Contribution of Scientists



Galileo Galilei (1564 –1642)   Italian Physicist, Mathematician, Astronomer
His achievements include improvements to the telescope, military compass and consequent astronomical observations like confirmation of the phases of Venus, the discovery of the four largest moons of Jupiter and analysis of sunspots. His famous works are heliocentrism, kinematics, dynamics and strength of materials.


Albert Einstein (1879 –1955)  Germanian Theoretical Physicist 
He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect. He developed the general and special theory of relativity and theory of Brownian Motion. His famous mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2 formed the basis of nuclear energy. Einstein’s field equations explain particle theory and the motion of molecules.


Niels Bohr (1885–1962)  Danish Physicist 
He made contributions to atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. His quantum theory states that electrons move from a higher energy level to a lower one in discrete steps, but not continuously, by emitting a photon (light quantum).  He theorized that electrons revolve in stable orbits and while in their stable orbits, they do not radiate energy. 

Satyendra Nath Bose  (1894 –1974) Indian, Bengali Mathematical Physicist 
He is best known for Bose–Einstein statistics and the theory of the Bose–Einstein condensate.  Bose-Einstein statistics, assumed that light is a gas of indistinguishable particles. Einstein’s adoption of this statistics to atoms, led to the existence of a phenomena known as Bose-Einstein condensate, a dense collection of bosons (which are particles with integer spin, named after Bose). Bose was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 1954.
                                                  

Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Rāman  (1888 –1970) Indian, Tamilian Physicist
He was the first Asian and first non-White to receive the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930 for the discovery that when light traverses a transparent material, some of the light that is deflected, changes in wavelength. This phenomenon is called Raman scattering and the result is Raman effect. In 1954 he was awarded the Bharat Ratna.

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar  (1910–1995) Indian-American, Tamilian Astrophysicist 
He won the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics for his discovery of Chandrasekhar Limit named after him. He showed that there is a maximum mass which can be supported against gravity by pressure made up of electrons and atomic nuclei. The value of this limit is about 1.44 times a solar mass. If the mass of a star exceeded this limit, the star would collapse into a neutron star or black hole and not become a white dwarf. He was the nephew of Sir C.V.Raman.

Sir Isaac Newton  (1642–1727) British Physicist, Mathematician, Astronomer 
Newton described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion. He showed that the motions of objects on Earth and of celestial bodies are governed by the same natural laws, by showing the consistency between Kepler's laws of planetary motion and his theory of gravitation. He built the first reflecting telescope. He showed that the coloured light does not change its property by separating out a coloured beam. This is known as Newton's theory of colour.

Sir Ernest Rutherford (1871- 1937) New Zealand-born British Chemist  and Physicist
Rutherford was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry  in 1908 for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements, and the chemistry of radioactive substances. The Rutherford model of the atom proved that atoms have their charge concentrated in nucleus.  He was credited as the first person to artificially disintegrate an element in a nuclear reaction.  He discovered the alpha, beta, and gamma rays, proton  and radioactive half-life . He identified alpha particles as helium nuclei. Element 104, Rutherfordium, is named in his honor.

Marie Curie (1867 –1934) Polish Chemist, Physicist
Marie Curie’s achievements include using radioactivity techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes, and the discovery of two elements, polonium and radium and the treatment of neoplasms, using radioactive isotopes. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the only woman to win in two different sciences. She shared her 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with her husband Pierre Curie and with Henri Becquerel. She won the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald (1853 –1932) Baltic German Chemist
He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1909 for his work on catalysis, chemical equilibria and reaction velocities. He is also known for the Ostwald process for the mass production of nitric acid from ammonia. He discovered the law of dilution which is named after him. Ostwald's rule concerns the behaviour of polymorphs. The mole concept was introduced by him. He linked it to the ideal gas.


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