the dock while pushing the boat away from the dock.  His push-off from the boat moves the boat backward and him forward.  Newton’s three laws are fundamental truths in basic physics today and are accepted worldwide.  As a matter of fact, Newton’s Principia is considered the best scientific work ever written, and it was the basis for the flight path of the Saturn 5 rocket that first took Americans to the moon in 1969 (Karwatka 2011).

     Another spectacular accomplishment of Isaac Newton was his invention of calculus.  He invented calculus in order to help him calculate some of his formulas and theories in his Principia.  He developed ways to find tangents to curves (differentiation) and to find areas bounded by curves (integration) (Hall, 1998).  Calculus is studied in schools worldwide, including most American high schools and all American universities.  It allows engineers and mathematicians to find precise answers needed for construction, transportation, and other feats.

     Isaac Newton died in 1727 and is buried inside London’s Westminster Abbey (Karwatka 2011).  Most of his discoveries were accepted widely by the time of his death, and he was regarded and treated like the genius he was for the most part.  He is regarded as the main contributor to modern physical science and one of the brightest people to ever live.

 

 

 

Works Cited  (Text)

Hall, A. R. (1998). Isaac Newton’s Life. Retrieved April 4, 2014, from Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences:  https://www.newton.ac.uk/newtlife.html

Karwatka, D. (2011). Isaac Newton and His Scientific Discoveries. Tech Directions, 70(8), 10-11.

Newton’s solitary genius. (1996). Wilson Quarterly, 20(2), 136.

Newton’s Three Laws of Motion. (n.d.). Retrieved April 4, 2014, from University of Tennessee, Knoxville:  http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/newton3laws.html.

Shuster, J. A. (1997, October 30). Sir Isaac Newton. Retrieved April 4, 2014, from Michigan Technological University Chemistry :  http://chemistry.mtu.edu/~pcharles/SCIHISTORY/Newton.html.

Sir Isaac Newton. (2014). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/413189/Sir-Isaac-Newton/12246/Influence-of-the-scientific-revolution. (Newton’s Three Laws of Motion).

Works Cited Pictures

Surrence, M.  Newton’s Prism Light Experiment.  [Digital Image].  Retrieved from:  http://blog.zennioptical.com/prism-correction/.  Attribution-ShareAlike.

Kneller, G.  Isaac Newton.  [Digital Image].  Retrieved from:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GodfreyKneller-IsaacNewton-1689.jpg.  Public Domain.

Dunn, A.  Isaac Newton’s Second Reflecting Telescope.  [Digital Image].  Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NewtonsTelescopeReplica.jpg.  Attribution-ShareAlike.

Nilsson, D.  Isaac Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation.  [Digital Image].  Retrieved from:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NewtonsLawOfUniversalGravitation.svg.  Attribution.

NASA.  Saturn 5 Rocket.  [Digital Image].  Retrieved from:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apollo_17_The_Last_Moon_Shot_Edit1.jpg.  Public Domain.

Orderinchaos.  Tangent Line.  [Digital Image].  Retrieved from:  http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Simple_curve_showing_tangents.svg.  Public Domain.

Erik Krol

“Visible Proofs”/Portrait of Gregor Mendel

used under 

Gregor Mendel was born July 22, 1822, and died on January 6, 1884.  He was a German speaking Silesian scientists, and an Augustinian friar who founded the new science of genetics.  He was born in Hyncice, Czechoslovakia.  His father was a peasant an his grandfather was a gardener.  Mendel live in a monastery in Brno.  He was in charge of the garden at the monastery.  He became a priest in 1847.  He then studied at the University of Vienna, where he studied physics, chemistry, botany and physics.  When he returned to the monastery after completing school, he took a job as a teacher of the natural sciences at the Technical School at Brno.  In 1868, Mendel was elected abbot of the monastery and Vice President of the Natural Science Society (Hall, 1999).

Mendel liked to conduct experiments in his free time.  Through experimentation in pea plants, he discovered that the inheritance of certain traits follow a particular pattern.  He studied seven traits in the pea plants; seed shape, flower color, seed coat tint, pod shape, unripe pod color, flower location, and plant height (O’Neill 2013).  He tested on over 29,000 pea plants.  Through his studies, he found that one in four pea plants had purebred recessive genes two out of four were hybrid, and one out of four were purebred dominant.  These discoveries led to the Law of Segregation, the Law of Independent Assortment, and the Law of Dominance.  The Law of Segregation states that every individual possesses a pair of genes for any particular trait.  These genes are passed randomly from the parent to the offspring.  Interactions between these two genes in the offspring are referred to as dominance, and this influences how the offspring expresses that trait.  An example one of these traits could be the height of a plant or the color of an animal’s fur.  The Law of Independent Assortment states that separate genes for separate traits are passed independently of one another from parent to offspring.  Therefore, the inheritance of one trait in an offspring has nothing to do with the inheritance of another trait.  This means, for example, that there is no correlation between the height of a plant and its color.  The Law of Dominance states that recessive genes will always be masked by dominant genes.  The dominant gene will always be the one expressed in the trait of the offspring.  These three laws make up the Law of Mendelian Inheritance (Miko, 2008).

