Historical Events tagged with "physics"
Turns out history loves a label—battles, breakthroughs, and the occasional disaster, all neatly tagged for your browsing pleasure. Because sometimes you just need every weird invention in one place.
Redefinition of the International System of Units
The International System of Units (SI) was redefined, leading to the obsolescence of the international prototype of the kilogram. This historic change was formally adopted during the 26th General Conference on Weights and Measures held in Versailles, France. The redefinition utilized a fixed numerical value of the Planck constant to ensure greater precision in measurement. The decision was largely influenced by advances in science and technology, aiming to enhance the accuracy and consistency of measurements across various scientific fields globally.
Continue ReadingHiggs Boson Particle Discovery Announced at CERN
On July 4, 2012, scientists at CERN announced the discovery of a particle consistent with the Higgs boson, a fundamental component of the Standard Model of particle physics. This announcement followed years of experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest particle accelerator located near Geneva, Switzerland. The discovery was made by two primary experiments known as ATLAS and CMS, which provided independent confirmation of the particle's existence. The Higgs boson is vital to explaining how particles acquire mass, a crucial aspect of the universe's structure.
Continue ReadingFirst Creation of Bose–Einstein Condensate Achieved
In 1995, physicists Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman successfully created the first Bose–Einstein condensate at the University of Colorado at Boulder. This groundbreaking achievement involved cooling a gas of rubidium-87 atoms to near absolute zero, allowing the atoms to occupy the same quantum state and behave as a single quantum entity. This phenomenon, predicted by Albert Einstein and Satyendra Nath Bose in the 1920s, confirmed the existence of a new state of matter and opened up new avenues for research in quantum mechanics and atomic physics.
Continue ReadingDiscovery of Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
In 1964, Robert Woodrow Wilson and Arno Penzias discovered the cosmic microwave background radiation, a remnant of the Big Bang, while working on communication technologies at Bell Labs in Holmdel, New Jersey. Their observations, initially attributed to noise, led them to realize they had stumbled upon a significant relic of the universe's infancy, which provided strong evidence for the Big Bang theory. This discovery profoundly changed the understanding of the cosmos and earned them the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978.
Continue ReadingKlaus Fuchs Released and Emigrates to East Germany
Klaus Fuchs, a scientist convicted of espionage, was released from prison after serving nine years. Following his release, he emigrated to East Germany, specifically Dresden, where he resumed his career in science. Fuchs had been a key figure in the Manhattan Project and was arrested in 1950 for passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union.
Continue ReadingCERN Convention Signed in Geneva, Switzerland
In Geneva, the convention establishing CERN is signed by 12 European countries, marking a pivotal moment in the field of particle physics. The agreement aims to promote collaboration in nuclear research and to set up a European center for fundamental physics research. Scientists and researchers collaborated on this initiative amidst the post-war climate, aiming to harness nuclear research for peaceful purposes and to foster scientific collaboration across Europe. The signing symbolized a commitment to sharing knowledge and facilities, aiming to bolster scientific progress through cooperation.
Continue ReadingFatally Irradiated Incident Involving Harry Daghlian
Harry Daghlian, a physicist, was fatally irradiated while conducting an experiment with the Demon core at Los Alamos National Laboratory. While working to determine the neutron reflection characteristics of the core, Daghlian accidentally dropped a brick that completed a neutron-reflecting configuration. This incident led to a criticality accident, causing a lethal dose of radiation before he could be treated for exposure.
Continue ReadingFirst Isolation of Plutonium-238 in Berkeley
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, managed to isolate plutonium-238, a significant isotope, on December 14, 1940. This was achieved by a team led by Glenn T. Seaborg, who utilized nuclear reactions involving uranium to produce and subsequently identify this new element. Their work was pivotal in advancing nuclear chemistry and physics, laying the groundwork for future developments in both research and nuclear energy applications.
Continue ReadingErnest Lawrence Receives Nobel Prize in Berkeley
Physicist Ernest Lawrence was presented with the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics during a ceremony held in Berkeley, California. The prize was awarded for his invention of the cyclotron, a device that accelerates particles to high energies, which has significantly advanced the field of nuclear physics. The consul general of Sweden in San Francisco officiated the ceremony, highlighting the recognition bestowed upon Lawrence by the international scientific community. This event not only marked a personal achievement for Lawrence but also underscored the importance of the contributions made by American scientists in the field of physics.
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