Otto Hahn and Nuclear Fission
Scientist Datebook: March 8
Otto Hahn, German Chemist, discovered nuclear fission
Otto Hahn (1879-1968), German radio chemist and Nobel Prize winner, is born. Hahn discovered nuclear fission, in particular, the split of uranium atom into barium and krypton.
He was awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in chemistry, and shared the 1966 Enrico Fermi Award. Hahn was involved in the discovery of several new radio elements, among them radiothorium, radioactinium and mesothorioum, but his best-known research was on the irradiation of uranium and thorium with neutrons. This work, initially in association with physicist Lise Meitner and later with Fritz Strassmann, led to the discovery of nuclear fission in 1938 … and to his 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Trivia:
Otto Hahn was greatly upset upon realization that his discovery led to the horrendous bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As a result, it’s alleged that he became a die-hard opponent of nuclear weapons.
Sources:
- Biographical Dictionary, edited by Una McGovern, Chambers (2003)
- The Little book of Scientific Principles, Theories & Things, by Surendra Verma, NH (2005)
Image Credit:
Otto Hahn in 1944, Wiki Commons. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
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John Philip Holland – Father of Modern Submarine
John Philip Holland, Irish Engineer.
Designed/developed the first underwater vessel, the submarine.
Irish Engineer John Philip Holland.
John Philip Holland (29 February 1840 – 12 August 1914), was an Irish engineer who designed and built the first submarine formally commissioned by the U.S. Navy, and the first Royal Navy submarine, the Holland 1.
He was a school teacher in Ireland, his country of birth but in 1873, emigrated in New Jersey, USA. In 1875, he offered a submarine design to the US navy but it was rejected as not practicable, despite this rejection, he continued his experiments. Significantly, it was in 1898 that when he launched his Holland VI that he successfully demonstrated his invention under the Potomac River. It had almost all the features of a modern non-nuclear submarine when submerged. Finally, it convinced the navies not only of the US but of the world that the submarine must be taken seriously as a powerful weapon.
John Philip Holland is hailed as the “father of modern submarine.”
Sources:
- McGovern, Una, Ed. Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Chambers: Edinburgh, 2002.
- www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/269340/John-Philip-Holland. Retrieved 29 Feb 2012.
Image Source:
John Philip Holland, Wikimedia Commons.
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Vaccination of Children Against Polio
Today’s Milestone – February 23.
The first mass vaccination of children against polio begins this day, February 23, 1954, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Wisdom Magazine, by Yousuf Karsh, 1956
Image source: Wikipedia.org
Until the 1950s was anxious times for parents because at that time children became infested with a crippling disease referred to as poliomyelitis, or polio as commonly called. This anxiety was cast out when Dr. Jonas Salk (1914-1995), American virologist and medical researcher, developed a vaccine against this disease. He never patented his polio vaccine, but distributed the formula freely for the world to benefit from his discovery.
Dr. Salk saved millions of people from death, or alive but wheel-chair drawn.
Today, the Jonas Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California (La Jolla), continues his scientific work that include researches into diseases including cancer and HIV/AIDS.
Source:
Dateline. New South Wales: Millennium House, 2006.
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Caroline Herschel – First Woman to Discover a Comet
Caroline Herschel was an 18th century German-born English astronomer who discovered three new nebulae in 1783. Three years later, between 1786-1797, she discovered eight comets. She was the younger sister of astronomer William Herschel.
Caroline Lucretia Herschel
Photo Source: Wiki Commons.
Caroline Lucretia Herschel (1750-1848) was a German-born English astronomer. She originally came to England to receive music education, but later worked alongside with her brother Sir William Herschel in England in which she helped him with astronomical observations.Her major contribution to astronomy was her discovery of three new nebulae and eight new comets. She also published two astronomical catalogues which are still used today.
Caroline Herschel was 98 years old when she died. She was buried in Germany where she was born.
Early Life of Caroline Lucretia Herschel
Caroline Lucretia Herschel was born on March 16, 1750 in Hanover, Germany. She was the fifth of six children of Isaac Herschel and Anna Moritzen. Her father Isaac was a talented musician, an oboist, and a gardener, who encouraged all six of his children to train in mathematics, French and music. Caroline’s mother did not see the need for her to be educated but rather preferred her a house servant for the family.
Caroline suffered childhood diseases which scarred her life. At three, her cheeks and left eye were slightly disfigured by smallpox. At ten, she was stricken with typhus which permanently stunted her growth to a height of 4’3″. She remained in her parents’ home until she was 22, then her favorite brother William took her to live with him in Bath, England.
Move to England and Life with Brother William
She left Germany in 1772 and joined her brother William in Bath, England. Although William’s hobby was astronomy, he was an accomplished musician and a conductor. He gave Caroline voice lessons. She sang professionally and became a well known soprano. She acquired a reputation as a vocalist and became the principal singer at this oratorio concerts. She was also offered an engagement for the Birmingham festival, which she declined.
When William turned his eye to astronomy, he trained his sister to be his assistant. She worked with him both in his professional duties and in his astronomical researches. She taught herself astronomy and mathematics so that she could assist her brother with his studies. At first, she served her brother as an apprentice, eventually functioning on her own.
More Work for this Night Sky Gazer and Her Comets
When William Herschel’s reputation as a telescope manufacturer grew he quit his job as a musician and devoted his time to astronomy and to the making of telescopes. In 1781, William discovered the planet Uranus. Astronomy became his livelihood. A year later, he accepted the office of astronomer to George III and moved to the Slough area.
The Herschel brother and sister, shared each other’s passion for astonomy. Caroline, a constant assistant in his observations, also performed the laborious calculations. She also helped William in the manufacture of telescopes. Together they built a giant telescope and used it to study the night sky. Her amusement during her leisure hours was gazing at the heavens with a small Newtonian telescope, the one she used in 1783 when she detected three remarkable nebulae (hazy clouds where stars form), and during the 11 years (from 1786 to 1797), eight comets, five of them with unquestioned priority – among them, Comet Encke.
Her first comet, discovered on August 1, 1786, was the first comet discovered by a woman. The following year she started to receive a salary from George III for her work as William’s paid assistant, which made her the first woman officially recognized for a scientific position, and the first woman to be appointed assistant to the Court Astronomer.
It was in 1797 that she presented to the Royal Society an Index to Flamsteed’s observations, together with a catalogue of 561 stars accidentally omitted from the British Catalogue, and a list of the errata in that publication.
Caroline Herschel returned to Hanover in 1822 after the death of her brother William Hershel, but kept astronomical studies to heart. In 1828 she completed work of 2500 nebulae his brother discovered. She catalogued every discovery they had made. Two of the astronomical catalogues she published are still in use.
Caroline Herschel’s Awards, Distinction and Honours
In 1828 the Royal Astronomical Society presented her with their Gold Medal – no woman would be awarded it again until Vera Rubin in 1996.
In 1835 she was elected an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society. In 1846 she received a Gold Medal of Science from the King of Prussia for her life long achievements.
The asteroid 281 Lucretia was named after her second given name. Caroline Herschel Crater in the Sinus Iridium on the Moon was named in her honor.
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