Heroes Of Steem: Making Science Popular #1

Looking into the world of science and technology, I found out that most people despite the fact that they know a particular law or invention don't know the inventors of such laws or inventions. The names of people who worked so hard to make science a reality and make it almost easy for us are being washed away by the sands of time. Hence I have found it very useful and needful to bring to you the scientist that strived to make science what it is today. Join me as we look into the lives of famous science heroes and their achievements.

Albert Einstein

Image source: pixabay.com
There was screaming as people trampled upon each other while running past glass displays, dioramas and security guards all at the American Museum of Natural History. When they all arrived at the entrance of the viewing hall, the door just couldn't stop them from going in...

It was the 8th day of January, 1930. A film was being shown at the museum about Albert Einstein. He was not there but the place was filled with over 4,000 people who came to watch the film about the general theory of relativity. Most of the people who came for the viewing were without tickets and the officials of the museum had earlier said that people without tickets would not be allowed into the hall. This all led to a riot which the Chicago Tribune termed ''the first ever science riot in history'' (the people managed to get in though)

This was the popularity of Albert Einstein. A theoretical physicist who formed the theory of relativity, one of the major pillars which holds modern physics. He is also known for influencing the philosophy Of science through his works.

Albert Einstein who was born on 14th March, 1979,was a child prodigy. When he was still a teenager, Einstein wrote one of the most prominent papers at that time which was on magnetic fields. During his lifetime, Einstein was involved in two marriages, first with Mileva Marić a Serbian woman who attended the same polytechnic with him. They divorced in February 1919 after Marić found out that he had romantic feelings for his cousin Elsa. Einstein and Elsa got married the same year and lived together till her death in December 1936.

The best year for Einstein as a scientist was 1905. That was when he was working in the Swiss patent office as a clerk. This year was regarded as his best year because, it was then he published four of his most important and eminent papers. The papers were on Brownian motion ,the photoelectric effect, special relativity and last but not the least, he explained the relationship between energy and matter and summarized it in a Formula: E=mc^2. He was 26 years old then.

In 1916, Einstein discovered more on relativity and expanded on the topic with his theory of general relativity. His theory postulated that anything that has mass can distort time and space. In 1919 this theory was proven to be true based on the findings of astronomers during a solar eclipse, that the mass of the sun did bend the path of light. This validation made Albert Einstein more popular.

Albert Einstein received many honors and Awards during his lifetime. In 1922, he was awarded the Noble price in Physics for discovering the law of the photoelectric effect and for his other works in improving theoretical Physics.

Einstein became a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton in 1933. He received citizenship from the U.S. in 1940 and was also famous as a civil rights pacifist and a public intellectual.

Einstein's theory of general relativity was considered by many to be his most successful achievement. This theory predicted the existence of gravitational waves and black holes and now, scientist and astronomers are taking advantage of the theory to see details geographically of worlds which are light-years away.

Albert Einstein died of heart failure in 1955. He was a blessing to the world of physics. His insights didn't come from carrying out experimental analysis carefully but by seeing the bigger picture and considering and predicting if and how something would occur under some certain circumstances.

“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination” —Albert Einstein

Isaac Newton

wikimedia Isaac Newton by Godfery Kneller Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

When most of us hear the name Isaac Newton, we remember the story of him sitting under a tree watching an apple which fell from the tree. Some people even have the belief that he didn't just watch the apple fall, that the apple fell on his head which made him start thinking about what made it fall downwards; that led to his theory on gravitation

Sir Isaac Newton, an English physicist, astronomer and mathematician was born on Christmas day, 1642 in England. His father had died 3 months just before his birth. His mother remarried when he was three years old leaving him in the care of his maternal grandmother.