“Mendelian Inheritance”/Chart of Mendel’s Law of Inheritance

by Mangus Manske used under 

This chart depicts Mendel’s genetics theory using color as an example.  In the picture, “r” represents the color red, and “w” represents the color white.  The chart shows how the color gene is passed from parent to offspring.

 

“White Pea Flower”/Photograph of pea plant used in Mendel’s experiments

by Net Efekt used under 

 

Mendel’s work went unrecognized by the scientific community until after he died.  During his lifetime, most biologists believed that all characteristics were passed to the next generation through blending inheritance, meaning that the traits from each parent were averaged together.  By 1900, three other scientists; Hugo de Vries, Carl Correns, and Erich von Tschermak; all separately rediscovered Mendel’s work and used it to understand their own findings in genetics.  They published their findings rediscovering Mendel’s work within a two month span in 1900.  Mendel’s theories were widely accepted and researched by many other biologists, but it faced some controversy at first.  Biometricians opposed it using statistical and mathematical research.  However, Mendelians claimed a better understanding of biology.  In the end, the combination of Mendelian genetics with Darwin’s theory of natural selection resulted modern synthesis of evolutionary biology (Miko 2008).  The modern synthesis in the 20^th century brought together several biological specialties that provide evidence for evolution.  The synthesis showed that Mendelian genetics was consistent with natural selection and gradual evolution.  This synthesis is still current in evolutionary biology (Rhee 2009).

 

Works Cited

Websites:

Hall, Mandy. “Johann Gregor Mendel.” Psychology History. Psychology Department, 1999. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.

Miko , Ilona . “Scitable .” Nature Education. Nature Publishing Group, 2008, n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. <http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/gregor-mendel-and-the-principles-of-inheritance-593>.

O’neill , Denis . “Basic Principles of Genetics: Mendel’s Genetics.” Basic Principles of Genetics: Mendel’s Genetics. N.p., 2013, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. <http://anthro.palomar.edu/mendel/mendel_1.htm>.

Rhee, Seung Yon. “Gregor Mendel (1822-1884).” The National Health Museum . Acess Excellence , 2009, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. <http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/AB/BC/Gregor_Mendel.php>.

Photographs:

Efekt, Net. “White Pea Flower.” Flickr. Yahoo!, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Manske, Mangus. “Mendelian Inheritance.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. GNU Free Documentation license.

“Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body: Galleries: Technologies: Key accomplishments: DNA.” U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Mar. 2014. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.<http://www.nlm.nih.gov/visibleproofs/galleries/technologies/dna.html>. Public Domain Image. 

 

Allie Wier

Chemists

Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier: 1743-1794

Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier was a French philosopher and chemist that wanted to understand the mystery of nature around him. He was known for his studies the consistency of air and determination of the weights of the reactants and products of chemical reactions. Lavoisier was extremely passionate about science and his early work was mostly geology related. His early work gained him recognition in the science community, which led to his election to the Academy of Sciences, France’s most elite scientific society.

Lavoisier had a belief that the” weight of reactants and products in a reaction didn’t change overall in a reaction, which led to the idea of the law of conservation of mass” (Chemical Heritage Foundation). Lavoisier studied natural chemical reactions including combustion and respiration of the air. Lavoisier created definite proof that water was composed of only hydrogen and oxygen. Lavoisier’s work was significant because it was a profound understanding of the air that surrounds the plant. His contributions led to more experiments and studies by other scientists on the importance of air and life.

John Dalton: 1766-1784

John Dalton was an English lecturer and teacher that taught at a Quaker boarding school for 10 years. Dalton eventually left this position to teach at the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society that provided him an intellectual environment he never experienced before. The facilities and equipment available to him gave him resources to experiment on theories and ideas.

