Which allows people to learn more about the fundamental laws of planet Earth. Every day people do not notice how they enjoy the benefits that have become possible thanks to the work of numerous scientists. If it were not for their dedicated work, a person would not be able to fly on an airplane, cross oceans on huge liners, or even simply turn on an electric kettle. All these dedicated researchers made the world the way modern people see it.
Galileo's discoveries
The physicist Galileo is one of the most famous. He is a physicist, astronomer, mathematician and mechanic. It was he who first invented the telescope. Using this apparatus, unprecedented for that time, it was possible to observe distant celestial bodies. Galileo Galilei is the founder of the experimental direction in physical science. The first discoveries that Galileo made with a telescope were published in his work “The Starry Messenger”. This book was truly a sensational success. Since Galileo's ideas largely contradicted the Bible, he was persecuted by the Inquisition for a long time.
Biography and discoveries of Newton
A great scientist who made discoveries in many fields is also Isaac Newton. The most famous of his discoveries is In addition, the physicist explained many natural phenomena on the basis of mechanics, and also described the features of the movement of planets around the Sun, Moon and Earth. Newton was born on January 4, 1643 in the English town of Woolsthorpe.
After graduating from school, he entered college at Cambridge University. The physicists who taught at the college had a great influence on Newton. Inspired by the example of his teachers, Newton made several of his first discoveries. They mainly concerned the field of mathematics. Next, Newton begins to conduct experiments on the decomposition of light. In 1668 he received his master's degree. In 1687, Newton's first serious scientific work, Principia, was published. In 1705, the scientist was awarded the title of knight, and the English government of that era personally thanked Newton for his research.
Female physicist: Marie Curie-Skłodowska
Physicists around the world still use the achievements of Marie Curie-Sklodowska in their work. She is the only female physicist to have been nominated for the Nobel Prize twice. Marie Curie was born on November 7, 1867 in Warsaw. As a child, a tragedy happened in the girl’s family - her mother and one of her sisters died. While studying at school, Marie Curie was distinguished by her diligence and interest in science.
In 1890, she moved to her older sister in Paris, where she entered the Sorbonne. It was then that she met her future husband, Pierre Curie. As a result of many years of scientific research, the couple discovered two new radioactive elements - radium and polonium. Shortly before the start of the war, it was opened in France where Marie Curie served as director. In 1920, she published a book entitled Radiology and War, which summarized her scientific experiences.
Albert Einstein: one of the greatest minds on the planet
Physicists all over the planet know the name of Albert Einstein. He is the author of the theory of relativity. Modern physics relies heavily on Einstein's views, despite the fact that not all modern scientists agree with his discoveries. Einstein was a Nobel Prize winner. During his life, he wrote about 300 scientific works relating to physics, as well as 150 works on the history and philosophy of science. Until the age of 12, Einstein was a very religious child, as he received his education in a Catholic school. After little Albert read several scientific books, he came to the conclusion that not all statements in the Bible can be true.
Many people believe that Einstein was a genius since childhood. This is far from true. As a schoolboy, Einstein was considered a very weak student. Although even then he was interested in mathematics, physics, as well as the philosophical works of Kant. In 1896, Einstein entered the Faculty of Education in Zurich, where he also met his future wife, Mileva Maric. In 1905, Einstein published some articles, which, however, were criticized by some physicists. In 1933, Einstein moved to the USA permanently.
Other researchers
But there are other famous names of physicists who have made no less significant discoveries in their field. These are V. K. Roentgen, and S. Hawking, N. Tesla, L. L. Landau, N. Bohr, M. Planck, E. Fermi, M. Faraday, A. A. Becquerel and many others. Their contribution to physical science is no less important.
Pythagoras (c. 580-500 BC)
Every schoolchild knows: “In a right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the legs.” But few people know that Pythagoras was also a philosopher, religious thinker and political figure; it was he who introduced the term “philosophy” into our language, which means “philosophy.” He founded a school whose students were called Pythagoreans, and he was the first to use the word “cosmos.”
Democritus (460-c. 370 BC)
Democritus, like other philosophers of the Ancient world, was always interested in the question of what is the fundamental principle of the Universe. Some sages believed that it was water, others – fire, others – air, and still others – everything combined. Democritus was not convinced by their arguments. Reflecting on the fundamental principle of the world, he came to the conclusion that it was the smallest indivisible particles, which he called atoms. There are a great many of them. The whole world consists of them. They connect and separate. He made this discovery through logical reasoning. And more than two thousand years later, scientists of our time, using physical instruments, proved that he was right.
