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TELL ME WHY
October 2016 Volume: 10 , No: 10
PATHFINDERS
'
If I saw further than others, it is
because I was standing on the shoul
ders of giants,' Isaac Newton said
once.
Thanks to various breakthroughs
in science, people today enjoy a bet
ter quality of life. We prevent epi
demics, invent new machines, and
bring the world together with gadg
ets like the TV and computer. But
these advancements did not appear
magically out of nowhere. In fact,
they were created by the unflagging
efforti and struggles of dedicated
men of science through the ages.
The following pages tell you about
some of the great scientists.
philosophy, as well as mathemat
ics, science, and religious mysti
Why is Pythagoras consid cism . It is also believed that he
ered one of the greatest had a signif icant inf luence on
scientists of all time? medicine, music, astronomy, and
P
divination.
ythagOraS was an
Ancient Greek mathemati Introducing
cian and philosopher who un breakable
lived more than 500 years Pythagorean
Theorem ...
before Christ.
He spent most of his life in
the Greek colonies in Sicily
and southern Italy. He was
also a philosopher, and
founder of the religious
movement called Pythago
reanism.
Pythagoras had a group
of disciples who followed
him around, and taught oth
er people what he had
taught them. He made cru
cial contributions to modern
4
f u l noting of all the symptoms
of a d isease, and of the chang
Pythagoras is best known es i n a pati ent's condition d u r
for the mathematical theory i n g the i l lness.
named after him. He is with H i ppocrates bel ieved that the
out doubt, one of the great body m u st be treated as a
est scientists not only of the whole . He made medicine a d i s
ancient world, but of all cipline d isti nct f ro m other
time. f ields, and his biggest contribu
tion was that h e rejected su per
Why is Hippocrates called stition and the belief that
the 'father of western medI s u pernatural, or divine f orces,
cine'? were the cause of i l l ness .
H
In short, it was H ippocrates who
i Ppocrates , a G reek transformed medicine into a sci
physician, l ived i n the 5th ence. He wrote on a variety of
cent u ry BC, and f o u nded medical topics including diagno
the H i ppocratic School of sis, epidemics, obstetrics, paedi
Medicine. He revol ution atrics, nutrition and su rgery.
ised G reek medicine, f o r To this day, newly q ualif ied
he believed i n , a n d devel doctp rs take an oath cal led the
oped the practice of the H ippocratic Oath that lays down
c l i n ical method of obser the basic ru les of conduct that
vatio n . This was the care- doctors must f ol low.
A
very closely, and through caref u l
ristotle was one of the observation, h e was able to arrive
most respected Greek at his conclusions. His caref u l
thinkers. He was the star study of animals enabled h i m to
pupil of Plato, a f amous classif y them into different groups
G reek philosopher. He was and species.
also the teacher of Alexan Aristotle's inf luence on western
der the Great! culture and science has been
Aristotle wrote on many
subjects including physics,
biology, zoology, meta
physics, logic, ethics, aes
thetics, poetry, theatre,
music, rhetoric, linguistics,
politics, and government.
He believed that the Uni
verse was eternal, that
there was neither a begin
ning nor an end. Aristotle
accepted that things can
change, but, fundamentally I
believed that the overall
6 Tell Me Why
•
EUCLID
• • • •
• • • •
• • • • •
• • • • • •
• • • • •
A
of an irregular object.
rchimedes is best Archimedes discovered his princi
remembered as an ple quite by accident. He noticed that
ancient Greek scientist the water level of the bathtub rose
who made legendary when he got in, and he realised that
contributions to mathe you could measure volume by putting
matics, physics, engi it on water, and measuring how much
neering, and astronomy. the water level rose. Supposedly, the
Archimedes, who lived scientist got so excited by this discov
about 300 years before ery that he ran through the streets
Christ, is also remem naked, yelling 'Eureka!' which is
bered for his d iscovery Greek for ' I f ig u red it out! '
of the relation between
the surf ace and vol u me
of a sphere, and its cir
cumscribing cylinder.
He played a major role
in developing calculus
and analysis. This sci
entist explained how
8
Eratosthenes calculated its size with
good accuracy. He also calculated
What is Eratosthenes the tilt of Earth's axis fairly accu rate
famous for? ly. Eratosthenes produced the first
E
map of the world which used meridi
ratosthenes was an an lines and parallel lines. These
Ancient G reek scientist were similar to our modern lines of
born in the town of latitude and longitude. This great sci
Cyrene, which is now in entist can be said to have invented
Libya, i n about 276 BC. geography.
He was famous as a In fact, today we still use the word
mathematician and he invented for this new discipline.
geographer. 'Geo' was G reek for 'Earth' and 'gra
Eratosthenes pro- phy' meant 'field of study . '
duced a reliable, logical Eratosthenes also wrote books o n
method to discover philosophy, mathematics, astrono
prime nu mbers. It's my, history, comedy, and poetry. His
known as the sieve of all-round knowledge made him the
Eratosthenes, and is ideal choice for the most prestigious
still important in modern job an academic could enjoy in
number theory in an Ancient G reece. He was the Director
updated form. of the Library of Alexandria, the great
Assu ming that the est intellectual institution of the
Earth was a sphere, ancient world.
