March 15 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 15 in Physics History - Births – Physicists born on March 15
Nicolas Louis de Lacaille (15 Mar 1713 - 21 Mar 1762)
He was a French astronomer who names 15 of the 88 constellations in the sky. He spent 4 years mapping the constellation visible from the southern hemisphere. He was said to have observed over 10,000 stars using just his 1/2 inch refractor. He also established the first southern star catalog containing 9776 stars.
Charles Vernon Boys (15 Mar 1855 - 30 Mar 1944)
He was an English physicist who invented numerous sensitive instruments. His studies included mining, metallurgy, chemistry, and physics. He invented the integraph, the machine for drawing the antiderivative of a function in 1881. He also improved the automatic recording calorimeter for testing city coal gas. He was knighted in 1935.
March 15 in Physics History - Deaths – Physicists died on March 15
Arthur Holly Compton (10 Sep 1892 - 15 Mar 1962)
He was an American physicist who was a joint winner of the Noble Prize for physics for his discovery of the change in wavelength of X-rays when they collide with electrons in metals in 1927. This is caused by the transfer of energy from a photon to a single electron, then a quantum of radiation is re-emitted in a definite direction by the electron which in doing so, must recoil in a direction forming an acute angle with that of the incident radiation. This is known as Compton Effect. He was appointed the chairman of the National Academy of Sciences Committee during WW II to evaluate the use of atomic energy in war.
William Hayward Pickering (24 Dec 1910 - 15 Mar 2004)
He was a physicist and engineer who was the head of the team that developed Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite. He collaborated with Neher and Millikan on cosmic ray experiments. He also became the director of Jet Propulsion Laboratory with the responsibility for the U.S. unmanned exploration of planets and the solar system. The Voyager spacecraft yielded stunning photographs of the planets Jupiter and Saturn
March 15 in Physics History - Events – Physics Events on March 15
Chondrite Meteor
A 6 kg chondrite meteorite carrying carbon-based organic chemicals was unequivocally identified in 1806 for the first time. The organic chemicals it carried suggested the possibility of life on whatever body was the source somewhere in the universe. According to some observations it “emits a faint bituminous substance” when heated. Berzelius reported his analysis of the Alais meteorite in 1833 that yielded a blackish substance, carbon dioxide gas, a soluble salt containing ammonia, indigenous water, and a blackish-brown sublime which was unknown
