Who Did Science Anyway?

Some of the Men and Women Who Shape Our Worldview

Arabic Scientists

• When Feudalism reduced the demand for science in Europe, scholars fled to Arabic-Islamic lands

• Mathematics, Astronomy, Health and Medicine, Optics, and Chemistry flourished there during Europe’s Dark Ages Famous Arabic-Islamic Scientists

• Ibn al-Shatir • Abu Ibn-Sina (Avicenna) • Ibn al-Haytham • Abu Al-Razi Arabic Astronomy Texts The Emerald Stone

• Hermes Trismegistus – Legendary Founder of Alchemy The Emerald Tablet The goal of the Alchemists Translation by Isaac Newton

• …Separate the Earth from the Fire, the subtle from the gross, sweetly with great industry…By this means you shall have the glory of the whole world and thereby all obscurity shall fly from you. Tools of the Alchemist Often Hidden from View Science Becomes Respectable

• August the Strong and other leaders support science. Primarily for their own gain– to make porcelain

Wilhelm Ostwald

• Born in Riga, Latvia, in 1853 • Chemistry and Physics teacher at University of Leipzig • Pioneer in Electrochemistry • Nobel Prize 1909 The House of Energy The Home of Wilhelm Ostwald Ostwald’s Laboratory Ostwald’s Color Experiments As Explained by his Grandaughter William Perkins and the Chemistry of Dyeing

• William Perkins

• At the age of 18, this English youth invented the dye, Mauve. • His synthetic dye forever changed how we color fabrics Technical University of Dresden Professor Hartmann Early dyes were from plant pigments Blaise Pascal

• Invented first digital calculator at age 19 • Did experiments with atmospheric pressure • Argued for the existence of vacuums • Brilliant mathematician The First Mechanical Calculator – The Pascaline Zwinger Museum – Dresden The Curies

• Marie Curie Born in Poland Coined term ’’radioactivity” Discovered two new elements in pitchblende ore Nobel Prize Physics (1903) Chemistry (1911) Pierre Curie Research in magnetic effects Nobel Prize 1903 Physics Uranium came from mines in Jachimov, C.R. Uranium Ores from Jachimov, Czech Republic Mining – at the home of the thaller Radium Palace in Jachimov, C.R. Radium Palace Spa and Resort - Jachimov Tycho Brahe

• Tycho Brahe: Born in Denmark The improvement of astronomy depends on accurate observation Tycho’s Books -- Strahov Library - Prague Tycho’s Observatory Uraniborg at Hven Tycho’s Math Book Tycho’s Final RestingPlace Tyn Church, Prague Johannes Kepler

• Founder of celestial mechanics • Three Laws of planetary motion House of Johannes Kepler– Prague Kepler’s House

Kepler’s

House in

Prague Christian Doppler

• Born in Salzburg • Astronomy text on Binary Stars • Explained Doppler Effect for waves • Professor at the University of Vienna Albert Einstein

• Born in Germany • Nobel Prize for explanation of photoelectric effect • Theory of Relativity House in Prague where Einstein played the violin Gregor Mendel

• Abbot of Augustinian Monastery in Brno, C.R. • Founder of Science of Genetics Mendel’s Garden Genetics with Geodes Experiments Continue in the Spirit of Mendel Ludwig Boltzmann

• Born in Vienna • Taught math and physics • Harmonized Thermodynamics and mechanics Erwin Schroedinger

• Born in Vienna • Nobel Prize in 1933 For explaining wave Theory of atoms • Fled from Nazis to Dublin More Information about these men and women will come from your classmates during the third quarter.