P
ancient astronomy. It covers the
tolemy was a Greek motion of Sun, Moon, and the
astronomer, astrologer, planets around the Earth. It also
mathematician and geogra contains a catalogue of stars with
pher who lived and worked their brightness on a logarithmic
in Alexandria in Ancient scale.
Egypt, in the second centu Ptolemy's description of the
ry AD. Universe was accepted by the
astronomical community for
more than a thousand years.
Ptolemy's second important
work is called 'Geography.' It is a
thorough discussion of the geo
graphic knowledge of the G reco
Roman world .
Ptolemy's treatise on astrology
was influential because of its
p ractical treatment of astrology.
Ptolemy discarded practices that
did not have a logical basis, and
also believed that astrology was
not a completely reliable science.
Tell Me Why
Why are Galen's contribu Empire's greatest physician. He
tions to medicine impor had great expertise i n anatomy,
tant? surgery, pharmacology and ther
G
apeutic methods.
alen was a Greek who G al e n had an absol ute bel ief
became the Ancient Roman in the power of experiment and
observation . H e did not believe
i n merely fol lowi n g what books
told h i m was t ru e . He needed
to verify the truth for h i mself.
H is anatomical reports, based
mainly on d issection of mon
keys, remained u n contested
u ntil 1 543, when pri nted descrip
tions and illustrations of h u man
dissections were p ublished .
Galen, the great scientist, con
solidated the work of previous
Greek medical researchers, add
ing the results of his own research,
to create an incredibly long-last
ing medical doctrine. This medi
cal doctrine dominated the
Western world for 1 500 years.
B
conduct verifiable experiments. A sci
orn in the tenth cen entist, philosopher, astronomer, and
tury AD, Alhazen was mathematician, Alhazen wrote over a
an Arab who was known hundred books, more than half of
as the first true scientist. which have been preserved .
One of his most i nfluential writings
field of optics. In this book,
Translations
I n tile 16- ceatulJ,
Galen's arIgIat Bretk
texts were trMslatld
Into latin IIJ HttIItr
legendary pllysiclan.
Andre.s vesaUus.
12 Tell Me Why
ROG ER BACON
R
eratme" as a kind of wonder
oger Bacon was an worker. He was also called Doc
English philosopher and tor Mirabilis- 'mirabilis' in Latin
Franciscan monk who pro- means 'wonderful teacher.'
N
the year.
icolaus Copernicus was The Roman Catholic Church
a 1 5th century astronomer, criticised Copernicus' theories. It
mathematician, translator, went so far as to ban his book 'De
artist, and physicist, among
other things. Sometimes even
He is best known as the the universe loses
first astronomer to put for its control.
ward the idea of a system in
which the planets and plan
etary objects orbit the Sun.
By 1 508, Copernicus had
begun to create his model
of the planetary system,
suggesting that the Sun,
and not our Earth, was the
centre of the U niverse. His
model of the U niverse was
14
P aracelsus becam e a notable
physician in the early 16th centu
R evolutionibus Orbium ry. He rejected m ost of the preva
Coelestium , ' after he died, lent and widely accepted world
and it rem ai ned a forbidden views, and m agic theories of
book for almost three hun medicine. While work ing on med
dred years. ICines, P aracelsus brought
The ideas of Copernicus together the use of chem icals in
were instrumental i n the m edicines. In 1 526 , he coined the
evolution of the field of term 'zincum ' for the chem ical
astronomy. I n fact, alm ost elem ent zinc. He is also k nown
every notable astronom e r for discovering 'laudanum ' which
who came after him was is an alcoholic herbal preparation.
influenced by his theories. P aracelsus was a strict follow
er, and a firm believer of the clas
Who was Paracelsus? sical G reek concept of elem ents.
P
However, he added his own find
aracelsus was a ings to this concept. P aracelsus'
renowned Germ an physi real nam e was P hilippus von
cist, and botanist of Swiss Hohenheim .
origin. His path break ing The name 'P aracelsus' was actu
findings i n botany and med ally a nick nam e. It m eans 'equal to
icine m ade him a pioneer in or g reater than Celsus' and refers
his field. to his m edical sk i l l .
16
tions in anatomy that had the development of various astro
persisted for over a thou nomical instruments.
sand years. He devised his own instrument,
Vesalius' anatomical even before the invention of the
studies corrected many reli telescope, to observe the heav
gious beliefs and the finding ens. These instruments allowed
of a previous physician Brahe to determine the move
Galen, who had dissected ments of heavenly objects more
apes because religion for precisely.
bade him to dissect real Brahe made sign ificant contri
human cadavers. butions in the study of the M oon
Vesalius was the first sur and the planet M ars, which
geon to actually cut open a would later prove extremely
cadaver or dead body of a useful to other astronomers.
human being, and his I nstru ments bu ilt by Brahe
exceptionally detailed mus proved to be very helpful in
cle drawings changed med accu rate determinations of lati
ical history for all time. tude and longitude.