Euclid (c. 365-300 BC)
Plato's student Euclid wrote the treatise "Elements" in 13 books. In them, the scientist outlined the foundations of geometry, which means in Greek “the science of measuring the Earth,” which for many centuries was called Euclidean geometry. The ancient Greek king Ptolemy I Soter, who ruled in Egyptian Alexandria, demanded that Euclid, who explained the laws of geometry to him, do this shorter and faster. He replied: “Oh, great king, in geometry there are no royal roads...”
Archimedes (287-212 BC)
Archimedes remained in history as one of the most famous Greek mechanics, inventors and mathematicians, who amazed his contemporaries with his amazing machines. Watching the work of builders who used thick sticks to move stone blocks, Archimedes realized that the longer the lever, the greater the force of its impact. He told the Syracusan king Hieron: “Give me a fulcrum, and I will move the Earth.” Hieron didn't believe it. And then Archimedes, with the help of a complex system of mechanisms, with the effort of one hand, pulled the ship ashore, which was usually pulled out of the water by hundreds of people.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
The great Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci proved himself to be a universal creator. He was a sculptor, architect, inventor. A brilliant master, he made a huge contribution to art, culture and science. In Italy they called him a sorcerer, a wizard, a man who can do anything. Infinitely talented, he created various mechanisms, designed unprecedented aircraft such as a modern helicopter, and invented a tank.
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)
Nicolaus Copernicus became famous in the scientific world for his astronomical discoveries. His heliocentric system replaced the previous, Greek, geocentric one. He is the first to scientifically prove that the Sun does not revolve around the Earth, but vice versa. The Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun. Nicolaus Copernicus was a versatile scientist. Widely educated, he treated people, was knowledgeable in economics, and made various instruments and machines himself. Nicolaus Copernicus wrote in Latin and German throughout his life. Not a single document written by him in Polish has been found.
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
The young Florentine Galileo Galilei, who studied at the University of Pisa, attracted the attention of professors not only with clever reasoning, but also with original inventions. But the gifted student was expelled from the 3rd year because his father did not have money for his studies. But Galileo was lucky - the young man found a patron, the rich Marquis Guidobaldo del Moite, who was fond of science. He supported 22-year-old Galileo. Thanks to the Marquis, the world received a man who showed his genius in mathematics, physics, and astronomy. Even during his lifetime, Galileo was compared to Archimedes. He was the first to declare that the Universe is infinite.
René Descartes (1596-1650)
Like many great thinkers of antiquity, Descartes was universal. He laid the foundations of analytical geometry, created many algebraic notations, discovered the law of conservation of motion, and explained the root causes of the motion of celestial bodies. Descartes studied at the best French Jesuit college in La Flèche. And there, at the beginning of the 17th century, strict orders reigned. The disciples got up early and ran to prayer. Only one, the best pupil was allowed to stay in bed due to poor health - this was Rene Descartes. So he developed the habit of reasoning and finding solutions to mathematical problems. Later, according to legend, it was in these morning hours that he had a thought that spread throughout the world: “I think, therefore I exist.”
Isaac Newton (1643-1727)
Isaac Newton - a brilliant English scientist, experimenter, researcher, also a mathematician, astronomer, inventor, made a lot of discoveries that determined the physical picture of the world around him. According to legend, Isaac Newton discovered the law of universal gravitation in his garden. He watched a falling apple and realized that the Earth attracts all objects to itself, and the heavier the object, the more strongly it is attracted to the Earth. Reflecting on this, he deduced the law of universal gravitation: All bodies attract each other with a force proportional to both masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
James Watt (1736-1819)
James Watt is considered one of the creators of the technological revolution that transformed the world. They tried to tame the energy of steam back in ancient times. The Greek scientist Heroes, who lived in Alexandria in the 1st century, built the first steam turbine, which rotated by burning wood in a heater. In Russia in the 18th century, mechanic Ivan Polzunov also tried to tame the energy of steam, but his machine was not widely used. And only the English, or rather the Scottish self-taught mechanic James Watt, was able to construct such a machine, which was used first in mines, then in factories, and then on locomotives and ships.
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794)
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier was a multi-talented man who was successful in financial transactions, but was especially interested in chemistry. He made many discoveries, became the founder of modern chemistry, and would have accomplished a lot if not for the radicalism of the Great French Revolution. In his youth, Antoine Lavoisier participated in a competition at the Academy of Sciences for the best method of street lighting. To increase the sensitivity of his eyes, he upholstered his room with black material. Antoine described his acquired new perception of light in the work he submitted to the Academy, and received a gold medal for it. For scientific research in the field of mineralogy, at the age of 25 he was elected a member of the Academy.
Justus Liebig (1803-1873)
Justus Liebig is credited with creating food concentrates. He developed a technology for the production of meat extract, which today is called a “broth cube”. The German Chemical Society erected a monument to him in Munich. The outstanding German professor of organic chemistry, Justus Liebig, spent his entire life researching methods of plant nutrition and solving issues of rational use of fertilizers. He did a lot to increase agricultural productivity. Russia, for the assistance it provided in the rise of agriculture, awarded the scientist two Orders of St. Anne, England made him an honorary citizen, and in Germany he received the title of baron.