He schooled at The king's school in Grantham from the age of 12 till when he was 17. The school taught Latin and Greek and is said to be probably where he got a good foundation in mathematics. In the year 1659, Newton was taken out of the kings school by his mother who was now divorced for the second time. She wanted him to be a part of the family's farm business. Newton hated farming and was very reluctant to work in the farm. Heeding to the advice and persuasion given to her by Henry Stokes, the principal of the king's school, Newton's mother sent him back to school to further his education.

During the time of Isaac Newton, most people had the thought that the objects that would fall down if thrown up where objects that where only within the earth. They believed that gravity only applies for object that are in the earth. Newton had a different thought though, he had the belief that gravity might also apply for objects that were outside the earth just like the moon.

Newton continued to think about the possibilities of gravity working for objects outside the planet and this inspired him to invent a Formula(the law of gravitation) that he could use to calculate the force that attracted two bodies. He used the formula to calculate the force of attraction between the earth and the moon and he compared it with the force of attraction between the falling apple and the earth. After putting into consideration the fact that the moon is heavier than the apple and that the moon is very far away from the earth than the apple, he found out that the force of attraction between the two objects and the earth where the same.

Isaac Newton's discoveries brought a massive change to people's mindset and the way they saw the universe. Before Newton, nobody could explain why the universe and the planets were so organised and how they remained in their orbits. infact people believed that an invincible shield was what kept them all stable. Newton through his calculations was able to prove that what kept the planets organised was the gravitational pull of the sun. He also proved that factors like mass and distance could affect gravitational force.

During his lifetime, Sir Isaac Newton invented the laws of gravitation, the three laws of motion which is widely used in physics and other areas of science today and a type of mathematics called Calculus. He was a very influential personality that contributed massively in various areas of physics, mathematics and science in general.

Sir Isaac Newton died at the age of 85, in London, England and is buried at Westminster Abbey in England.

" If I have been able to see father than most people, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants"— Isaac Newton

Galileo Galilei

wikimedia Galileo Galilei by Justus Sustermans Licences under CC BY-SA 3.0

On the first day of December 1609, Galileo an Italian mathematician viewed outer space through his telescope and that led to the creation of astronomy as we know it. He viewed the universe a lot more after that time and in his viewings, he found massive moons, four satellites and he also discovered that the murky light in the milky way came from various dim stars. Galileo was the first person to study the orbital path of planet Venus and confirmed that it passes through the Earth's orbit when revolving round the sun.

Galileo was 45 years old at the time. He was not the inventor of the telescope and he was definitely not the first person to look into space with a telescope but his findings can never be taken off astronomical history. As Galileo continued to study the universe through his telescope, he knew that he had found valuable proof that the sun was sun- centered and this was based on the theories earlier given by Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543),an astronomer from Poland who predicted that all the planets revolved around the sun.

Galileo's discoveries where not just about space and astrology. He also studied about falling bodies and this led to his discovery that if air resistance was neglected, objects dropped on the ground will reach the ground at the same time. This law is known as the law of inertia and it is what allow the earth to rotate.

All Galileo's findings at that time was not accepted and not in line with the doctrine of the Roman Catholic. They saw Galileo's findings and proof of the sun- centered cosmos as heresy and He was ordered by the church in 1616 to stop spreading his opinion and views about the universe.

In the year 1633, Galileo discarded the order given to him by religious officials and published a paper that compared the sun-centered system and the earth-centered system. The paper made the people who believed in the earth-centered cosmos look foolish. Galileo was placed under house arrest after the publication till he died in 1642. Isaac Newton who was helped by Galileo's law of inertia to compile laws that are very useful in space travel was also born that same year Galileo died.

“I give thanks and glory to God, for making me be the first to encounter these great wonders” — Galileo Galilei

Thank you very much for reading. Be sure to follow me @davidvic so you won't miss any episode on this series. I'm sure we all will benefit from the knowledge of these scientists.

Until next time, cheers

Reference for further reading

Albert Einstein: Wikipedia

Isaac Newton: Biography

Galileo Galilei: Biography, discoveries and facts