9 February 2017 - SIR ISAAC NEWTON

SIR ISAAC NEWTON

G'day folks,

Now, here is one smart character. 

Sir Isaac Newton was born on Christmas Day, in 1643, to a relatively poor farming family. His father died 3 months before he was born. His mother later remarried, but her second husband did not get on with Isaac; leading to friction between Isaac and his parents. The young Isaac attended school at King’s School, Grantham in Lincolnshire (where his signature is still inscribed in the walls.. Isaac was one of the top students, but before completing his studies his mother withdrew him from school, so Isaac could work as a farmer. It was only through the intervention of the headmaster that Isaac was able to return to finish his studies; he passed his final exams with very good results, and was able to go to Trinity College, Cambridge.

At Cambridge he was able to pursue his interests in mathematics, science and physics. At the time the prevailing education was based on Aristotle, but Isaac was more interested in modern mathematicians such as Rene Descartes. Isaac Newton had a prodigious capacity to consider mathematical problems, and then focus on them until he had solved the mystery behind them. His one pointed nature led him to, at times, be detached from the world. For example, he had little time for women. An early teenage romance came to nothing, and he remained single throughout his life.

Sir Isaac Newton, has been referred to as one of the greatest genius’ of history. His mathematical and scientific achievements give credence to such a view. Amongst his many accomplishments in the field of science include:

 Developing a theory of Calculus. Unfortunately, at the same time as Newton, calculus was being developed by Leibinz.  When Leibinz published his results, there was a bitter feud between the two men, with Newton claiming plagiarism. This bitter feud lasted until Leibinz death in 1713, it also extended between British mathematicians and the continent.

ACHIEVEMENTS:

  eneralized binomial theorem

  Newton’s identities,

  Newton’s method,

  classified cubic plane curves (polynomials of degree three in two variables),

  Substantial contributions to the theory of finite differences,

  Use of fractional indices

  Used geometry to derive solutions to Diophantine equations.

  Used power series with confidence and to revert power series.

  Discovered a new formula for pi.

The most popular anecdote about Sir Isaac Newton is the story of how the theory of gravitation came to him, after being hit on the head with a falling apple. In reality, Newton and his friends may have exaggerated this story. Nevertheless, it is quite likely that seeing apples fall from trees may have influenced his theories of gravity.

As well as being a scientist, Newton actually spent more time investigating religious issues. He read the Bible daily, believing it to be the word of God. Nevertheless, he was not satisfied with the Christian interpretations of the Bible. For example, he rejected the philosophy of the Holy Trinity, his beliefs were closer to the Christian beliefs in Arainism (basically there was a difference between Jesus Christ and God)

Newton was fascinated with the early Church and also the last chapter of the Bible Revelations. He spent many hours poring over the Bible, trying to find the secret Bible Code. He was rumoured to be a Rosicrucian. However, the religious belief’s that Newton held could have caused serious embarrassment at the time. Because of this he kept his views hidden, almost to the point of obsession. This desire for secrecy seemed to be part of his nature. It was only on his death that his papers were opened up. The bishop who first opened Newton’s box, actually found them too shocking for public release, therefore, they were kept closed for many more years.

Newton was also interested in alchemy. He experimented on many objects, using a lot of Mercury. Very high levels of mercury in his blood stream may have contributed to his early death and irregularities in later life.
Newton was made member of the Royal Society in 1703. He was also given the job of Master of Mint in 1717. He took this job seriously and unofficially was responsible for moving England from the silver standard to the gold standard.

Newton was an extraordinary polymath; the universe simply fascinated him. He sought to discover the hidden and outer mysteries of life. With his sharp intellect and powers of concentration, he was able to contribute to tremendous developments in many areas of science. He was a unique individual. 

Clancy's comment: He was obviously a deep thinker.

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31 March 2016 - SIR ISAAC NEWTON AND THAT APPLE

SIR ISAAC NEWTON 

AND THAT APPLE

G'day folks,

No doubt you have heard the story about Sir Isaac Newton and an apple that fell on his head? Mm ... Read on.

 Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist and mathematician who is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the scientific revolution.

