100 Greatest Sci ence Dis cov er ies of All Time Kend all Ha ven Westport, Con nect i cut • London Li brary of Con gress Cat a log ing-in-Pub li ca tion Data Ha ven, Kend all F. 100 great est science dis cov er ies of all time / Kendall Ha ven. p. cm. In cludes biblio graph i cal refer ences and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-59158-265-6 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 1-59158-265-2 (alk. paper) 1. Dis cov er ies in sci ence. I. Title. II. Ti tle: One hundred great est sci ence dis cov er ies of all time. Q180.55.D57H349 2007 509—dc22 2006032417 Brit ish Li brary Cat a logu ing in Pub li ca tion Data is avail able. Copyright © 2007 by Kendall Haven All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be repro duced, by any pro cess or technique, with out the express writ ten consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Cat alog Card Number: 2006032417 ISBN: 978-1-59158-265-6 First published in 2007 Librar ies Unlim ited, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 A Member of the Green wood Publish ing Group, Inc. www.lu.com Printed in the United States of Amer ica The paper used in this book complies with the Perma nent Paper Standard issued by the National In for ma tion Stan dards Or ga ni za tion (Z39.48-1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Con tents Con tents Con tents Ac knowl edg ments..............................................ix In tro duc tion ...................................................xi How to Use this Book ...........................................xv Levers and Buoyancy ............................................3 The Sun Is the Center of the Universe ...............................5 Hu man Anat omy ...............................................7 The Law of Falling Objects .......................................9 Plan e tary Mo tion ..............................................11 Ju pi ter’s Moons ...............................................13 Hu man Cir cu la tory Sys tem ......................................15 Air Pressure ..................................................17 Boyle’s Law ..................................................19 The Ex is tence of Cells ..........................................21 Uni ver sal Grav i ta tion ...........................................23 Fos sils.......................................................25 Distance to the Sun.............................................27 Bac te ria......................................................29 Laws of Motion ...............................................31 Order in Nature ................................................33 Gal ax ies .....................................................36 The Na ture of Elec tric ity ........................................38 Oceans Con trol Global Weather...................................40 Ox y gen ......................................................43 Pho to syn the sis ................................................45 Con ser va tion of Mat ter..........................................47 The Na ture of Heat .............................................49 Erosion of the Earth ............................................51 Vac ci na tions ..................................................53 In fra red and Ul travi o let .........................................55 An es the sia....................................................57 At oms .......................................................59 Elec tro chem i cal Bond ing ........................................61 The Ex is tence of Mol e cules ......................................63 Elec tro mag ne tism ..............................................65 First Di no saur Fos sil............................................67 Ice Ages .....................................................69 Cal o ries (Units of Energy) .......................................71 Con ser va tion of En ergy .........................................73 v vi Con tents Dopp ler Ef fect ................................................75 Germ The ory .................................................77 The The ory of Evolu tion ........................................79 Atomic Light Sig natures .........................................81 Elec tro mag netic Ra di a tion/Ra dio Waves............................83 He red ity .....................................................86 Deep-Sea Life.................................................88 Pe ri odic Chart of El e ments.......................................90 Cell Di vi sion..................................................92 X-Rays ......................................................95 Blood Types ..................................................97 Elec tron .....................................................99 Vi rus .......................................................101 Mi to chon dria ................................................103 Ra dio ac tiv ity.................................................105 At mo spheric Lay ers ...........................................107 Hor mones ...................................................109 E = mc2 .....................................................111 Rel a tiv ity ...................................................114 Vi ta mins ....................................................117 Ra dio ac tive Dat ing ............................................119 Func tion of Chro mo somes ......................................121 An ti bi ot ics ..................................................124 Fault Lines ..................................................126 Su per con duc tiv ity.............................................128 Atomic Bond ing ..............................................131 Iso topes.....................................................133 Earth’s Core and Mantle ........................................136 Con ti nen tal Drift..............................................138 Black Holes .................................................140 In su lin......................................................142 Neurotransmitters .............................................144 Hu man Evo lu tion .............................................146 Quan tum The ory..............................................148 Ex pand ing Uni verse ...........................................150 Un cer tainty Prin ci ple ..........................................153 Speed of Light ...............................................155 Pen i cil lin....................................................158 An ti mat ter...................................................160 Neu tron.....................................................163 Cell Structure ................................................165 The Func tion of Genes .........................................167 Eco sys tem...................................................169 Weak and Strong Force ........................................171 Me tab o lism..................................................174 Con tents vii Coe la canth ..................................................176 Nu clear Fis sion...............................................178 Blood Plasma ................................................181 Semi con duc tor Tran sis tor.......................................183 The Big Bang ................................................185 Def i ni tion of In for ma tion .......................................188 Jumpin’ Genes ...............................................190 Fu sion ......................................................192 Or i gins of Life ...............................................194 DNA .......................................................196 Seafloor Spreading ............................................199 The Nature of the Atmo sphere ...................................201 Quarks .....................................................203 Quasars and Pulsars ...........................................205 Com plete Evo lu tion ...........................................208 Dark Mat ter .................................................211 The Nature of Dino saurs .......................................213 Planets Exist Around Other Stars .................................215 Ac cel er at ing Uni verse .........................................218 Hu man Ge nome ..............................................220 Ref er ences ..................................................223 Ap pen dix 1: Dis cov er ies by Sci en tific Field ........................229 Ap pen dix 2: Sci en tists .........................................233 Appen dix 3: The Next 40 .......................................237 In dex.......................................................239 Ac knowl edg ments I owe a great deal of thanks to those who have helped me research and shape these en- tries. The librar i ans at the Sonoma County Public Library and those at the Sonoma State Charles Schultz Library have been invalu able in helping me locate and review the many thousands of ref erences I used for this work. I owe a special thanks to Roni Berg, the love of my life, for her work in both shaping these indi vid ual en tries and in cre ating the 100 fun facts you will read in this book. Finally, I owe a great thank you to Barbara Ittner, the Li- braries Unlim ited ed itor who stead fastly supported and encour aged me to create this book and whose wisdom and in sights shaped it and are reflected on every page. ix In tro duc tion In tro duc tion In tro duc tion Dis covery! The very word sends tingles surging up your spine. It quickens your pulse. Dis cover ies are the mo ments of “Ah, ha! I under stand!” and of “Eureka! I found it!”