December Science Fun Facts

General

In 1911, at Stockholm, Sweden, Marie Curie became the first person to be awarded a second Nobel prize. She had isolated radium by electrolyzing molten radium chloride. At the negative electrode the radium formed an amalgam with mercury. Heating the amalgam in a silica tube filled with nitrogen at low pressure boiled away the mercury, leaving pure white deposits of radium. This second prize was for her individual achievements in Chemistry, whereas her first prize (1903) was a collaborative effort with her husband, Pierre, and Henri Becquerel in Physics for her contributions in the discovery of radium and polonium

Biology

In 1967, the first synthesis of biologically active DNA in a test tube was announced at a press conference by Arthur Kornberg who had worked with Mehran Goulian at Stanford and Robert L. Sinsheimer of MIT. Kornberg chose to replicate the relatively simple DNA chain of the Phi X174 virus, which infects bacteria (a bacteriophage). It has a single strand of DNA only about 5500 nucleotide building blocks long, and with about 11 genes, it was easier to purify without breaking it up. Having isolated the Phi X174 DNA, they used the DNA from E. coli, a common bacterium in the human intestine that could copy a DNA template from any organism. The viral DNA template thus copied was found to be able to infect bacteria - it was error-free, active DNA.

Earth Science

In 1995, the Galileo spacecraft arrived at Jupiter and entered orbit after 6 years years of travel including a flyby of Venus and two asteroids, Gaspra and Ida. The orbiter had also carried an atmospheric probe with scientific instruments, which it had released from the main spacecraft in Jul 1995, five months before reaching Jupiter Galileo then spent a further 8 years examining Jupiter and its moons Io and Europa. In 1994, the Galileo orbiter was present to watch the fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crash into Jupiter. Its mission was concluded 21 Sep 2003 by sending the orbiter into Jupiter's atmosphere at a speed of nearly 50 km/sec, destroying it to avoid any chance of it contaminating local moons with bacteria from Earth.

Physics

In 1900, German physicist Max Planck made public his ideas on quantum physics at a meeting of the German Physics Society, revolutionizing scientists' understanding of physics. Planck demonstrated that in certain situations energy exhibits characteristics of physical matter, something unthinkable at the time. He suggested the explanation energy exists in discrete packets, which he called "quanta."

Chemistry

In 1933, Rutherford suggested the names diplogen for the newly discovered heavy hydrogen isotope and diplon for its nucleus. He presented these ideas in the Discussion on Heavy Hydrogen at the Royal Society. For ordinary hydrogen, the lightest of the atoms, having a nuclues of a sole proton, he coined a related name: haplogen. (Greek: haploos, single; diploos, double.) In 1931, Harold Urey had discovered small quantities of atoms of heavy hydrogen wherever ordinary hydrogen occurred. The mass of its nucleus was double that of ordinary hydrogen. This hydrogen-2 is now called deuterium, as named by Urey (Greek: deuteros, second). Its nucleus, named a deuteron, has a neutron in addition to a proton.

November Science History Tidbits

General

In 1869, the first issue was published of the journal Nature, edited by astronomer Sir Norman Lockyer. The first issue included articles on astronomy, plants, moths, science teaching in schools, an obituary for Thomas Graham, paleontology and meeting notices. Nature remains one of the most popular and well respected science journals in the world, printing research articles from across a wide range of scientific fields.

Biology

In 1939, a rabbit conceived by artificial impregnation, was the first such animal in the U.S. to be displayed. The event was the 12th Annual Graduate Fortnight at the New York Academy of Medicine. Dr. Gregory Pincus, an American biologist, had removed an egg from the ovary of a female rabbit and fertilized it with a salt solution. The egg was then transferred to the uterus of a second rabbit, which functioned an "incubator." The young rabbit was born in Oct 1939. Dr. Pincus, of Clark University conducted his experiments at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. In the same year, Pincus and colleagues were the first to show how oocytes of various animals would undergo maturation if released from their follicle and cultured in vitro.

Earth Science

In 1572, a supernova was first noted by Wolfgang Schuler of Wittenberg (?-1575) in the W-shaped constellation of Cassiopeia but was seen by many observers throughout Europe and in the Far East. It appeared as a new star, adjacent to the fainter star seen just northwest of the middle of the "W." Tycho Brahe first noticed this new star on 11 Nov 1572, and he began to meticulously record its appearance. Although he was not the first to see it, he gained fame from his book Stella Nova (Latin: "new star"). For two weeks it was brighter than any other star in the sky and visible in daytime. By month's end, it began to fade and change colour, from bright white to yellow and orange to faint reddish light. It was visible to the naked eye for about 16 months until Mar 1574.

Physics

In 1845, Michael Faraday, working in his laboratory at the Royal Institution, hung a piece of heavy glass between the poles of an electro-magnet and observed that the glass aligned itself across the lines of force of the magnet. He further experimented on many other substances, with similar results, a phenomena that he named diamagnetism. These investigations showed Faraday that magnetism was inherent within matter. This led to his lecture "Thoughts on Ray-vibrations" in April 1846, which he expanded in the following years into his field theory of electro-magnetism. This was the progenitor for mathematical descriptions formed by Thomson, and especially for the seminal work of James Clerk Maxwell.

