famous physicists (1)

 famous physicists (1)

 

Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642)

An Italian genius, Galileo created the telescope and observed the galaxy in so much depth, that his ideas were deemed irrational. He not only discovered the phases of Venus, the four satellites of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede, but also proved that the ocean tides were caused due to the gravitational pull of the moon and not due to the earth's rotation. Compass and thermometer were also his inventions. This stalwart, who had magnified the galaxy a thousand times for us, died after he had turned completely blind.

Willebrord Snellius (1580 - 1626)

His Law of Refraction was published 70 years after he died. He had discovered that light bends when it falls on any material, and the angle at which it bends depends on the angle of its incidence. This Law of Refraction is called the Snell's law.

Robert Hooke (1635 - 1703)

Hooke's Law of Elasticity puts forth the relationship between the force applied to an object and the level of deformation it undergoes. Also, Hooke was the first person to observe the plants and fossils under a microscope, and coin the term 'Cell'. In 1665, he published his book named 'Micrographia', in which he had put forth some of his original observations of biology.

Christian Huygens (1625 - 1695)

He had put forth the wave theory, which said that if a wave is traveling at a particular speed, then all the points on the wavefront serve as sources for new wavelets, which would travel at the same speed.

Sir Isaac Newton (1643 - 1727)

Newton's Laws of Motion and universal gravitation laid the foundation for most of the modern physics. He was not only a physicist but also a Mathematics wizard. With equal originality, he also immersed himself in chemistry and left a few manuscripts on the subject, which later served as a base for the future scientists to develop on.

Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)

He was an American physicist who discovered two electric charges, 'positive' and 'negative'. Franklin was a fantastic inventor who never patented any of his inventions. Even today, his famous invention of the lightning rod, protects many buildings and ships from getting damaged by lightning. He was a versatile personality, being an author, satirist, diplomat, statesman, politician and musician, all into one.

Charles-Augustin de Coulomb (1736 - 1806)

Coulomb's Law was one of his greatest contribution to physics. He invented a device called 'torsion balance' with the help of which, he measured the force of attraction or repulsion between two charged bodies. After exhaustive research and huge amount of findings, he finally put forth the fundamental Coulomb's Law of electromagnetism.

James Watt (1736 - 1819)

While repairing a damaged steam engine, Watt found out that it was hopelessly inefficient and tried to improve its design. He tried to minimize the steam losses by designing a condensing chamber for the steam. This design made the machine more cost-efficient and also improved its power. While the SI unit of power, 'Watt', is named after him, the concept of 'horsepower' was also his brainchild.

André-Marie Ampère (1775 - 1836)

Rightly known as the Father of Electrodynamics, the SI unit for measuring current, 'Ampere', is named after him. He was the one who laid the foundation of electrodynamics. The galvanometer was his invention, and he stated that it can be used for measuring the magnitude of current by the deflection of the compass needle, caused by a flowing electric current. He not only made giant strides in physics, but also mathematics and chemistry.

Amedeo Avogadro (1776 - 1856)

As a tribute to his work, a constant was named after him. Avogadro's constant or number (6.0221415 x 1023) is the number of elementary entities like the atoms, ions, molecules present in 1 mole of a substance. Another contribution of Avogadro was the law which stated that 'same number of molecules are present in equal volumes of gas at equal temperature and pressure'. He was the one who helped solve the debate on what an atom or molecule is.

Georg Ohm (1776 - 1856)

While in school, Ohm was more interested in dancing, ice skating and playing billiards, than studying. He received recognition very late in his life, because of his mathematical approach to topics, in the time when people approached them in a non-mathematical way. Also, he was an introvert. In spite of these shortcomings, Ohm became a household name today for his most important contribution, the Ohm's Law. The law states that 'applied voltage is directly proportional to the resultant electric current divided by the resistance of the material'.

Michael Faraday (1791 - 1867)

If it was not for Faraday, electricity would not have come to practical use. He was the one who invented electromagnetic rotary devices, and formed the foundation of electric motor technology. He was also a chemist who discovered benzene. He tried to popularize terms such as cathode, anode and electrode. Faraday explained his ideas in a clear and simple way, and is considered one of the greatest discoverers of all time.