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
Louis Pasteur is a rare example of a scientist who had neither medical nor chemical education. He made his way into science on his own, without any protégés, based on personal interest. But scientists showed interest in him, noticing considerable abilities in the young man. And Louis Pasteur became an outstanding French microbiologist and chemist, a member of the French Academy, and created the pasteurization process. An institute was created especially for him in Paris, which was later named after him. Russian microbiologist, Nobel Prize laureate in the field of physiology and medicine, Ilya Mechnikov, worked at this institute for 18 years.
Alfred Bernhard Nobel (1833-1896)
Alfred Bernhard Nobel, a Swedish chemical engineer, invented dynamite, who patented it in 1867 and proposed it for use in tunneling. This invention made Nobel famous throughout the world and brought him enormous income. The word dynamite in Greek means "strength". This explosive, which consists of nitroglycerin, potassium or sodium nitrate and wood flour, depending on the volume, can destroy a car, a house, or destroy a rock. In 1895, Nobel made a will, according to which most of his capital was allocated to prizes for outstanding achievements in chemistry, physics, medicine, literature and peace.
Robert Heinrich Hermann Koch (1843-1910)
Close communication with nature determined his future choice of profession - Robert Koch became a microbiologist. And it started in childhood. Robert Koch's maternal grandfather was a great lover of nature, often taking his beloved 7-year-old grandson with him into the forest, telling him about the life of trees and herbs, and talking about the benefits and harms of insects. Microbiologist Koch fought against the most terrible diseases of mankind - anthrax, cholera and tuberculosis. And he came out victorious. For his achievements in the fight against tuberculosis, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1905.
Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen (1845-1923)
In 1895, a German scientific journal published a photograph of the hand of Wilhelm Roentgen’s wife, taken using X-rays (x-rays, later called X-rays after their discoverer), which aroused great interest in the scientific world. Before Roentgen, no physicist had done anything like this. This photograph indicated that penetration into the depths of the human body had taken place without physically opening it. It was a breakthrough in medicine, in the recognition of diseases. For the discovery of these rays, William Roentgen was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901.
Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931)
During his life, Edison improved the telegraph, telephone, created a microphone, invented the phonograph and, most importantly, illuminated America with his incandescent light bulb, and behind it the whole world. There has never been a more inventive man in American history than Thomas Edison. In total, he is the author of over 1,000 patented inventions in the United States and about 3,000 in other countries. But before achieving such an outstanding result, he, according to his own frank statements, made many tens of thousands of unsuccessful experiments and experiences.
Marie Skłodowska Curie (1867-1934)
Marie Skłodowska Curie graduated from the Sorbonne, the largest institution of higher education in France, and became the first female teacher in its history. Together with her husband Pierre Curie, she first discovered radium, a decay product of uranium-238, and then polonium. The study and use of the radioactive properties of radium played a huge role in the study of the structure of the atomic nucleus and the phenomenon of radioactivity. Among world-class scientists, Maria Sklodowska-Curie occupies a special place; she twice won the Nobel Prize: in 1903 in physics, in 1911 in chemistry. Such an outstanding result is a rare occurrence even among men.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Albert Einstein is one of the founders of theoretical physics, Nobel Prize laureate, and public figure. But he made a strange impression on his contemporaries: he dressed casually, loved sweaters, did not comb his hair, could stick his tongue out at a photographer, and generally did God knows what. But behind this frivolous appearance hid a paradoxical scientist - a thinker, the author of over 600 works on various topics. His theory of relativity revolutionized science. It turned out that the world around us is not so simple. Space-time is curved, and as a result, gravity and the passage of time change, and the sun's rays deviate from the straight direction.
Alexander Fleming (1881-1955)
Alexander Fleming, a native of Scotland, an English bacteriologist, spent his whole life searching for medications that could help a person cope with infectious diseases. He was able to discover a substance in penicillium mold that kills bacteria. And the first antibiotic appeared - penicillin, which revolutionized medicine. Fleming was the first to discover that human mucous membranes contain a special liquid that not only prevents the penetration of microbes, but also kills them. He isolated this substance and called it lysozyme.
Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967)
Robert Oppenheimer, an American physicist and creator of the atomic bomb, was very worried when he learned about the terrible casualties and destruction caused by the American atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. He was a conscientious person and subsequently called on scientists all over the world not to create weapons of enormous destructive power. He entered the history of science as the “father of the atomic bomb” and as the discoverer of black holes in the Universe.
photo from the Internet
Russia is a country with a rich history. Many famous pioneers glorified the great power with their achievements. One of these are the great Russian chemists.