Legend has it that a young Isaac Newton was sitting under an apple tree when he was bonked on the head by a falling piece of fruit, a 17th-century “aha moment” that prompted him to suddenly come up with his law of gravity. In reality, things didn’t go down quite like that. Newton, the son of a farmer, was born in 1642 near Grantham, England, and entered Cambridge University in 1661. Four years later, following an outbreak of the bubonic plague, the school temporarily closed, forcing Newton to move back to his childhood home, Woolsthorpe Manor. 

It was during this period at Woolsthorpe (Newton returned to Cambridge in 1667) that he was in the orchard there and witnessed an apple drop from a tree. There’s no evidence to suggest the fruit actually landed on his head, but Newton’s observation caused him to ponder why apples always fall straight to the ground (rather than sideways or upward) and helped inspired him to eventually develop his law of universal gravitation. In 1687, Newton first published this principle, which states that every body in the universe is attracted to every other body with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them, in his landmark work the “Principia,” which also features his three laws of motion.  

In 1726, Newton shared the apple anecdote with William Stukeley, who included it in a biography, “Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton’s Life,” published in 1752. According to Stukeley, “After dinner, the weather being warm, we went into the garden, & drank thea under the shade of some apple trees… he told me, he was just in the same situation, as when formerly, the notion of gravitation came into his mind…. occasion’d by the fall of an apple, as he sat in a contemplative mood.” 

The esteemed mathematician and physicist died in 1727 and was buried at Westminster Abbey. His famous apple tree continues to grow at Woolsthorpe Manor.

Clancy's comment: I wonder if he actually liked apples?

Great review by John Campbell, movie maker:

 Hello Clancy,
 
Today, I have just completed reading the fourth of your short stories you
gave me, complete with your personal signature. That alone impressed me heaps, but today I finished reading 'Kick Ass Tyler'. I started with 'Mr Rainbow', that was stunning enough, but it got better with 'KY', followed by 'Sheeza'. Now, as I say, it was the ultimate, 'Kick Ass Tyler'. All these books and their intriguing content, miraculously came from you incredible imagination. Like your previous works I have read, I was unable to put them down, postponing many of life's necessities, like sleeping and eating, just so I could continue reading. Another member of my crew, Jenni, said the same thing.
 
Clancy, to say I am impressed, fails to even describe my reactions. If I could find a word that described being totally gob-smacked with each of them, I would still would not even start to convey the feeling each one of them left with me. As those sad words "The End" appeared quite suddenly on the last page, I was left feeling empty, as if I had suddenly lost some very dear friends. "Oh! it's over". This is true magic, Clancy. Firstly to say that I know the Author personally, and then to have him agree to my directing a full length movie of one of them, is incredibly humbling. Your work, as I start the 'GH' marathon has given me an indescribable sense of confidence.

 
Lost for words, I sincerely thank you.
 
John.

Thanks, John. So, don't waste any time, folks. Head up to the top right-hand side of this post and buy a book ... Or two.  

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30 December 2015 - UNKNOWN FACTS ABOUT MARIE CURIE

UNKNOWN FACTS ABOUT

MARIE CURIE

G'day folks,

I always like to present outstanding women, and this lady is one of them.

Marie Curie is recognized throughout the world not only for her groundbreaking Nobel Prize-winning discoveries, but also for having boldly broken many gender barriers during her lifetime.

This seventh of November commemorated the birth of legendary scientist Marie Curie (born Maria Salomea Skłodowska) 148 years ago. With her husband, Pierre, the Polish-born Frenchwoman pioneered the study of radioactivity until her death in 1934. Today, she is recognized throughout the world not only for her groundbreaking Nobel Prize-winning discoveries, but also for having boldly broken many gender barriers during her lifetime.

Curie became the first woman to receive a PhD from a French university, as well as the first woman to be employed as a professor at the University of Paris. Not only was she the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, but also the first person (man or woman) ever to win the award twice and for achievements in two distinct scientific fields.

While Marie Curie’s major accomplishments may be well known, here are several surprising facts about her personal and professional life that may not be.

 1) She Worked Out of a Shack

 

It may come as a surprise to know that Marie and Pierre conducted the bulk of the research and experimentation which led to the discovery of the elements Radium and Polonium in what was described by the respected German chemist, Wilhelm Ostwald, as “a cross between a stable and a potato shed.” In fact, when he was first shown the premises, he assumed that it was “a practical joke.” Even after the couple had won the Nobel Prize for their discoveries, Pierre died never having set foot in the new laboratory that the University of Paris had promised to build them.