Brahe bu ilt his fi rst observato
Who was Tycho Brahe? ry at Herrevad Abbey in 1 572,
T
and nother one named ' U rani
ycho Brahe was a borg ' in 1 576 . He also b u ilt a
famous Danish astronomer third one cal led 'Stjerneborg' i n
who played a vital role in 1 58 1 .
G
the solar system works.
alileo Galilei was a For many years, scientists had
groundbreaking Italian believed that the solar system
astronomer, physicist, revolved aro u nd the Earth, and
mathematician, philoso- that the Earth was the centre of
pher and inventor. He the U niverse.
Galileo was the f i rst scientist to
prove that this wasn't correct. He
stated that in f act, the solar sys
tem revolved aro u nd the S u n . He
also invented an improved tele
scope so that he could gaze f ar
into space. He was the f i rst to
see J upiter's moons, and the
f i rst to realise that our Moon was
covered with craters. Besides
inventing the i mproved tele
scopes, he also i nvented the
compass and a thermometer.
Galileo has played a major role
in the scientif ic revol ution of the
17th centu ry.
Tell Me Why
As the Scientific Revolution
progressed, astrology increas
Why is Johannes Kepler ingly came to be replaced by
considered one of the lead astronomy as a modern, legiti
ers of the scientific revolu mate science. Johannes Kepler
tion? is best known for his discovery
J
that the orbits in which the Earth
Ohannes Kepler was a and the other planets of the solar
leading astronomer of the system travel around the Sun are
Scientific Revolution. The elliptical, or oval, in shape.
Scientific Revolution is the He was also the first to explain
term used to describe the correctly how h u man beings see,
emergence of modern sci and demonstrated what happens
ence that took place to light when it enters a telescope.
throughout the 1 6 th and 1 ]t1l In addition, he designed an
centuries. instrument that serves as the
Before the Scientific basis of the modern refractive tel
Revo l ution , astronomy escope.
was closely tied to astrol Since he was such a prominent
ogy, which is the belief figure in the field of astronomy, a
that the movement of the lot pf spots on distant planets
stars and planets can be have been named after him such
i nterpreted to pred i ct the as 'Kepler's C rater on Mars' and
future. 'The Kepler C rater,' on the Moon.
W
cut open. This may seem cruel,
i lliam Harvey was an as there were no anaesthetics in
English physician who lived Harvey's time.
in the 17'h century. He was
the first person to correctly
describe blood's circulation
i n the body.
He showed that arteries
and veins form a complete
circuit and that this circuit
starts at the heart, and
leads back to the heart. He
also established that the
heart's regular contractions
drive the flow of blood
around the whole body.
Before his discoveries,
blood was thought to ebb
and flow through the body
20 Tell Me Why
BLAISE PASCAL
B
sum s of successive numbers built
, aise P ascal was a 1 71h on them selves to form the num e r
century French philosopher ical row beneath.
and scientist who m ade P ascal's scientific theories were
important contributions to import ant to u nderstanding the
maths, science, and philos properties and volume of solids
ophy. While he was still a usinQ cycloids. P ascal was also
teenager, P ascal becam e an expert in various languages,
one o f only two people who and a well-versed religious phi
had developed and con- losopher.
R
ticism .
obert Boyle was a Alchem y was the study of how
fam ous Anglo Irish scientist to change basic substances such
as m etals into other m ore valua
ble substances. Boyle m ade
chem istry a science based on
m easurem ent.
He defined elem ents, com
pounds and m ixtures and he
coined the new term 'chem ical
analysis, ' a field in which he m ade
TORRICELLI
En .... TorricIlli_
inentor of tilt .......
He WIS .haDaD ........
.
22 Tell Me Why
Who was Marcello Malpighi?
C
measure time and other matters
hristiaan H uygens, a that relate to mechanical physics.
Dutch philosopher and math One of his most important con
ematician, was one of the tributions was that he explained
leading scientists in the 1 m the vital principles of classical
century. H e started b y trying physics lik e centripetal force and
to disprove theories that had gravity in a vacuum in another
been established by Ancient book of his.
G reek s in geometry.
He was interested in tele
scopes and astronomy, and
spent a lot of time designing
methods to improve the
mechanical and optic per
formance of telescopes.