Chemistry today is called one of the sciences of natural science, which studies the internal compositions and structure of matter, the decomposition and changes of substances, the pattern of formation of new particles and their changes.
Russian chemists who glorified the country
If we talk about the history of chemical science, we cannot help but recall the greatest people who definitely deserve everyone’s attention. The list of famous personalities is headed by the great Russian chemists:
- Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov.
- Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev.
- Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov.
- Sergei Vasilievich Lebedev.
- Vladimir Vasilievich Markovnikov.
- Nikolai Nikolaevich Semenov.
- Igor Vasilievich Kurchatov.
- Nikolai Nikolaevich Zinin.
- Alexander Nikolaevich Nesmiyanov.
And many others.
Lomonosov Mikhail Vasilievich
Russian chemist scientists would not have been able to work in the absence of Lomonosov’s work. Mikhail Vasilyevich was from the village of Mishaninskaya (St. Petersburg). The future scientist was born in November 1711. Lomonosov is the founding chemist who gave the correct definition of chemistry, a natural scientist with a capital S, a world physicist and a famous encyclopedist.
The scientific work of Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov in the mid-17th century was close to the modern program of chemical and physical research. The scientist developed the theory of molecular kinetic heat, which in many ways surpassed the then ideas about the structure of matter. Lomonosov formulated many fundamental laws, among which was the law of thermodynamics. The scientist founded the science of glass. Mikhail Vasilyevich was the first to discover the fact that the planet Venus has an atmosphere. He became professor of chemistry in 1745, three years after receiving an equal title in physical science.
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev
An outstanding chemist and physicist, Russian scientist Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev was born at the end of February 1834 in the city of Tobolsk. The first Russian chemist was the seventeenth child in the family of Ivan Pavlovich Mendeleev, the director of schools and gymnasiums in the Tobolsk region. A metric book with a record of the birth of Dmitry Mendeleev has still been preserved, where the names of the scientist and his parents appear on an ancient page.
Mendeleev was called the most brilliant chemist of the 19th century, and this was the correct definition. Dmitry Ivanovich is the author of important discoveries in chemistry, meteorology, metrology, and physics. Mendeleev studied isomorphism. In 1860, the scientist discovered the critical temperature (boiling point) for all types of liquids.
In 1861, the scientist published the book “Organic Chemistry”. He studied gases and derived the correct formulas. Mendeleev designed the pycnometer. The great chemist became the author of many works on metrology. He researched coal and oil, and developed systems for irrigation of land.
It was Mendeleev who discovered one of the main natural axioms - the periodic law of chemical elements. We still use it now. He gave characteristics to all chemical elements, theoretically determining their properties, composition, size and weight.
Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov
A. M. Butlerov was born in September 1828 in the city of Chistopol (Kazan province). In 1844 he became a student at Kazan University, Faculty of Natural Sciences, after which he was left there to receive a professorship. Butlerov was interested in chemistry and created a theory of the chemical structure of organic substances. Founder of the “Russian Chemists” school.
Markovnikov Vladimir Vasilievich
The list of “Russian chemists” undoubtedly includes another famous scientist. Vladimir Vasilyevich Markovnikov, a native of the Nizhny Novgorod province, was born on December 25, 1837. Chemist in the field of organic compounds and author of the theory of the structure of oil and the chemical structure of matter in general. His works played an important role in the development of science. Markovnikov laid down the principles of organic chemistry. He conducted a lot of research at the molecular level, establishing certain patterns. Subsequently, these rules were named after their author.
At the end of the 60s of the 18th century, Vladimir Vasilyevich defended his dissertation on the mutual influence of atoms in chemical compounds. Soon after this, the scientist synthesized all the isomers of glutaric acid, and then cyclobutanedicarboxylic acid. Markovnikov discovered naphthenes (a class of organic compounds) in 1883.
For his discoveries he was awarded a gold medal in Paris.
Sergey Vasilievich Lebedev
S. V. Lebedev was born in November 1902 in Nizhny Novgorod. The future chemist received his education at the Warsaw Gymnasium. In 1895 he entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of St. Petersburg University.
In the early 20s of the 19th century, the Council of National Economy announced an international competition for the production of synthetic rubber. It was proposed not only to find an alternative method for its manufacture, but also to provide the result of the work - 2 kg of finished synthetic material. The raw materials for the production process also had to be cheap. Rubber was required to be of high quality, no worse than natural rubber, but cheaper than the latter.
Needless to say that Lebedev took part in the competition, in which he became the winner? He developed a special chemical composition of rubber that was accessible and cheap to everyone, earning himself the title of great scientist.