 Nonetheless, Marie would fondly recall their time together in the leaky, drafty shack despite the fact that, in order to extract and isolate the radioactive elements, she often spent entire days stirring boiling cauldrons of uranium-rich pitchblende until “broken with fatigue”. By the time she and Pierre eventually submitted their discoveries for professional consideration, Curie had personally gone through multiple tons of uranium-rich slag in this manner.

2) She Was Originally Ignored by the Nobel Prize Nominating Committee

In 1903, members of the French Academy of Sciences wrote a letter to the Swedish Academy in which they nominated the collective discoveries in the field of radioactivity made by Marie and Pierre Curie, as well as their contemporary Henri Becquerel, for the Nobel Prize in Physics. Yet, in a sign of the times and its prevailing sexist attitudes, no recognition of Marie’s contributions was offered, nor was there even any mention of her name. Thankfully, a sympathetic member of the nominating committee, a professor of mathematics at Stockholm University College named Gösta Mittage-Leffler, wrote a letter to Pierre warning him of the glaring omission. Pierre, in turn, wrote the committee insisting that he and Marie be “considered together . . . with respect to our research on radioactive bodies.”

 Eventually, the wording of the official nomination was amended. Later that year, thanks to a combination of her accomplishments and the combined efforts of her husband and Mittage-Leffler, Marie Curie became the first woman in history to receive the Nobel Prize.

3) She Refused to Cash in on Her Discoveries

After discovering Radium in 1898, Marie and Pierre balked at the opportunity to pursue a patent for it and to profit from its production, despite the fact that they had barely enough money to procure the uranium slag they needed in order to extract the element. To the contrary, the Curies generously shared the isolated product of Marie's difficult labors with fellow researchers and openly distributed the secrets of the process needed for its production with interested industrial parties.

 During the ‘Radium Boom’ that followed, factories sprang up in the United States dedicated to supplying the element not only to the scientific community, but also to curious and gullible public. Though not yet fully understood, the glowing green material captivated consumers, and found its way into everything from toothpaste to sexual enhancement products. By the 1920s, the price of a single gram of the element reached $100,000 and Curie could not afford to buy enough of the very thing she, herself, had discovered in order to continue her research.

Nonetheless, she had no regrets. “Radium is an element, it belongs to the people,” she told American journalist Missy Maloney during a trip to the United States in 1921. “Radium was not to enrich anyone.”

 4) Einstein Encouraged Her During One of the Worst Years of Her Life

 

 Albert Einstein and Marie Curie first met in Brussels at the prestigious Solvay Conference in 1911. This invite-only event brought together the world’s leading scientists in the field of physics, and Marie was the only woman out of its 24 members. Einstein was so impressed by Curie, that he came to her defense later that year when she became embroiled in controversy and the media frenzy that surrounded it.

By this time, France had reached the peak of its rising sexism, xenophobia, and anti-semitism that defined the years preceding the First World War. Curie’s nomination to the French Academy of Sciences was rejected, and many suspected that biases against her gender and immigrant roots were to blame. Furthermore, it came to light that she had been involved in a romantic relationship with her married colleague, Paul Langevin, though he was estranged from his wife at the time.

Curie was labeled a traitor and a homewrecker, and was accused of riding the coattails of her deceased husband (Pierre had died in 1906 from a road accident) rather than having accomplished anything based on her own merits. Though she had just been awarded a second Nobel Prize, the nominating committee now sought to discourage Curie from traveling to Stockholm to accept it so as to avoid a scandal. With her personal and professional life in disarray, she sank into a deep depression and retreated (as best she could) from the public eye.

Around this time, Curie received a letter from Albert Einstein in which he described his admiration for her, as well as offered his heart-felt advice on how to handle the events as they unfolded. “I am impelled to tell you how much I have come to admire your intellect, your drive, and your honesty,” he wrote, “and that I consider myself lucky to have made your personal acquaintance . . .” As for the frenzy of newspaper articles attacking her, Einstein encouraged Curie “to simply not read that hogwash, but rather leave it to the reptile for whom it has been fabricated.”

