Today in Science History - Quickie Quiz

Five Famous Physicists You Should Know. And Why.

This is a work in progress. It was started 9 Sep 2013, so close to that date it may be rather threadbare, because your Webmaster is inviting input from readers on which physicists should be included. Yes, YOU should be among the first to use the feedback menu button with your ideas, whether for one or all five!

But wait! Read the rubric, it's not quite what you may have first thought:

Five: A number chosen for its alliteration in the title. Perhaps later it could be ten. But it restricts you to your five top choices. That requires deeper reflection. If you come up with lots of names, you need to think through which will make the cut and which won't.

Famous: Again, the appealing alliteration for the title. So let's instead say “important now in the lives of the common person.” Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton are famous, of course, and are perhaps known to many people you might stop in the street and ask for names of physicists. Certainly they were game-changers as far as the course of science is concerned. But how much beneficial effect are they having now in your grandmother's life?

Physicists: Have to start somewhere. So physicists are up to bat first, but later it should be the turn of chemists, biologists, and other fields.

You: This is the impersonal “you,” meaning “anyone” or “everyone.” Which famous physicists do you think deserve to have their name recognized by the person sitting next to you on the bus?

Should: Not for answering knowledge questions on a quiz, but because a person might almost want to say “Thankyou” to the physicists whose work has been important in their lives.

Know: Because there are physicists whose work has contributed so much to the common persons' lives that are likely little known or recognized, this list of five aims to change that.

And Why: It's the explanation that gets the quality points on a test in school. So this is where the physicists must make the cut. Remember, their work must be significantly relevant in everyone's life. Except for the geeky scientist, how many people could shake his hand “Thank you, Einstein, you have meant so much in my life, because...” Or Newton? True, he came up with the quantitative law of gravitation. Yet every caveman knew if you hold a big rock vertically above your foot, and let go, it's going to mash some toes and hurt.

For example:

Wilhelm Röntgen is the name that first came to the Webmaster's mind after failing to quickly and impressively answer “and why,” for Einstein and Newton. Does William Rontgen's name ring a bell for you? It should, if you had the chance to express gratitude. When he discovered X-rays, and quickly broadcast that to the world of science so others could develop uses for them, it was of earth-shaking significance. Never before had the medical profession been able to use such a powerful tool for seeing the inner workings of the body, and non-invasively diagnose medical problems of myriad kinds.

Almost surely you personally have benefitted, too. Perhaps the dentist has taken X-ray bite-wings of your teeth in the never-ending quest to find more places to drill and fill. Perhaps you have had reasons for more extensive X-rays after an accident that gave information for a more successful diagnosis of a pain, or injury.

So, should everyone know Röntgen's name. Yep! He's a starter on your webmaster's list. And he meets the criteria of “should know” because, how many people would you stop in the street to ask “Who discovered X-rays” before you got a correct answer? For name recognition, he deserves better. (Even a dental hygiene student I asked needed a prompt, “starts with R” to remember.)

Of course, nowadays, non-invasive ultrasound and CAT scans are available. But those are extensions of the work initiated by Röntgen. So would you put Robert S. Ledley, inventor of the whole-body CAT scan on the list instead? Or Nobel prize-winning Godfrey Hounsfield who earlier developed X-ray computed tomography technology?

Your turn!

Please use the feedback menu button above to email your ideas to the webmaster. You may like to send your immediate thoughts right now to get the ball rolling. Needn't be all five, perhaps just one or two of the most spontaneous thoughts. Then follow up with another email after more reflection using the rubric. You may find it interesting to see how your more thoughtful list compares with the original.

Your webmaster already has a few more ideas, and is curious who else might come up with any of them.

Hoping to hear from you soon!

Nature bears long with those who wrong her. She is patient under abuse. But when abuse has gone too far, when the time of reckoning finally comes, she is equally slow to be appeased and to turn away her wrath. (1882) -- Nathaniel Egleston, who was writing then about deforestation, but speaks equally well about the danger of climate change today.

Carl Sagan: In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion. (1987) ...(more by Sagan)

Albert Einstein: I used to wonder how it comes about that the electron is negative. Negative-positive—these are perfectly symmetric in physics. There is no reason whatever to prefer one to the other. Then why is the electron negative? I thought about this for a long time and at last all I could think was “It won the fight!” ...(more by Einstein)

Richard Feynman: It is the facts that matter, not the proofs. Physics can progress without the proofs, but we can't go on without the facts ... if the facts are right, then the proofs are a matter of playing around with the algebra correctly. ...(more by Feynman)