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May 29 In Physics History

Physics history will help you to develop a better understanding of the physics world!

birthdays & deaths

Explore all birthdays & deaths of physicists occurred on this day with their short biography!

physics Events

Know all important discoveries made by physicists & events happened on this day with complete information!

May 29 In Physics History - Births – Physicists born on May 29

Peter Higgs (Born On 29 May 1929)

He is an English theoretical physicist who proposed a mechanism that would endow particles with mass even though they appeared originally in a theory and probably in the Universe!- with no mass at all. The idea is that all the particles acquire with an all-pervading field called the Higgs field. This is carried by the Higgs Boson and it is the most important part of the standard model of particles and forces because it explains the masses of the carriers of the weak force. These particles are responsible for beta decay and for nuclear reactions that fuel the Sun. It has not been detected yet because it exceeds the capacity of any current accelerator.

Johann Heinrich von Mädler (29 May 1794 - 14 Mar 1874)

He was a German astronomer who published the most complete map of the moon. It was the first lunar map to be divided into quadrants, and it remained unsurpassed until Julius Schmidt’s map of 1878. In 1830, He also published the first systematic chart of the surface features of the planet Mars.

Chien-Shiung Wu (29 May 1912 - 16 Feb 1997)

She was a Chinese-American physicist who experimented with the proposed theory of Ning Yang that parity was not conserved for weak interactions. Dr. Wu observed the beta particles given off by Cobalt-60 and noted that there is a preferred direction of emission. This proved that parity was not conserved for these weak interactions. It became a worldwide accepted “law’ of nature.

May 29 In Physics History - Deaths – Physicists died on May 29

William Arnold Anthony (17 Nov 1835 - 29 May 1908)

He was an American physicist and electrical engineer who worked as a teacher in the Physics Department at Cornell University. He initiated and developed one of the first courses of electrical engineering in the US. The first American electrical outdoor-lightning system was developed by him with his student. He also built a mammoth tangent galvanometer that uses the magnetic field of Earth to measure current. He helped develop the gas-filled electric lamp.

May 29 In Physics History - Events – Physics Events of May 29

Einstein's Theory of Relativity Proved

On this day, a solar eclipse of 1919 permitted observation of the bending of starlight passing through the gravitational field of the Sun. It was predicted by Einstein’s theory of relativity. Several observations showed that the light was really bent as it passed through the gravitational field of the Sun. This eclipse was a very special and significant scientific event.

Nobel's Will

On this day, a “reconciliation agreement” was signed by the heirs of Alfred Nobel in 1898 to execute his will. Its major request was to create the Nobel Prizes.

April 12 in Physics History

Physics history will help you to develop a better understanding of the physics world!

birthdays & deaths

Explore all birthdays & deaths of physicists occurred on this day with their short biography!

physics Events

Know all important discoveries made by physicists & events happened on this day with complete information!

April 12 in Physics History - Births – Physicists born on April 12

Edward Walter Maunder (12 Apr 1851 - 21 Mar 1928)

He was an English astronomer who first started the British Civil Services Commission examination for the post of photographic and spectroscopic assistant at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. He worked at the observatory for the next forty years measuring the sunspots and checking historic records. He found a lack of reports on sunspots from 1645 to 1715. Instead of questioning this, he started researching and found that there are indeed decades-long times when the sun has very few sunspots. Now we call these periods as Maunder minima.

Ferdinand von Lindemann (12 Apr 1852 - 6 Mar 1939)

He was a German mathematician who proved that π is not a solution to any algebraic equation with a rational coefficient. This explained the insoluble natural or classical Greek mathematical problem of constructing a square with the same area as a given circle using a ruler and compasses alone. He discussed Hermite’s methods that he used to prove that ‘e’ is transcendental. He extended Hermite’s results in 1882 to show that π was also transcendental.

April 12 in Physics History - Deaths – Physicists died on April 12

Charles Messier (26 Jun 1730 - 12 Apr 1817)

He was a French astronomer who first compiled a systematic catalog of “M objects” and discovered 15 comets. His catalog contained nebulae, 103-star clusters, and galaxies. He concluded the alphanumeric names for objects like M1, M2, etc.

Geoffrey F. Chew (5 Jun 1924 - 12 Apr 2019)

He was an American physicist who led the group of S-matrix theorists researching the strong interaction and the bootstrap principle. He was a graduate student of Enrico Fermi. His group calculated the interactions of bound-states without assuming that there is a point-particle field theory underneath.

Igor Tamm (8 Jul 1895 - 12 Apr 1971)

He was a Soviet physicist who shared the Noble Prize with Pavel A  Cherenkov, and Ilya M. Frank for physics for his works in explaining Cherenkov radiation. He developed the theoretical interpretation of the Cherenkov effect which states that the radiation of electrons moves faster than the speed of light through matter. He also developed a method for studying the interaction of nuclear particles and contributed towards the methods for the control of thermonuclear reactions.

April 12 in Physics History - Events – Physics Events of April 12

First Man To Orbit The Earth

On this day, Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit the Earth in 1961. The control of the spacecraft was locked to prevent him from taking control of the ship. It had a radio, television, and life-supporting equipment. He ejected and made a planned descent landing with his parachute but the Soviet Union denied this to save its reputation. After 7 years, he died in a plane crash.

The First Yo-Yo Toy In Space

The first yo-yo toy was taken into space in the Space Shuttle Discovery mission 51-D in 1985. With this yellow plastic Duncan Imperial yo-yo, other toys were exhibited during a time in orbit. Astronauts did the tricks with toys but the yo-yo sleeper trick couldn’t work without normal gravity. While spinning, the gyroscope showed exceptional stability. The flywheel slowed without normal gravity.

Space Shuttle Columbia Was Launched

Columbia, the American Space Shuttle was launched into space in 1981. John W. Young was the mission commander.