In his book entitled 'Sys
tema Saturnium' published
in 1 6 59, he noted the dis
covery of the rings around
the planet Saturn, and
made observations about
24 Tell Me Why
' . . - '.' - ' "
l� . �lEEU�EN�9EK' -�
�
Huygens also put forward ies was also one of his first. His
a theory explaining the observations, in 1 6 74, of scummy
wave behaviou r of light. His pond water, led to the first visual
reputation as a scientist descriptions and illustrations of
and a scholar becam e such common organism s as the
k nown worldwide, and algae spirogyra. This contributed
rem ains so to this day . . towards the foundation of several
branches of biology.
Why is Antonie van Leeu He m ade one of the first record
wenhoek called 'father of ed observations of bacteria when
microbiology'? he studied the plaque from his
A
' teeth. He noticed what he called
ntonie van Leeuwen 'anim alcules' in the saliva sam
hoek was a 1 ?11l century ple. These anim alcules were
D utch scientist. He is best actually bacteria. He gave cells
k nown for discovering pro their nam e because he thought
tozoa, and creating m ore they resem bled the shape of a
than 500 sim ple m icro monk 's quarters.
scopes. Although Van Leeuwenhoek
Van Leeuwenhoek was never received any form al scien
the first scientist to closely tific tr aining, he is considered to
observe cells u nder a m icro be the father of m icrobiology for
scope. One of his m ost his contributions to that field of
groundbreak i ng discover- science.
Weird
A weird fact about Newton is that
in spite of being so scientifically
What makes Sir Isaac New
minded, he believed in the exist-
ton a legendary figure?
ence of the 'philosopher's stone',
Tell Me Why
HALLEY
E
Though he is remembered
d mond H a l ley w as a n foremost as an astronomer, HaI
Engl ish s c i e n t i st who ley also made significant discov
b e c a m e v e r y i nte rested eries in the fields of geography,
in a comet t h at he saw i n mathematics, meteorology, and
1 68 2 . Afte r b e i n g t o l d physics. Halley was very close
t h at a s i m i l a r c o m et h ad to Newton .
I
onomy.
n the 1 8th century, the In 1 737, Linnaeus published the
Swedish naturalist and phy first edition of his book titled Sys
sician Carl Linnaeus intro tema Natu rae or System of
duced the scientific system Nature. Over the years, Linnaeus
of classifying plants and continued to develop his ideas
animals that is used all over
the world to this day. For you
this may be a
Under this system, each
tomato. But, I cal1
living thing is assigned a
this Solanum
name consisting of two Lat Lycopersicum.
in words. The first word is
,
DANIEL BERNOULLI
28 Tell Me Why
JOSEPH BLACK
J
no particu lar interest in the sub
osePh Black, a British j ect, were eager to attend.
chemist and physicist, is Alongside his teaching, Black
famous for his discovery of carried on an active and
carbon dioxide. Black was demanding medical practice.
always a meticulous chem J osep h Black, widely respected
ist, keeping careful note of both as a scientist and a physi
all his results and measure cian, is truly one of the titans i n
m ents. It was this which led t h e world o f science.
T
ue for Earth's density.
he English scientist Hen Henry Cavendish also experi
ry Cavendish was an exper mented with electricity, but m uch
im ental chem ist and of his work on the subject was
physicist par excellence. only published after his death. He
Cavendish was the first to was renowned for the great accu
recognise hydrogen gas as racy and precision of his scientific
a distinct substance. He research.
called it inflamm able air.
Cavendish showed that
hydrogen is m uch less
dense than air. In 1 785, he
published a paper showing
the Earth's atm osphere
consists of fou r parts nitro
gen to one part oxygen.
In addition, to his
achievem ents i n chem is
try, Cavendish is also
known for the Cavendish
30 Tell Me Why
gas based on its properties.
P riestley a l so m ad e another
Why was Joseph Priestley d iscovery t h at has been h i g h ly
a remarkable scientist? appreciated by s u rgeons
J
worldw i d e . He d i scovered
osePh P riestly, an Eng nitrous oxide, which was also
lishman is noted for his known as l a u g h i n g gas . It was
groundbreaking contribu the fi rst s u rgical a naesthetic to
tions to experimental chem be u sed .
istry, electricity, and the P ri estley's best known
chem istry of gases. achievem e nt in the field of
Before him , scientists biology in 1 772 was his work
thought that the air on Earth with p h otosynthesis. P ri est
consisted of carbon dioxide l ey's other i nterest i n g d i scov
and hydrogen. P riestley eries include the fact t h at
brought 1 0 m ore gases to g raphite is a g oo d e l ectric con
this list, such as nitrogen, d u ctor, a n d t h at g um m y t ree
hydrogen ch loride, carbon sap i s a good e raser for pencil
monoxide, nitrous oxide m arks.
and oxygen. Did you know that you can
He isolated oxygen in its enjoy, you r favourite fizzy drink
gaseous state, and con thanks to Joseph P riestley, for he
ducted a series of experi was the one who invented soda
m ents to distinguish each water?