Dalton published a book called New System of Chemical Philosophy in which contained his theories on atomic weights, partial pressures of gases, and the differences in gases volume and pressure.Dalton believed that there was an unknown repulsion between atoms that created pressure and lead to differences in weight. Dalton used his ideas of compound composition to create a system to “determine the atomic weight of molecules and compounds” (Weisstein). Dalton’s system guided him to the conclusion that the repulsion forces present in chemical reactions cause pressure between atoms and therefore atoms are in motion. This theory falsified the notion that atoms were in simple layers and never moved during a chemical reaction. Dalton’s Atomic Theory was a significant scientific contribution because it created the foundation for future studies in understanding gas composition and gas behaviors in chemical reactions. Dalton’s theories on gas particles lead to its true discovery and imaging from modern technology.

Dalton’s Atomic Theory: 1808-1827  

1) All matter is made of atoms. Atoms are indivisible and indestructible.

2) All atoms of a given element are identical in mass and properties

3) Compounds are formed by a combination of two or more different kinds of atoms.

4) A chemical reaction is a rearrangement of atoms.

(Chemical Heritage Foundation)

Amedeo Avagrado: 1776-1865

Amedeo Avagrado, an Italian chemist, believed that equal volumes of gases at the same temperature and pressure would have the same number of molecules, 6.02 x 10^23 molecules. Avagrado’s studied that the molecular weights of gases are the same as the “ratio of the densities of the gases under the same conditions” (Chemical Heritage Foundation). This thought process lead to the idea that the molecular mass of a gas sample can be derived from the known mass of a sample. Gases are not single atoms but compounds of two or more atoms. The discovery of Avagrado’s infamous constant number is revolutionary in understanding the consistency of gases. The idea that gases can be similar in ratio while under the same conditions makes future testing and experimentation more plausible in understanding gas reactions.

Robert Boyle: 1627-1691

Robert Boyle was an Irish scientist that spent four years studying experimentation at Oxford University. Boyle studied and read the theories of his colleagues and this stimulated his firm belief in observation, experimentation, and logical thinking. Boyle played an influential role in the founding of the Royal Society, a society that funds and nurtures scientific inquiry.

Boyle’s is regarded by many as the first modern day chemist because he was a famous  scientist that performed controlled experiments, drew well thought out conclusions, and published his detailed work for the rest of the scientific society. Boyle’s most well known work is his Boyle’s Law Theory in 1662. Boyle’s Law states that if the “volume of a gas is decreased, then the pressure increases proportionally at constant temperature” (Macintosh). Some of Boyle’s other work includes his modern definition of an element and the creation of the litmus test to identify acids and bases in chemical reactions. Boyle’s legacy in the scientific field is noteworthy because his infamous discovery of the inverse relationship between pressure and volume of gases gives society a basic understanding of gases. Society uses Boyle’s Law in doing every day activities including blowing up a balloon, changing the pressure of a syringe, and flying at high altitudes.

 Works Cited

Chemical Heritage Foundation. “Amedeo Avogadro.” Homepage of the Chemical    Heritage Foundation. Chemical Heritage Foundation, 2010. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.   <http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/chemistry-in-history/themes/the-path-to-the-periodic-table/avogadro.aspx>.

Chemical Heritage Foundation. “Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier.” Homepage of the Chemical     Heritage Foundation. Chemical Heritage Foundation. 2010. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/chemistry-in-history/themes/early-chemistry-and-gases/lavoisier.aspx>.

Chemical Heritage Foundation. “John Dalton.” Homepage of the Chemical Heritage Foundation. Chemical Heritage Foundation, 2010. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.   <http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/chemistry-in- history/themes/the-path-to-the-periodic-table/dalton.aspx>.

David, J. (2005). Antoine Lavoisier. [Web image]. Retrieved from     http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Antoine_laurent_lavoisier.jpg. Available under Attribution.

Kerseboom, J. (1689). Portrait of Robert Boyle. [Oil Portrait]. Retrieved from             http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Robert_Boyle_0001.jpg. Available under public domain.

MacIntosh, J. J. “Robert Boyle.” Stanford University. Stanford University, 15 Jan. 2002. Web. 02 Apr. 2014. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/boyle/>.

Roscoe, H. (1895).  John Dalton at Desk. [Engraving of a painting]. Retrieved from             http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Dalton_John_desk.jpg. Available under Attribution.

Smith, E. F. (1901). Amedeo Avogrado. [Picture of Amedeo Avogrado]. Retrieved from http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/chemistry-in- history/themes/the-path-to-the-periodic-table/avogadro.aspx. Available under Attribution- Sharealike.

