Wednesday, August 29. 2018Who discovered the radioactive element radium?
Marie Curie and her husband Pierre began their research into radioactivity in 1895. They soon discovered the new element thorium, and in 1898 they discovered two other elements — polonium and radium. They received the Nobel Prize for physics for this work in 1903, although they shared the prize with Henri Becquerel, who researched the same subject. After her husband’s death, Marie continued her research, winning a second Nobel Prize before dying in 1934 of cancer caused by unprotected exposure to atomic radiation. A new element discovered in 1944 was named curium in her honour. Picture credit: google Wednesday, August 29. 2018Who developed the theory of relativity?
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was a physicist who was born in Germany but lived in Switzerland and the USA in later life. He developed the theory of relativity, which led to the famous equation E = (which very few people actually understand). Einstein’s work is the basis for most of our theories about the nature, history and structure of the Universe. He laid down the rules that govern objects moving close to the speed of light, and explained why travel at this sort of speed could distort time itself. His work also proved invaluable in the development of the atomic bomb. Picture credit: google
Wednesday, August 29. 2018How did frogs’ legs lead to an understanding of the nervous system?
Luigi Galvani (1737-1798) was an Italian scientist. He accidentally noticed that severed frogs’ legs twitched when the nerve was touched with a pair of metal scissors during a thunderstorm. Alessandro Volta (after whom the volt is named) explained why this happened. It was because an electrical current was produced between two metals, which provided the stimulation to the nerves. This discovery later led to the realization that the nervous system works by means of electrical signals.
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