Nikolai Nikolaevich Semenov
Nikolai Semenov was born in 1896 in Saratov in the family of Elena and Nikolai Semenov. In 1913, Nikolai entered the Department of Physics and Mathematics at St. Petersburg University, where, under the guidance of the famous Russian physicist Ioffe Abram, he became the best student in the class.
Nikolai Nikolaevich Semenov studied electric fields. He conducted research on the passage of electric current through gases, on the basis of which the theory of thermal breakdown of a dielectric was developed. Later he put forward a theory about thermal explosion and combustion of gas mixtures. According to this rule, the heat generated by a chemical reaction, under certain conditions, can lead to an explosion.
Nikolai Nikolaevich Zinin
On August 25, 1812, Nikolai Zinin, a future organic chemist, was born in the city of Shushi (Nagorno-Karabakh). Nikolai Nikolaevich graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at St. Petersburg University. Became the first president of the Russian Chemical Society. which was detonated on August 12, 1953. This was followed by the development of the RDS-202 thermonuclear explosive, the yield of which was 52,000 kt.
Kurchatov was one of the founders of the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
Famous Russian chemists then and now
Modern chemistry does not stand still. Scientists from all over the world are working on new discoveries every day. But we should not forget that the important foundations of this science were laid back in the 17th-19th centuries. Outstanding Russian chemists became important links in the subsequent chain of development of chemical sciences. Not all contemporaries use, for example, Markovnikov’s laws in their research. But we still use the long-discovered periodic table, the principles of organic chemistry, the conditions for the critical temperature of liquids, and so on. Russian chemists of yesteryear left an important mark on world history, and this fact is undeniable.
Over the past few centuries, we have made countless discoveries that have helped greatly improve the quality of our daily lives and understand how the world around us works. Assessing the full importance of these discoveries is very difficult, if not almost impossible. But one thing is for sure - some of them literally changed our lives once and for all. From penicillin and the screw pump to x-rays and electricity, here is a list of 25 of mankind's greatest discoveries and inventions.
25. Penicillin
If Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming had not discovered penicillin, the first antibiotic, in 1928, we would still be dying from diseases such as stomach ulcers, abscesses, streptococcal infections, scarlet fever, leptospirosis, Lyme disease and many others.
24. Mechanical watch
Photo: pixabay
There are conflicting theories about what the first mechanical watch actually looked like, but most often researchers adhere to the version that they were created in 723 AD by the Chinese monk and mathematician Ai Xing (I-Hsing). It was this seminal invention that allowed us to measure time.
23. Copernican heliocentrism
Photo: WP/wikimedia
In 1543, almost on his deathbed, Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus unveiled his landmark theory. According to the works of Copernicus, it became known that the Sun is our planetary system, and all its planets revolve around our star, each in its own orbit. Until 1543, astronomers believed that the Earth was the center of the Universe.
22. Blood circulation
Photo: Bryan Brandenburg
One of the most important discoveries in medicine was the discovery of the circulatory system, which was announced in 1628 by the English physician William Harvey. He became the first person to describe the entire circulatory system and properties of the blood that the heart pumps throughout our body from the brain to the tips of the fingers.
21. Screw pump
Photo: David Hawgood / geographic.org.uk
One of the most famous ancient Greek scientists, Archimedes, is considered the author of one of the world's first water pumps. His device was a rotating corkscrew that pushed water up a pipe. This invention took irrigation systems to the next level and is still used in many wastewater treatment plants today.
20. Gravity
Photo: wikimedia
Everyone knows this story - Isaac Newton, the famous English mathematician and physicist, discovered gravity after an apple fell on his head in 1664. Thanks to this event, we learned for the first time why objects fall down and why planets revolve around the Sun.
19. Pasteurization
Photo: wikimedia
Pasteurization was discovered in the 1860s by French scientist Louis Pasteur. It is a heat treatment process during which pathogenic microorganisms are destroyed in certain foods and drinks (wine, milk, beer). This discovery had a significant impact on public health and the development of the food industry around the world.
18. Steam engine
Photo: pixabay
Everyone knows that modern civilization was forged in factories built during the Industrial Revolution, and that it all happened using steam engines. The steam engine was created a long time ago, but over the last century it has been significantly improved by three British inventors: Thomas Savery, Thomas Newcomen and the most famous of them, James Watt.
17. Air conditioning
Photo: Ildar Sagdejev / wikimedia
Primitive climate control systems have existed since ancient times, but they changed significantly when the first modern electric air conditioner was introduced in 1902. It was invented by a young engineer named Willis Carrier, a native of Buffalo, New York.
16. Electricity
Photo: pixabay
The fateful discovery of electricity is attributed to the English scientist Michael Faraday. Among his key discoveries, it is worth noting the principles of electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism and electrolysis. Faraday's experiments also led to the creation of the first generator, which became the forerunner of the huge generators that today produce the electricity we are familiar with in everyday life.
