DA VINCIS

INVENTIONS
ORNITHOPTER
1505
Designed to mimic the flight
of birds, the Ornithopter was
a precursor to the completed
design of his flying machine.
AERIAL SCREW
1493
Da Vincis inpiration for his
helicopter-like device came from
falling maple leaf seeds. Like
most of his flying sketches, it was
impractical for flight.
CANNON
1499
Designed to be built on a crank
system that allowed different
trajectories for firing, the cannon
offered unmatched fire power
with its large barrel.
PARACHUTE
1483
Da Vinci sketched the first
modern parachute, which was

successfully tested in 2000. The

tester noted it had a smoother
ride than present-day parachutes.Cosmic Rays: Particles from the Heavens
Our continued voyage into the world of modern particle physics
requires that we return to the very first days of the 20th century.
80 u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e u n i v e r s e
Earlier in this chapter, we read of how Marie Curie used an electroscope
to precisely measure the amount of radioactivity present in
various elements. Her reason for using this method was that an electroscope
is an extremely precise method for measuring radioactivity.
With such a precise instrument available, other experimenters were
quick to adopt it for their own use. The electroscope soon became
ubiquitous among early physicists.
One thing troubled the electroscope users. Technically, what an
electroscope measures is the conductivity of the air surrounding it.
The conductivity of the air is increased by the presence of radioactivity,
but also by other things like moisture in the air (recall Curies

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damp potato cellar). If youre trying to measure the radioactivity of a

substance, anything that alters the conductivity of the air (except for
the radioactivity in which youre interested) is undesirable. Therefore,
physicists went to great pains to do their experiments under ideal
circumstances. This involved using perfectly dry air and otherwise
isolating their apparati from anything that might affect the airs conductivity.
In order to verify that they had isolated their equipment
adequately, they would charge their electroscopes and watched to see
that their readings remained unchanged for a long period of time.

However, no matter how carefully they shielded their experiment,

they found that it always acted as if there was radiation or moisture
present. Since they had very carefully arranged to remove all moisture,
they were led to the inescapable conclusion that there was a tiny,
yet constant, presence of radioactivity here on Earth. Such a supposition
was not so silly, as it was known that uranium ore was radioactive
and it came from the Earth. So, perhaps trace amounts of radioactive
elements were everywhere. Experiments were done to shield the
equipment from the Earths latent radioactivity. While shielding from
alpha and beta radiation and x-rays was straightforward, gamma radiation,
with its much more penetrating nature, was more difficult to
accomplish. It became clear that if one could not easily shield the electroscopes
from the Earths gamma rays, the next best thing to do
would be to move the equipment away from the source of the
radioactivity. Of course, the only way to do this was to go straight up.
t h e p a t h t o k n o w l e d g e 81
In 1910, a Jesuit priest named Theodor Wulf took an electroscope
to the top of the highest man-made structure at the time, the Eiffel
Tower. He was surprised to find that he measured more ambient radiation
at the top of the tower than at the bottom. He checked that the
tower itself was not radioactive and thus he was confused. The result
was not at all as expected. Perhaps there was a type of radiation from
the Earth that could penetrate the 300 meters of air separating Wulfs
electroscope from the ground? Of course, what was needed was
another experiment with even greater separation. Since the Eiffel
Tower was the tallest man-made structure, another approach was

called for.
In 1782, the Montgolfier brothers did something never before
accomplished. They made the first balloon flight. Here was a way to
lift an electroscope to a great altitude. Following Wulfs observation,
several scientists attempted to repeat his experiment in a balloon, but
the vagaries of the pressure and temperature variation with height
proved to be challenging. The early measurements were not precise
or reproducible enough for anyone to make firm conclusions.
In 1911, Austrian physicist Francis Hess entered the fray. He took
a balloon to 1,100 meters and observed no decrease in radiation. In
April of 1912, Hess made several different trips, rising to a height of
5,350 meters. He found the most amazing thing. Above 2,000 meters,
he found that the amount of radiation increased rather than decreased.
It was as if the source of radiation came not from the Earth but rather
from the sky. An obvious source of energy in the sky was the Sun, but
subsequent flights at night and during a full solar eclipse on April 12,
1912 showed no decrease in radiation. As Hess wrote later,
The discoveries revealed by the observations here given are best
explained by assuming that radiation of great penetrating power
enters our atmosphere from the outside and engenders ionization
even in counters lying deep in the atmosphereSince I found no
diminution of this radiation for balloon flights during an eclipse or
at night time, we can hardly consider the Sun as its source.

Abraham

Lincoln
Won the American Civil War
The American president
who fought a war to keep his
country united and was a key
player in abolishing slavery
When he was elected the Republican candidate to
stand as the 16th president of the United States,
Lincoln had mixed emotions. This was his first
election victory in five attempts, having failed to be
voted into the US Congress and Senate. However, the
victory was tempered by a threat that America was beginning
to split apart at the seams, with an increasing division between
the north and south of the country over many issues, most
notably slavery. Lincolns eventual victory in the presidential
race triggered seven southern states to form the Confederacy.
These states elected Jefferson Davis as president and
instigated a government structure closely resembling that
of the US constitution. When one of the Confederacy states,
South Carolina, demanded that American troops abandon their
facilities there, it led to the Battle of Fort Sumter on 12 April
1861. Following the battle four more southern states joined
the confederacy and Lincoln called for 75,000 men to join the
army to suppress the rebellion. The American Civil War had
begun and would leave over 600,000 soldiers dead.
Lincoln played an active role in the war, though he had

little experience of military tactics. He was a prolific reader,

however, so poured through military history and tactics books
to become better acquainted with the art of war. He met with
his war cabinet twice a week and also played a key role in
appointing the armys generals based on merit. As well as
waging a war, the new president had to contend with running
a country and balancing the different political factions who all
wanted something from him. It was a masterful juggling act.
On 6 August, 1861, Lincoln signed the Confiscation Act that
authorised slaves to be confiscated and freed who were used
to support the Confederate war effort. The law had little effect,
but signposted the presidents intention to ban the use of slaves
and the Emancipation Proclamation a year later stated the
freedom of slaves in the ten states that were still in rebellion.
The war was turning in the Unions favour but Lincoln had
to take time to campaign for re-election, for which he made
emancipation a central theme. Even with war still raging, the
leader was battling with questions about how to unify his
country once again after the smoke from the battlefields had
cleared. He decided to let the defeated states up easily and
rejected the notion of punitive measures against them. He also
pushed for the outlawing of slavery and the 13th amendment
was ratified on 6 December, 1865.
Not only did Abraham Lincoln help abolish slavery in the
United States, he fought a war to keep his nation united. His
abilities as a leader led the Union to victory, but the way he

worked to heal his divided country shaped its future forever