There is little doubt that the kindness shown by her respected colleague was encouraging. Soon enough, she recovered, reemerged and, despite the discouragement, courageously went to Stockholm to accept her second Nobel Prize.

 5) She Personally Provided Medical Aid to French Soldiers During the First World War

 

When World War I broke out in 1914, Curie was forced to put her research and the opening of her new Radium institute on hold due to the threat of a possible German occupation of Paris. After personally delivering her stash of the valuable element to the safety of a bank vault in Bordeaux, she set about using her expertise in the field of radioactivity in order to aid the French war effort.

 Over the course of the next four years, Curie helped equip and operate more than twenty ambulances (known as “Little Curies”) and hundreds of field hospitals with primitive x-ray machines so as to assist surgeons with the location and removal of shrapnel and bullets from the bodies of wounded soldiers. Not only did she personally instruct and supervise young women in the operation of the equipment, but she even drove and operated one such ambulance herself, despite the danger of venturing too close to the fighting on the front lines.

By the end of the war, it was estimated that Curie’s x-ray equipment, as well as the Radon gas syringes she designed to sterilize wounds, may have saved the lives of a million soldiers. Yet, when the French government later sought to award her the country’s most distinguished honor, la Légion d'honneur, she declined. In another display of selflessness at the outset of the conflict, Curie had even tried to donate her gold Nobel Prize medals to the French National Bank, but they refused.

6) She Had No Idea of the Dangers of Radioactivity

Today, 117 years after the Curies’ discovery of Radium, even the public is kept well aware of the potential dangers associated with the exposure of the human body to radioactive elements. Yet, from the very first years during which the scientists and their contemporaries were pioneering the study of radioactivity until the mid 1940s, little was concretely understood about both short and long-term health effects.

Pierre liked to keep a sample in his pocket so he could demonstrate its glowing and heating properties to the curious, and even once strapped a vial of the stuff to his bare arm for ten hours in order to study the curious way it painlessly burned his skin. Marie, in turn, kept a sample at home next to her bed as a nightlight. Diligent researchers, the Curies spent nearly every day in the confines of their improvised laboratory, with various radioactive materials strewn about their workspaces. After regularly handling Radium samples, both were said to have had developed unsteady hands, as well as cracked and scarred fingers.

 Though the life of Pierre was tragically cut short in 1906, at the time of his death he was suffering from constant pain and fatigue. Marie, too, complained of similar symptoms until succumbing to advanced leukemia in 1934. At no point did either consider the possibility that their very discovery was the cause of their pain and Marie’s eventual death. In fact, all the couple's laboratory notes and many of their personal belongings are still so radioactive today that they cannot safely be viewed or studied.

7) Her Daughter Also Won the Nobel Prize

In the case of Marie and Pierre Curie’s eldest daughter, Irène, it can safely be said that the apple did not fall far from the tree. Following in her parents’ sizable footsteps, Irène enrolled at the Faculty of Science in Paris. However, the outbreak of the first World War interrupted her studies. She joined her mother and began working as a nurse radiographer, operating x-ray machines to assist with the treatment of soldiers wounded on the battlefield.

 By 1925, Irène had received her doctorate, having joined her mother in the field of the study of radioactivity. Ten years later, she and her husband, Frédéric Joliot, were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the breakthroughs they had made in the synthesis of new radioactive elements. Though it had been Marie’s pleasure to have witnessed her daughter and son-in-law’s successful research, she did not live to see them win the award.

The Curie family legacy is both poignant and appropriately accomplished. 

Irène and Frédéric Joliot had two children of their own, named Helene and Pierre, in honor of their incredible grandparents whose deaths were tragically premature. In turn, Marie’s grandchildren would both go on to distinguish themselves in the field of science as well. Helene became a nuclear physicist and, at 88 years old, still maintains a seat on the advisory board to the French government. Pierre would go on to become a preeminent biologist. Today, at the age of 83, he is a researcher at the French National Center for Scientific Research and a member of the French Academy of Sciences.

 

 Clancy's comment: Mm ... Must have been tough for these pioneering women. They not only battled science, but also the ignorant men. You have to love their work and their spirit.

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