W
M im as, the moons of Saturn.
illiam Herschel was a Herschel m aintained that the
German-born British scien solar system is m oving through
tist who becam e one of the space, and found out the direction
m ost important astrono of that m ovem ent. He also sug
m ers of the 1 8th century. He gested that the M i l ky Way was in
built his own telescopes. the shape of a disc. Herschel is
From the garden of his considered to be the founder of
house, William Herschel m odern stellar astronom y.
noted 'every star in the William Herschel, a great scien
heavens' through a tele tist was a gifted m usician too. He
scope that he had con played the oboe, violin, harpsi
structed himself. chord and organ.
He also m anufactured
over 400 telescopes that
,
AN DERS CELSIUS
were in great dem and
worldwide. His study of the Anders Celsius, a Swedish astrono
heavens led him to the dis mer, is best remembered for the
covery of a planet that Celsius temperature scale, which
would eventuall y be called was developed by him in 1742.
Uranus. William Herschel
32 Tell Me Why
ANTOINE LAVOISIER
A
oxygen it releases has exactly the
ntoine Lavoisier revolu same weight as the weight lost by
tionised chem istry. It was the m ercury oxide. After carrying
he who coined the nam e out furt her experiments, Lavoisier
oxygen for the elem ent announced a new fundamental law
r eleased by m ercury oxide. of nature- the law of conservation
He found that oxygen of m ass. This law states that the
made up 20 per cent of air, total m ass of a chem ical reaction' s
and was vital for com bus products is identical to the total
tion and respiration. He mass of the starting m aterials.
also concluded that when
phosphorus or sulfur is
We have to
bu rned i n air, the products
thank Lavoisier in
are form ed by the reaction every breath.
of these elem e nts with oxy
gen.
The elements carbon and
hydrogen were also nam ed
by him . Another m ilestone
was when Lavoisier cor
rectly identified sulfur as an
element. A year later, he
,
100 Great Scientists
F rench naturalist. He is best
rem em bered for his theory of
What do we know about evolution. According to this theo
Jean Baptiste Lamarck? ry, the characteristics an organ
J
ism develops during its lifetim e in
ean Baptiste Lam arck response to its environment are
was one of the pioneers in inherited by, or passed on to, its
the field of biology. offspring.
In fact, the very nam e Lam arck was the first to use
'biology' was coined by this the term invertebrate to describe
anim als without backbones. He
began collecting fossils and
studying all sorts of sim ple spe
cies.
As a result of these studies, he
was able to revise the classifica
tion of lower anim als that had
Pathetic Figure been unfinished by the Swedish
Even though a great biologist Linnaeus.
scientist, Lamarck became Lam arck's study of inverte
a pathetic figure during his brates also led to the publication
later days. He was blind and of his m ajor work 'The Natural
poor, and died in 1829. H istory of I nvertebrate Anim als'
in 1 81 5- 22 .
34 Tell M e Why
PIERRE LAPLACE
�
P
interpreted the geom etric study of
ierre-Sim on Laplace classical m echanics, starting up a
was a French physicist and wider range of problems.
astronom er of the 1 9th cen Laplace's work, and the results
tury. He had a phenom enal he produced, m ade him one of
natural m athem atical fac the m ost im portant and influential
ulty, and predicted m any scientists that the world has seen.
things, using only m aths. The Laplacian differential opera
These predictions were tor that is nam ed after him is
later confirm ed with power widely used in m athematics.
ful telescopes. He wrote a Laplace won m any awards for
book explaining his theory his studies, and he was m ade a
of the origin of the solar sys m arq u is, but he rem ained m od
tem . est, sayin g , "What we know i s
Laplace presented a l ittle. What w e know not is
steady stream of rem arka imm ense."
ble m athem atical papers His work regarding the theory of
that spread his fam e . probability and statistics is con
P ierre-Sim o n Laplace i s sidered pioneering.
100 Great Scie ntists
35
EDWARD JENNER
E
called James P h i pps, his gar
dward Jenner, a doctor dener's son, with pus from cow
in England, lived during the pox b l i sters. James expe rienced
1 8th century. a fever, but he did not get small
At that time, smallpox was pox.
a dreaded disease that Jenner repeated the experi
killed thousands of people ment on more than 20 people,
every year. Smallpox is an proving that those he had inocu
i nfectious disease which lated with cowpox, were immune
causes pus-filled blisters to to smallpox.
spread over the body, and Edward Jenner thus became
often resulted in death. the pioneer of the world's first
Jenner noticed that milk vaccine- the smallpox vaccine.
maids were immune to His work on smallpox made him
smallpox. He thought that internationally famous.
this was because they were To day, smallpox has been com
often infected by cowpox, a pletely eradicated from the world,
disease similar to smallpox, thanks to the smallpox vaccine,
but less severe. and Edward Jenner.