15. DNA
Photo: pixabay
Many believe that it was the American biologist James Watson and the English physicist Francis Crick who discovered it in the 1950s, but in fact this macromolecule was first identified in the late 1860s by the Swiss chemist Friedrich Maischer Miescher). Then, several decades after Maischer's discovery, other scientists conducted a series of studies that finally helped us clarify how an organism passes its genes to the next generation and how the work of its cells is coordinated.
14. Anesthesia
Photo: Wikimedia
Simple forms of anesthesia, such as opium, mandrake and alcohol, have been used by people for a long time, and the first mention of them dates back to 70 AD. But pain management moved to a new level in 1847, when American surgeon Henry Bigelow first introduced ether and chloroform into his practice, making extremely painful invasive procedures much more tolerable.
13. Theory of relativity
Photo: Wikimedia
Comprising two related theories of Albert Einstein, special and general relativity, the theory of relativity, published in 1905, transformed all of 20th century theoretical physics and astronomy and eclipsed Newton's 200-year-old theory of mechanics. Einstein's theory of relativity has become the basis for much of the scientific work of our time.
12. X-rays
Photo: Nevit Dilmen / wikimedia
German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen accidentally discovered X-rays in 1895 when he observed fluorescence produced by a cathode ray tube. For this pivotal discovery, the scientist was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1901, the first of its kind in the physical sciences.
11. Telegraph
Photo: wikipedia
Since 1753, many researchers have experimented with establishing long-distance communication using electricity, but a significant breakthrough did not come until several decades later, when Joseph Henry and Edward Davy invented the electrical relay in 1835. Using this device they created the first telegraph 2 years later.
10. Periodic table of chemical elements
Photo: sandbh/wikimedia
In 1869, Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev noticed that if chemical elements are ordered by their atomic mass, they tend to form groups with similar properties. Based on this information, he created the first periodic table, one of the greatest discoveries in chemistry, which was later called the periodic table in his honor.
9. Infrared rays
Photo: AIRS/flickr
Infrared radiation was discovered by British astronomer William Herschel in 1800 when he studied the heating effect of different colors of light by using a prism to separate the light into a spectrum and measuring the changes with thermometers. Today, infrared radiation is used in many areas of our lives, including meteorology, heating systems, astronomy, tracking heat-intensive objects and many other areas.
8. Nuclear magnetic resonance
Photo: Mj-bird / wikimedia
Today, nuclear magnetic resonance is continually used as an extremely accurate and effective diagnostic tool in the medical field. This phenomenon was first described and calculated by American physicist Isidor Rabi in 1938 while observing molecular beams. In 1944, the American scientist was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for this discovery.
7. Moldboard plow
Photo: wikimedia
Invented in the 18th century, the moldboard plow was the first plow that not only dug up the soil, but also stirred it, making it possible to cultivate even very stubborn and rocky soil for agricultural purposes. Without this tool, agriculture as we know it today would not exist in northern Europe or central America.
6. Camera obscura
Photo: wikimedia
The forerunner of modern cameras and video cameras was the camera obscura (translated as dark room), which was an optical device used by artists to create quick sketches while traveling outside their studios. A hole in one of the walls of the device served to create an inverted image of what was happening outside the chamber. The picture was displayed on the screen (on the wall of the dark box opposite the hole). These principles have been known for centuries, but in 1568 the Venetian Daniel Barbaro modified the camera obscura by adding converging lenses.
5. Paper
Photo: pixabay
The first examples of modern paper are often considered to be papyrus and amate, which were used by ancient Mediterranean peoples and pre-Columbian Americans. But it would not be entirely correct to consider them real paper. References to the first production of writing paper date back to China during the reign of the Eastern Han Empire (25-220 AD). The first paper is mentioned in chronicles dedicated to the activities of the judicial dignitary Cai Lun.
4. Teflon
Photo: pixabay
The material that keeps your pan from burning was actually invented completely by accident by American chemist Roy Plunkett when he was looking for a replacement refrigerant to make household life safer. During one of his experiments, the scientist discovered a strange, slippery resin, which later became better known as Teflon.
3. Theory of evolution and natural selection
Photo: wikimedia
Inspired by his observations during his second voyage of exploration in 1831-1836, Charles Darwin began writing his famous theory of evolution and natural selection, which, according to scientists around the world, became a key description of the mechanism of development of all life on Earth
2. Liquid crystals
Photo: William Hook / flickr
If the Austrian botanist and physiologist Friedrich Reinitzer had not discovered liquid crystals while testing the physicochemical properties of various cholesterol derivatives in 1888, today you would not know what LCD televisions or flat-panel LCD monitors are.