Chemistry

In 1931, The DuPont Company, of Wilmington, Delaware, announced the first synthetic rubber this day. It was known as DuPrene, now renamed neoprene. Many scientists were trying to make natural rubber in the 1920s and 30s. One of the Carothers team, Gerard Berchet, happened to leave a sample of vinyl acetylene in a jar with hydrochloric acid (HCl) for about five weeks. Then another member of team, Arnold M. Collins happened to look in that jar and found a rubbery white material. The HCl had reacted with the vinylacetylene, making chloroprene, which then polymerized to become polychloroprene. The new rubber was expensive, but resisted oil and gasoline, which natural rubber didn't. It was the first good synthetic rubber.

FAST Conference October 20-22, 2011

This is the week of FAST which is being held at the International Palms Resort and Conference Center in Orlando. We of Capital Microscope will be there showing all the newest in microscopy and science education equipment. We hope that you and other teachers will be able to attend. Make sure you come by our booth and register for the Ken-A-Vision Professor Series Microscope that we will be giving away.

Surely you've already used your existing microscopes and realized that they just need a little tune up. This is also the perfect time of year to think about having your microscopes and balances professionally serviced. Stop by the booth so we can go over what our service program includes.

When you come by the booth this week you can also see the following products on display.

National 205 - https://microscopesandmore.com/node/1336

National 210 - https://www.microscopesandmore.com/node/414

National 456TBL-10 - https://www.microscopesandmore.com/node/459

National DC-128 - https://www.microscopesandmore.com/node/643

Swift M3601 - https://www.microscopesandmore.com/node/991

Ohaus CS2000 Compact Scale - https://www.microscopesandmore.com/node/789

 Before you come you can take a look at these products on our website and then come to see them in person at our booth. We look forward to seeing you and helping you with any questions you have about our many excellent products.

October Science History Tidbits

Biology

In 1997, American biology professor Stanley B. Prusiner won the Nobel Prize for medicine for discovering "prions," described as "an entirely new genre of disease-causing agents.

Chemistry

In 1971, the mole - the amount of substance (matter) - was adopted as a chemical measurement added to the six base quantities of the SI (International System of scientific units). The decision was made by the Conférence Général des Poids et Mesures (CGPM), the principal executive organization under the Treaty of the Meter. IUPAC's participation was led by M.L. McGlashan. The mole is the amount of substance of a system which contains as many elementary entities as there are carbon atoms in 0.012 kg of carbon 12. The elementary entities must be specified and may be atoms, molecules, ions, electrons, other particles, or specified groups of such particles. The agreed symbol for the unit is mol, and the symbol for amount of substance is n.

Earth Science

In 1608, Johannes Lippershey (c.1570-c.1619) demonstrated a new invention, the first optical (refracting) telescope - prototype of the modern telescopes - to the Netherlands States
Lippershey was a lens grinder who furnished spectacles. An apprentice discovered that - by separating both a long-focus lens and a short-focus lens in front of the eye - distant objects appeared closer. Lippershey mounted lenses in tubes, applied for a patent in 1608, and also offered them for sale to the Dutch government, which appreciated their military value. When Galileo heard of the device, he made a similar arrangement and used it to study the heavens. It was named a "telescope" by a guest at an outdoor banquet 14 Apr 1611 honouring Galileo, where he demonstrated it to the assembly.

Physics

In 1956, The Physical Review published a paper by Tsung Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang on the Question of Parity Conservation in Weak Interactions. They addressed an issue that had long been believed, but for which there had been no experimental support. Yet, there existed a Theta-Tau Puzzle (C.F. Powell, 1949) in the disintegration of certain cosmic ray particles via the nuclear weak force. Lee and Yang believed this was because of parity violation, which contradicted the generally accepted "law" of conservation of parity. They proposed a study of experiments involving weak interactions. Chien-Shiung Wu validated non-conservation of parity on 27 Dec 1956 in their suggestion to study beta decay of cobalt-60.

General 

In 1957, the Space Age began as the Soviet Union, to the dismay of the United States, launched Sputnik, the first man made satellite, into orbit around the earth. The craft circled the earth every 95 minutes at almost 20,000 miles per hour 500 miles above the Earth. The Sputnik (meaning "companion" or "fellow traveller") was launched from Kazakhstan. It stayed in orbit for about three months. Sputnik fell from the sky on 4 Jan 1958. The 184-lb satellite had transmitted a radio signal picked up around the world, and instrumentation for temperature measurement.

In 1997, American biology professor Stanley B. Prusiner won the Nobel Prize for medicine for discovering "prions," described as "an entirely new genre of disease-causing agents.