36 Tell Me Why
SAMUEL HAHNEMANN
J
Experim ental Essays in which he
Ohn Dalton, a British sci discussed the m akeup of m ixed
entist, is probably best gases.
known for his groundbreak The m ost im portant of all Dal
ing research and contribu ton's investigations are those
tions to two com pletely concerned with the atom ic theory
different fields- atom ic theo in chem istry. The research had a
ry and colourblindness. great impact on atom ic theory. He
It was discovered in 1995 created a listing of atom ic weights
that Dalton actually had a for six different elements - hydro
very rare form of colour gen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon,
blindness- he was only able sulfur, and phosphorous.
to see one colour, yellow. Dalton's interpretation of atom ic
So, he studied the prob theory m aintained that atom s are
lem in great detail and con com bined in chem ical reactions,
cluded that colo u rblindness but also that they can be separat
was a genetic feature, as ed and rearranged. Without
his brother was also colour doubt, it was John Dalton's atom
blind. ic theory that laid the foundations
Dalton was also very of m odern chem istry.
38 Tell Me Why
Why is Andre-Marie Ampere
considered a scientific
genius? Polymath
40 Tell M e Why
nerstone of astronom ical com pu
tation to this day. Am ong m any
Why is Johann Gauss con other achievem ents, Gauss is
sidered to be a mathemati responsible for a procedure used
cal genius? currently in all sciences to m ini
J
m ize the im pact of measurem ent
Ohann Gauss was a Ger error.
man m athem atician who He k ept a diary of his discover
had a rem ark able influence ies, listing 1 46 discoveries, which
in m any fields. was lost for over 40 years after his
These included the num death. Gauss is deserved ly
ber theory, statistics, analy rank ed as one of history' s m ost
sis, differential geometry, influential m athem aticians.
electrostatics, astronom y
and optics. Why is Humphrey Davy regarded
Gauss system atised the as one of the luminaries of the
study of num ber theory and cientlfic world?
S
was fundam ental in consoli
dating it as an im portant i r H um phrey Davy was an
discipline. Gauss also dis English chem ist who m ade m any
covered Ceres, the largest notable contributions to science,
of the asteroids orbiting the especially in electroc hem istry. He
Sun. His Theory of Celestial is renowned for the invention, in
M ovem ent rem ains a cor- 1 8 1 5, of the Davy safety lam p
42 Tell Me Why
was partly responsible for coining
m any fam il iar words including
Why is Michael Faraday 'electrode', 'cathode' and 'ion'.
known as the 'father of elec Faraday laid the basis of the elec
tricity'? trom agnetic field concept in phys
M
ics, discovered the laws of
ichael Faraday was a electrolysis, and invented electro
19th century British chem ist m agnetic rotary devices that were
and physicist. He is often vital in the creation of electric
called the father of electrici m otors. Faraday has thus played
ty with good reason . a key role in the development of
H i s work on electrochem electricity for use in m odern tech
istry and electrom agnetism nology.
laid the foundation for m any
areas of science. It was in
1831 that Faraday discov I GEORG SIMON OHM
ered electrom agnetic induc
tion, the principle behind the Georg Simon Ohm was a German
electric transformer and physicist and mathematician. He
generator. This discovery was born on 16th March, 1 789.
was crucial in allowing elec Ohm's Law, which shows the rela
triCity to be transform ed tionship between voltage and cur
from a curiosity, into a pow rent, was discovered by him.
erfu l new technology. He
F
m ade by living things. Wohler was
riedrich Wohler was a the co-discoverer of beryllium , sil
Germ an chem ist
who icon, and silicon nitride.
chose to be a teacher of In 1 832, Wohler, along with
chem istry. He was one of another scientist Justus Liebig
the finest scientists of the published a study on the oil of bit
1 9th century. ter alm onds which proved that a
Wohler gai ned interna g roup of atom s can act lik e a sin
tional renown from two path gle elem ent, and be exchanged
break ing discoveries. In for elem ents in chem ical com
1 827, Wohler prepared the pounds. This too, took the scien
first pure sam ple of alum in tific world by storm .
ium . This m etal is the third
most prevalent element in What do we know about Justus
the Earth's crust, but it is -Liebig?
J
exceedingly difficult to iso
late it from its com pounds. ustus Liebig is considered to
He also discovered how be the founder of organic chem is
to m ak e u rea in the labora- try. Liebig was one of the first
44 Tell Me Why
J U ST U S LIEBIG
J
d istingu ished scientific career. It
ean Louis Agassiz, a was titled 'The Fishes of Braz i l '
Swiss-Am e rican naturalist, a n d i t was t h e m ost im portant
was an outstanding com account of a local fish fau na
parative anatom ist. When published till that tim e .
he was only 21 years old, Later, Agassiz work ed under
Georges Cuvier, another brilliant
com parative anatom ist. Agassiz
I have m ade extensive contributions to
better knowledge ichthyological classification,
of fish.
including of extinct species.