1. Polio vaccine
Photo: GDC Global / flickr
On March 26, 1953, American medical researcher Jonas Salk announced that he had successfully tested a vaccine against polio, a virus that causes a severe chronic disease. In 1952, an epidemic of the disease diagnosed 58,000 people in the United States and claimed 3,000 innocent lives. This spurred Salk on a quest for salvation, and now the civilized world is safe at least from this disaster.
Russian scientists have pushed back the veil of the unknown, making their contribution to the evolution of scientific thought throughout the world. Many great Russian scientists worked abroad in world-renowned research institutions. Our fellow countrymen collaborated with many outstanding scientific minds. The discoveries of Russian scientists became a catalyst for the development of technology and knowledge throughout the world, and many revolutionary ideas and discoveries in the world were created on the foundation of the scientific achievements of famous Russian scientists.
The world discoveries of Russian scientists in the field of chemistry have glorified our compatriots for centuries. Mendeleev made the most important discovery for the world of chemistry - he described the periodic law of chemical elements. Over time, the periodic table has gained recognition throughout the world and is now used in all corners of our planet.
Sikorsky can be called a great Russian scientist in aviation. Aircraft designer Sikorsky is known for his developments in the creation of multi-engine aircraft. It was he who created the world's first aircraft with technical characteristics for vertical takeoff and landing - a helicopter.
Not only Russian scientists contributed to aviation. For example, the pilot Nesterov is considered the founder of aerobatics, and he was the first to propose the use of runway lighting during night flights.
There were famous Russian scientists in medicine: Pirogov, Botkin, Mechnikov and others. Mechnikov developed the doctrine of phagocytosis (protective factors of the body). Surgeon Pirogov was the first to use anesthesia in the field to treat a patient and developed classical means of surgical treatment, which are still used today. And the contribution of the Russian scientist Botkin was that he was the first in Russia to conduct research on experimental therapy and pharmacology.
Using the example of these three areas of science, we see that the discoveries of Russian scientists are used in all spheres of life. But this is only a small fraction of everything that was discovered by Russian scientists. Our fellow countrymen have glorified their outstanding homeland in absolutely all scientific disciplines, from medicine and biology to developments in the field of space technology. Russian scientists left for us, their descendants, a huge treasure of scientific knowledge in order to provide us with colossal material for creating new great discoveries.
Alexander Ivanovich Oparin is a famous Russian biochemist, author of the materialistic theory of the emergence of life on Earth.
Academician, Hero of Socialist Labor, Lenin Prize laureate.
Childhood and youth
Curiosity, inquisitiveness and the desire to understand how, for example, a huge tree can grow from a tiny seed, manifested itself in the boy very early. Already as a child he was very interested in biology. He studied plant life not only from books, but also in practice.
The Oparin family moved from Uglich to a country house in the village of Kokaevo. The very first years of childhood were spent there.
Yuri Kondratyuk (Alexander Ignatievich Shargei), one of the outstanding theorists of space flights.
In the 60s, he became world famous for his scientific substantiation of the method of flying spacecraft to the Moon.
The trajectory he calculated was called the “Kondratyuk route.” It was used by the American Apollo spacecraft to land humans on the lunar surface.
Childhood and youth
This one of the outstanding founders of astronautics was born in Poltava on June 9 (21), 1897. He spent his childhood in his grandmother's house. She was a midwife, and her husband was a zemstvo doctor and government official.
For some time he lived with his father in St. Petersburg, where from 1903 he studied at the gymnasium on Vasilyevsky Island. When his father died in 1910, the boy returned to his grandmother.
Inventor of the telegraph. The name of the inventor of the telegraph is forever inscribed in history, since Schilling's invention made it possible to transmit information over long distances.
The device allowed the use of radio and electrical signals traveling through wires. The need to transmit information has always existed, but in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the context of growing urbanization and technological development, data exchange has become relevant.
This problem was solved by the telegraph; the term was translated from ancient Greek as “to write far away.”
Emilius Christianovich Lenz is a famous Russian scientist.
From school, we are all familiar with the Joule-Lenz law, which establishes that the amount of heat released by current in a conductor is proportional to the current strength and the resistance of the conductor.
Another well-known law is the “Lenz rule”, according to which an induced current always moves in the direction opposite to the action that generated it.
early years
The original name of the scientist was Heinrich Friedrich Emil Lenz. He was born in Dorpat (Tartu) and was a Baltic German by origin.
His brother Robert Khristianovich became a famous orientalist, and his son, also Robert, followed in his father’s footsteps and became a physicist.
Vasily Trediakovsky is a man with a tragic fate. As fate would have it, two nuggets lived in Russia at the same time - Lomonosov and Trediakovsky, but one will be treated kindly and remain in the memory of posterity, and the second will die in poverty, forgotten by everyone.