Weisstein, Eric W. “Dalton, John (1766-1844) — from Eric Weisstein’s World of Scientific Biography.” Dalton, John (1766-1844). Wolfram Research, 2007. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. <http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Dalton.html>.

 

Katie Trinh

 

The British Academy was an idea proposed in 1899 to promote Historical, Philosophical, and Philological studies in the United Kingdom. Although proposed in 1899, the British Academy did not gain it’s Royal Charter until 1903 when King Edward VII promoted the charter (The British Academy). The purpose of The British Academy was to bring scholars together to recognize and promote their outstanding efforts towards social sciences in the UK. Although many of the scholars elected are from the UK, the resignation can also be from people from outside of the UK. However, those outstanding overseas activity, however they will be elected as corresponding fellows or honorary fellows elected based on their outstanding overseas activity will be elected as corresponding fellows or honorary fellows (The British Academy).

Today, the academy is made up of over 900 elected scholars. These scholars have all published books and articles highlighting  the significance of historical and social standards. The British Academy is able to elect up to 42 additional scholars every year, recognizing them for their  distinction in research and publication (The British Academy).

The three principle roles of the British Academy are as follows:

Fellowship: Scholars are elected by peers to help build a society dedicated to the growth and exchange of ideas. Together they are able to promote all areas of social sciences and humanities (The British Academy).

Funding Body: The society supports ideas of humanities and social sciences in whatever form they are presented (The British Academy).

Voice: Scholars provide independent voices to further knowledge, education, and research. This leads to a better public understanding of social sciences and humanities in both the UK and the world (The British Academy).

 

Although The British Academy had large aspirations, they never had one stable location. However, in 1998 British Academy moved its headquarters to be housed in the 10-11 Carlton House Terrace in London (10-11 Carlton House Terrace). This is known to be one of the leading locations in London and is recognized by many. With a stable location, they are able to continue to recognize more scholars into the society and continue to grow and promote historical, philosophical, and philological studies.

“About Us.” The British Academy. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://www.britac.ac.uk/index.cfm>.

“About.” {10-11} Carlton House Terrace. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. <http://10-11cht.com/about/>.

British Academy Web Master. (2011). The British Academy’s royal seal depicts the Greek muse Clio. [Web Image]. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:British_Academy_blue_Clio_logo.jpg. Available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike.

Yarham, Ian. (2012). Carlton House Terrace. [Web Image]. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2821928. Available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike.

 

Meghan Pearsall

Isaac Newton: 1642-1727

– First Law

Newton’s Three Laws of Motion stated, “Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it”.

– Second Law

Newton’s Three Laws of Motion stated, “The relationship between an object’s mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma. Acceleration and force are vectors (as indicated by their symbols being displayed in slant bold font); in this law the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector”.

– Third Law

Newton’s Three Laws of Motion stated, “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”.

Galileo Galilei: 1564-1642

– Phrases of Venus

According to Galileo: the Telescope & the Laws of Dynamics, “In the Ptolemaic system Venus should always be in crescent phase as viewed from the Earth because as it moves around its epicycle it can never be far from the direction of the sun (which lies beyond it), but in the Copernican system Venus should exhibit a complete set of phases over time as viewed from the Earth because it is illuminated from the center of its orbit”.

– Inertia

According to Galileo: the Telescope & the Laws of Dynamics, “Perhaps Galileo’s greatest contribution to physics was his formulation of the concept of inertia: an object in a state of motion possesses an ‘inertia’ that causes it to remain in that state of motion unless an external force acts on it. In order to arrive at this conclusion, which will form the cornerstone of Newton’s laws of motion (indeed, it will become Newton’s First Law of Motion), Galileo had to abstract from what he, and everyone else, saw”.

Robert Hooke: 1635-1703

– Hooke’s Law

According to Jessa (2010): Hooke’s Law is a law that shows the relationship between the forces applied to a spring and its elasticity. The relationship is best explained by the equation F=-kx. F is force applied to the spring this can be either the strain or stress that acts upon the spring. X is the displacement of the spring with negative value demonstrating that the displacement of the spring when it is stretched. When the spring is compressed the the x value is positive. K is the spring constant and details how stiff the spring is.

Works Cited

Newton’s Three Laws of Motion. Astronomy 161 Solar System. Retrieved from http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/newton3laws.html

Galileo: the Telescope & the Laws of Dynamics. Astronomy 161 Solar System. Retrieved from http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/galileo.html

Jessa, Tega. (2010) What is Hooke’s law?. Universe Today. Retrieved from http://www.universetoday.com/55027/hookes-law/