1850 - France ‘A Foucault pendulum is a simple pendulum – a long wire with a heavy weight (bob) at the end – except that at the top it is attached to a joint which allows it to swing in any direction’ Foucault’s pendulum proved that the Earth is rotating Once a Foucault pendulum is set in motion, it seems not to swing back and forth … Continue reading
1843 - England ‘A given amount of work produces a specific amount of heat’ 4.18 joules of work is equivalent to one calorie of heat. In 1798 COUNT RUMFORD suggested that mechanical work could be converted into heat. This idea was pursued by Joule who conducted thousands of experiments to determine how much heat could be obtained from a given amount of work. … Continue reading
1940 – USA First Law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm Second Law: A robot must obey orders given it by a human being, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law Third Law: A robot must protect its own … Continue reading
1823 – Germany ‘The spectroscope’ A significant improvement on the apparatus used by Newton. Sunlight, instead of passing through a pinhole before striking a prism, is passed through a long thin slit in a metal plate. This creates a long ribbon-like spectrum, which may be scanned from end to end with a microscope. Cutting across the … Continue reading
IMHOTEP (c.2650 BC) ‘Architect of civilisation’ Medical sage, astronomer, mathematician, architect. Architect of the first pyramid built during the reign of the second pharaoh of the Third Dynasty, with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. Came to be revered as a god of healing and identified by the Greeks with their own Aesculapius. NEXT
KEY MAIN INDEX
Third Century BCE – Syracuse (a Greek city in Sicily) ‘Archimedes’ Screw – a device used to pump water out of ships and to irrigate fields’ Archimedes investigated the principles of static mechanics and pycnometry (the measurement of the volume or density of an object). He was responsible for the science of hydrostatics, the study of the displacement of bodies in water … Continue reading
1827 - Germany ‘The electric current in a conductor is proportional to the potential difference’ In equation form, V = IR, where V is the potential difference, I is the current and R is a constant called resistance. Ohm’s law links voltage (potential difference) with current and resistance and the scientists VOLTA, AMPERE and OHM. Ohm is now honoured by having the unit of electrical resistance named after him. … Continue reading
1755 - Switzerland ‘Analytical calculus – the study of infinite processes and their limits’ Swiss mathematician. His notation is even more far-reaching than that of LEIBNIZ and much of the mathematical notation that is in use to-day may be credited to Euler. The number of theorems, equations and formulae named after him is enormous. Euler made important discoveries in the analytic geometry … Continue reading
‘Mathematician, cartographer & astronomer. Prolific author, natural magician, alchemist.’ ‘Alternative knowledge and methods of learning. ‘Conversations with Angels’. Human power over the world (neo-Platonism).’ Dee was a Hermetic philosopher, a major influence on the ROSICRUCIANS, possibly a spy – astrologer and adviser to Queen Elizabeth I; he chose the day of her coronation. One of … Continue reading
