April 2 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 2 in Physics History - Births – Physicists born on April 2
Francesco Maria Grimaldi (2 Apr 1618 - 28 Dec 1663)
He was an Italian physicist and mathematician who coined the name diffraction for the change of trajectory of the light passing near opaque objects. He studied diffraction of light and observed the image of a tiny beam of sunlight on a screen in a dark room after it passed through a thin screen. He observed that the image had deviated from a normal geometrical shadow. His experiments supported the wave theory of light.
April 2 in Physics History - Deaths – Physicists died on April 2
Bernard Lyot (27 Feb 1897 - 2 Apr 1952)
He was a French astronomer who invented an instrument that allows the observation of the corona when the Sun is not in eclipse. The instrument was named coronagraph. He also made the first motion picture and discovered new spectral lines in the corona.
Hannes Alfvén (30 May 1908 - 2 Apr 1995)
He was a Swedish astrophysicist who shared the Nobel Prize in physics with Frenchman Louis Néel in 1970. He was one of the founders of the field of plasma physics. In his concept of plasma cosmology, the universe has neither a particular beginning nor has any predictable end. It also says that the universe is maintained by electromagnetic forces of plasma and not gravitational forces.
April 2 in Physics History - Events – Physics Events of April 2
The First Photo of The Sun
French physicists Armand Fizeau and Léon Foucault took the first daguerreotype photograph in 1845. It captured the details of the sun including the penumbra structure of sunspots and limb darkening. They had been collaborating on the process since 1839. Fizeau published much-improved durability of a daguerreotype image in which he used a solution of chloride of gold and hypo-sulfide of soda heated over a spirit lamp.
Radar Patent
Scottish physicist, Sir Robert Watson-Watt patented the Radar in 1935. He was the head of the radio section of the National Physical Laboratory. He realized that the radar can be used to detect or track enemy aircraft. He gave a demonstration to the Air Ministry Officials and showed that reflected signal from an RAF bomber when it got past the BBC short wave transmitter on 26 Feb 1935.