In 1971, the mole - the amount of substance (matter) - was adopted as a chemical measurement added to the six base quantities of the SI (International System of scientific units). The decision was made by the Conférence Général des Poids et Mesures (CGPM), the principal executive organization under the Treaty of the Meter. IUPAC's participation was led by M.L. McGlashan. The mole is the amount of substance of a system which contains as many elementary entities as there are carbon atoms in 0.012 kg of carbon 12. The elementary entities must be specified and may be atoms, molecules, ions, electrons, other particles, or specified groups of such particles. The agreed symbol for the unit is mol, and the symbol for amount of substance is n.

In 1608, Johannes Lippershey (c.1570-c.1619) demonstrated a new invention, the first optical (refracting) telescope - prototype of the modern telescopes - to the Netherlands States General. Lippershey was a lens grinder who furnished spectacles. An apprentice discovered that - by separating both a long-focus lens and a short-focus lens in front of the eye - distant objects appeared closer. Lippershey mounted lenses in tubes, applied for a patent in 1608, and also offered them for sale to the Dutch government, which appreciated their military value. When Galileo heard of the device, he made a similar arrangement and used it to study the heavens. It was named a "telescope" by a guest at an outdoor banquet 14 Apr 1611 honouring Galileo, where he demonstrated it to the assembly.

In 1956, The Physical Review published a paper by Tsung Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang on the Question of Parity Conservation in Weak Interactions. They addressed an issue that had long been believed, but for which there had been no experimental support. Yet, there existed a Theta-Tau Puzzle (C.F. Powell, 1949) in the disintegration of certain cosmic ray particles via the nuclear weak force.  Lee and Yang believed this was because of parity violation, which contradicted the generally accepted "law" of conservation of parity. They proposed a study of experiments involving weak interactions. Chien-Shiung Wu validated non-conservation of parity on 27 Dec 1956 in their suggestion to study beta decay of cobalt-60.

In 1957, the Space Age began as the Soviet Union, to the dismay of the United States, launched Sputnik, the first manmade satellite, into orbit around the earth. The craft circled the earth every 95 minutes at almost 20,000 miles per hour 500 miles above the Earth. The Sputnik (meaning "companion" or "fellow traveller") was launched from Kazakhstan. It stayed in orbit for about three months. Sputnik fell from the sky on 4 Jan 1958. The 184-lb satellite had transmitted a radio signal picked up around the world, and instrumentation for temperature measurement.

October Science History Tidbits

Biology In 1997, American biology professor Stanley B. Prusiner won the Nobel Prize for medicine for discovering "prions," described as "an entirely new genre of disease-causing agents.

Chemistry In 1971, the mole - the amount of substance (matter) - was adopted as a chemical measurement added to the six base quantities of the SI (International System of scientific units). The decision was made by the Conférence Général des Poids et Mesures (CGPM), the principal executive organization under the Treaty of the Meter. IUPAC's participation was led by M.L. McGlashan. The mole is the amount of substance of a system which contains as many elementary entities as there are carbon atoms in 0.012 kg of carbon 12. The elementary entities must be specified and may be atoms, molecules, ions, electrons, other particles, or specified groups of such particles. The agreed symbol for the unit is mol, and the symbol for amount of substance is n.

Earth Science In 1608, Johannes Lippershey (c.1570-c.1619) demonstrated a new invention, the first optical (refracting) telescope - prototype of the modern telescopes - to the Netherlands States General. Lippershey was a lens grinder who furnished spectacles. An apprentice discovered that - by separating both a long-focus lens and a short-focus lens in front of the eye - distant objects appeared closer. Lippershey mounted lenses in tubes, applied for a patent in 1608, and also offered them for sale to the Dutch government, which appreciated their military value. When Galileo heard of the device, he made a similar arrangement and used it to study the heavens. It was named a "telescope" by a guest at an outdoor banquet 14 Apr 1611 honouring Galileo, where he demonstrated it to the assembly.

Physics In 1956, The Physical Review published a paper by Tsung Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang on the Question of Parity Conservation in Weak Interactions. They addressed an issue that had long been believed, but for which there had been no experimental support. Yet, there existed a Theta-Tau Puzzle (C.F. Powell, 1949) in the disintegration of certain cosmic ray particles via the nuclear weak force.  Lee and Yang believed this was because of parity violation, which contradicted the generally accepted "law" of conservation of parity. They proposed a study of experiments involving weak interactions. Chien-Shiung Wu validated non-conservation of parity on 27 Dec 1956 in their suggestion to study beta decay of cobalt-60.

General In 1957, the Space Age began as the Soviet Union, to the dismay of the United States, launched Sputnik, the first manmade satellite, into orbit around the earth. The craft circled the earth every 95 minutes at almost 20,000 miles per hour 500 miles above the Earth. The Sputnik (meaning "companion" or "fellow traveller") was launched from Kazakhstan. It stayed in orbit for about three months. Sputnik fell from the sky on 4 Jan 1958. The 184-lb satellite had transmitted a radio signal picked up around the world, and instrumentation for temperature measurement.

Quote

Here is a quote for you and your students to ponder.

Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.

    Chinese Proverb