From student to philologist
In 1703, on March 5, Vasily Trediakovsky was born. He grew up in Astrakhan in a poor family of a clergyman. A 19-year-old young man went to Moscow on foot to continue his studies at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy.
But he stayed there for a short time (2 years) and, without regret, left to replenish his knowledge in Holland, and then to France - to the Sorbonne, where, enduring poverty and hunger, he studied for 3 years.
Here he participated in public debates, mastered mathematical and philosophical sciences, was a student of theology, and studied French and Italian abroad.
“Father of Satan”, academician Yangel Mikhail Kuzmich, was born on October 25, 1911 in the village. Zyryanov, Irkutsk region, came from a family of descendants of convict settlers. At the end of the 6th grade (1926), Mikhail leaves for Moscow to join his older brother Konstantin, who studied there. When I was in the 7th grade, I worked part-time, delivering stacks of newspapers - orders from the printing house. After graduating from college, he worked in a factory and at the same time studied at the workers' faculty.
MAI student. Beginning of a professional career
In 1931, he went to study at the Moscow Aviation Institute, majoring in “aircraft engineering,” and graduated in 1937. While still a student, Mikhail Yangel got a job at the Polikarpov Design Bureau, later as his scientific supervisor for his thesis project: “High-altitude fighter with a pressurized cabin.” " Having started his work at the Polikarpov Design Bureau as a 2nd category designer, ten years later M.K. Yangel was already a leading engineer, developing projects for new modifications of fighters.
02/13/1938, M.K. Yangel, as part of a group of Soviet specialists in the field of aircraft construction, visits the United States on a business trip. It is worth noting that the 30s of the twentieth century was a fairly active period in cooperation between the USSR and the USA and not only in the field of mechanical engineering and aircraft manufacturing; in particular, small arms were purchased (in fairly limited quantities) - Thompson submachine guns and Colt pistols.
Scientist, founder of the theory of helicopter engineering, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Mikhail Leontyevich Mil, winner of the Lenin and State Prizes, Hero of Socialist Labor.
Childhood, study, youth
Mikhail Leontyev was born in Irkutsk, November 22, 1909 - in the family of a railway employee and a dentist. Before settling in the city of Irkutsk, his father, Leonty Samuilovich, searched for gold for 20 years, working in the mines. Grandfather, Samuil Mil, settled in Siberia after completing 25 years of naval service. From childhood, Mikhail showed versatile talents: he loved to draw, was fond of music and easily mastered foreign languages, and was involved in an aircraft modeling club. At the age of ten, he participated in the Siberian aircraft modeling competition, where, having passed the stage, Misha’s model was sent to the city of Novosibirsk, where she received one of the prizes.
Mikhail graduated from primary school in Irkutsk, after which in 1925 he entered the Siberian Technological Institute.
A.A. Ukhtomsky is an outstanding physiologist, scientist, researcher of the muscular and nervous systems, as well as sensory organs, laureate of the Lenin Prize and member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Childhood. Education
The birth of Alexey Alekseevich Ukhtomsky took place on June 13 (25), 1875 in the small town of Rybinsk. He spent his childhood and youth there. This Volga city forever left the warmest and most tender memories in the soul of Alexei Alekseevich. He proudly called himself a Volgar throughout his life. When the boy graduated from primary school, his father sent him to Nizhny Novgorod and assigned him to the local cadet corps. The son obediently graduated from it, but military service was never the ultimate dream of the young man, who was more attracted to such sciences as history and philosophy.
Passion for philosophy
Ignoring military service, he went to Moscow and entered the theological seminary in two faculties at once - philosophical and historical. Deeply studying philosophy, Ukhtomsky began to think a lot about eternal questions about the world, about man, about the essence of being. Ultimately, philosophical mysteries led him to the study of natural sciences. As a result, he settled on physiology.
A.P. Borodin is known as an outstanding composer, the author of the opera “Prince Igor”, the symphony “Bogatyrskaya” and other musical works.
He is much less known as a scientist who made an invaluable contribution to science in the field of organic chemistry.
Origin. early years
A.P. Borodin was the illegitimate son of the 62-year-old Georgian prince L.S. Genevanishvili and A.K. Antonova. He was born on October 31 (11/12), 1833.
He was recorded as the son of the prince's serf servants - the spouses Porfiry Ionovich and Tatyana Grigorievna Borodin. Thus, for eight years the boy was listed in his father’s house as a serf. But before his death (1840), the prince gave his son his manumission, bought him and his mother Avdotya Konstantinovna Antonova a four-story house, having previously married her to the military doctor Kleineke.
The boy, in order to avoid unnecessary rumors, was presented as Avdotya Konstantinovna’s nephew. Since Alexander’s background did not allow him to study at the gymnasium, he studied at home all the subjects of the gymnasium course, in addition to German and French, receiving an excellent education at home.