Ichthyology is the branch of
biology devoted to the study of
fish . Agassiz also played an
im port ant role in the study of geo
logical history including the found
ing of glaciology. He was a person
wjth m any interests- a biologist,
physician, geologist, teacher,
and m ost im portantly, a prom i
nent i nnovator i n the field of the
study of natural sciences.
46 Tell Me Why
Why is Charles Darwin one evolution. In 1 83 1 , Darwin set sail
of the most influential sci· on the H M S Beagle, a naval sur
entists in history? vey ship. Darwin's job was to col
C
lect plant and anim al specim ens
harles Darwin was an from the countries the ship visit
English naturalist who is ed. The voyage took five years.
best k nown for his ideas on For Charles Darwin, the m ost
important part of the journey was
the tim e spent in the Galapagos
Islands which are the hom e to
plants and anim als that can't be
found anywhere else in the world.
On his return to England, Dar
win started to piece together his
Most Influential theory of natural selection which
Darwin has been described explains how populations evolve.
as one of the most influen· In 1 859 , Charles Darwin pub
tial thinkers of all time. He lished his book 'On the Origin of
was the first to make people Species'.
aware of their place in the According to this theory, all spe
evolutionary process. cies qf lite have evolved over tim e
Darwin is burled in West from common ancestors. Charles
minster Abbey. Darwin changed the way humans
viewed themselves.
C
ers which acts as a reserve store
laude Bernard, a French of carbohyd rates, and helps to
physiologist, has been reg u late blood sugar. Bernard
called one of the greatest of also stud ied the nervous sys
all men of science. Bernard tem . While e ngaged in this
was fascinated with the researc h , Bernard m ade the
mechanics of digestion. im portant d iscovery that oxygen
He m ade a n um ber of was carried around the body by
experim ents in which he
m ade openings into the
stom achs of l ive anim als in
order to study their work
ings. His experiments
resulted in a num ber of
important discoveries,
including the finding that
the sm all intestine played a
k ey role in the digestive
process.
48
In 1 847, he published his
paper 'On the Conservation of
the red corpuscles in an Force ' . This was the fi rst expla
animal's blood. nation of the fu ndamental con
Bernard was one of the cept of conservation of energy.
founders of experimental H is i nventions of the ophthal
medicine, and played a vital moscope a l lowed physicians to
role in laying down the basic see i n side the eye, and revo l u
rules of experimentation in tion ized t h e field o f ophthal
the life sciences. mology.
H e l m h o ltz was a k een m ath
What were Hermann Lud emat i c i a n , and i n 1 858 p u b
wig Helmholtz's contribu l ished the paper which
tions to science? provided a k ey t o the f u nda
H
mental structure of m atte r . H e
ermann Ludwig Helm also i nvesti g ated the physics
holtz, a German physician of tone and colo u r percept i o n .
and physicist, is best k nown B ut above a l l , it i s h i s theory o f
for the law of the conserva the conservation o f energy that
tion of energy. He also is h i s g reatest contri butio n , for
made significant contribu it i s n e of t h e broadest and
tions to physiology, optics, most i m portant general izations
electrodynamics, mathe ever k nown i n the h istory of
matics, and meteorology. science.
T
of conservation of energy
he English physicist becam e the first law of therm ody
Jam es Joule studied the nam ics, a field of physics that
nature of heat, and estab Joule is referred to as the chief
lished its relationship to fou nder of.
m echanical work . Joule was the first person to cal
He showed that the vari culate the speed of a molecule of
ous form s of energy gas, about 457 metres a second for
m echanical, electrical, and oxygen at average temperatures.
heat - are basically the
sam e , and can be changed,
one into another. This is
k nown as the conservation
of energy, and the idea was
proved by Joule in a series
of experim ents.
In his early years, Joule
proved that heat produced
in a sm all electrom agnet
b u i lt by h im was from
electrical energy, which
was i n turn, generated by
This would lay the founda parents to the children. In biology
tions for the kinetic theory of the study of heredity is called
gases in the future. Joule genetics.
recognised the need for In 1 856, M endel began studying
standard u nits of electricity. hereditary features in pea plants,
In fact, the u nit of energy is and concluded that all living
nam ed the 'joule' in recog things, including humans, passed
nition of his contributions. on their characteristics to their
children i n predictable ways.
Why is Gregor Mendel M e ndel grew, and tested alm ost
known as the 'founder of 28,000 pea plants during 8 years
modern genetics'? of research. He cam e up with the
G
term s recessive and dom inant, to
regor M endel, a 1 9th describe types of genes that are
century m onk, is the found passed down through genera
er of m odern genetics. He tions.
is famous for his pea plant M endel's findings, which he
experim ents which helped presented on m eetings of the N at
to establish som e of the ural History Society of Brno, in
now accepted laws of 1 865, were rejected by his fellow
heredity. Heredity is when scientists while he was alive. It
certain traits like eye col wasn't until later that his work was
our, height, and athletic rediscovered and confirm ed
abi lity are passed from the through further experimentation.
