March 13 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!
March 13 in Physics History - Births – Physicists born on March 13
Percival Lowell (13 Mar 1855 - 12 Nov 1916)
He was an American astronomer who initiated the search and predicted the existence of the planet Pluto. He was also passionately committed to finding proof of intelligent life on Mars. He drew the network of several hundred fine straight lines and their intersection in a number of oases while studying Mars. He also believed that water from the melting polar caps flowed down the canals towards the equatorial region to revive vegetation.
John H. Van Vleck (13 Mar 1899 - 27 Oct 1980)
He was an American physicist and mathematician who gave the modern quantum mechanical theory of magnetism and shared Noble Prize in physics for his work on the behavior of electrons in magnetic, non-crystalline solid materials. He introduced the contribution of the second-order Zeeman effect into the theory of the paramagnetic susceptibility for the ions of elements samarium and europium.
He also studied the theory of the nature of the chemical bond, especially as related to its magnetic properties, and contributed to the theory of the spectra of free molecules.
Dayton Clarence Miller (13 Mar 1866 - 22 Feb 1941)
He was an American physicist and author of The Silence of Musical Sounds in 1916.
His collection of nearly 1650 flutes and other instruments is now at the Library of Congress. He invented the phonodeik to provide a mechanical means of recording sound waves photographically.
During WW I, he was consulted concerning using his photodeik to help locate enemy guns. He spent considerable time on repeating the Michelson and Morley experiment to detect aether.
March 13 in Physics History - Deaths – Physicists died on March 13
Robert Innes (10 Nov 1861- 13 Mar 1933)
He was a Scottish astronomer known for the discovery of the closest star to earth after the Sun, Proxima Centauri. He became a successful binary star observer with the 7-inch refractor. He was also the first to spot the Daylight Comet in 1910 but this comet was founded independently by so many people that no single original discoverer could be named.
March 13 in Physics History - Events – Physics Events on March 13
Discovery of Pluto
The discovery of the ninth planet Pluto was announced in 1930 by Clyde W. Tombaugh at the Lowell observatory. It was four thousand million miles away and only one-tenth as large as Earth. Pluto was declared a dwarf planet in 2006. It has a heart shape on its surface.
Uranus Planet Discovered
William Herschel detected Uranus in the night sky in 1781 but he thought it was a comet. It was the first planet to be discovered with the help of a telescope. He had also observed the Iranian satellites Titania and Oberon by 1787.