L
many foods such as milk, vinegar,
ouis P asteur, a French wines, cheese, and ju ices. He
chemist and microbiologist studied the immune system and
made many important dis vaccination through his research,
coveries related to the and helped produce the first vac
immune system, vaccina cine for rabies, saving the life of a
tions, chemistry, and the young boy in 1 885.
nature of diseases. P asteur is also responsible for
P asteur's work helped many breakthroughs in the field of
show that microorganisms chemistry. He discovered the
are the true cause of many
diseases. P asteur used his
knowledge of germs to
investigate how beverages
such as wine and milk were
spoiled by microbes such
as bacteria.
He found that heating up
the liquids would kill most of
the microbes, and allow the
beverages to last longer,
and be safer to drink. This
52
molecular basis for the u niversity, Kirchhoff wrote a paper
asymm etry of certain crys detailing his circuit laws.
tals, and m ade im portant Kirchhoff discovered that ther
discoveries related to the m al radiation is given off by all
nature of tartaric acid. objects that have a tem perature
Today, Louis P asteur is greater than absolute zero, and
k nown as one of the m ost gave a proof for his law of therm al
im port ant scientists in his radiation in 1 86 1 . He experim ent
tory. ed with electrical circuits and
spectroscopy, and coined the
Why was Gustav Kirchhoff term 'black -body' radiation in
an outstanding scientist? 1 86 2.
G
Along with Robert Bunsen,
ustav Kirchhoff, a Ger Kirchhoff founded the science of
m an physicist, is rem em spectrum analysis by proving that
bered for his pioneering every elem ent gives off a charac
work in spectroscopy, which teristic wave length of light when
perm itted investigation of heated to incandescence.
the chem ical com position of He also discovered that when
stars. light is passed through a gas, the
His circuit laws are the gas absorbs those wavelengths it
fou ndation of electrical wOuld have em itted if heated.
engineering. I n 1 845, while This discovery was of great im por
still only a student at the tance to the field of astronom y.
J
carbolic acid as an antiseptic.
osePh Lister, a British He lived in an era when sur
surgeon, m ade surgery saf- geons wore dirty aprons, surg ical
instrum ents were u nclean , and
surgeons didn't even wash their
hands before carrying out opera
tions. Lister soon realised that
u rgent changes were needed to
prevent so many people dying
after surgery, due to infection . He
tested what would happen if the
surgical i nstrum ents and bandag
es were treated with carbolic acid,
and he was pleased to see that
inJection was significantly
reduced.
Other surgeons soon followed
his exam ple. Carbolic acid was
used on bandages, and was even
54 Tell Me Why
Degree
Wundt graduated with a degree
in Medicine from the University of
Heidelberg in 1 856. In 1867
sprayed into the air during he became a professor at the
operations to kill bacteria, university, where he created the
and reduce the risk of the first course in the science of
wound becoming infected. psychology.
lister is often called the
'father of modern surgery'
because of the life saving the u sage of experimental
precautions he introduced methods in psychology. He
in the field of surgery. developed psychology as an
independent field of science,
What is Wilhelm Wundt and set u p a laboratory to
remembered for? explore the n at u re of rel i g i o u s
W
bel iefs, identify mental d isor
ilhelm Wundt, a Ger ders and abnormal behavio u r,
m an doctor and philoso and find damaged parts of the
pher, is acknowledged as b rai n .
one of the greatest and He also published the first jour
m ost infl uential psycholo nal of psychology, ' P h i losophis
gists of all time. che Studien' or ' P hilosophical
As one of the early pio Studies' in 1 88 1 . Wilhelm Wundt
neers of scientific psychol was in fact, the first person to ever
ogy, Wu ndt introduced call himself a 'psychologist' .
J
m odynam ics are m any. He is
am es M axwell, a Scot even believed to have created
tish physicist and m athe the first true colour photograph .
m atician, was a rem ark able His contributions played a n im por
scientist. He brought togeth tant role in the advances m ade in
er a large number of equa 20th century physics.
tions, experim ents, and
observations related to What is Dmitri Mendeleev remem
electricity and m agnetism , bered for?
D
and showed them to be dif
ferent m anifestations of the m itri M endeleev was a R us
sam e phenom enon. sian chem ist and inventor who is
M axwell produced a set of best k nown for his discovery of
equations that explain the the periodic law, which he intro
properties of m agnetic and duced in 1 869 , and for his form u
electric fields, and help la.t ion of the periodic table of
show that light is an electro elem ents.
m agnetic wave. He also As a professor, M endeleev
described the nature of Sat taught first at the St. P etersburg
urn's rings as numerous Technological Institute and then
56 Tell Me Why
Crater and Element
The crater Mendeleev on the Moon,
at the University of St. and the radioactive element Men
P etersburg. Realizing he delevium are named after
was in need of a quality Dmitri Mendeleev.
textbook to cover the sub
'
ject of inorganic chemistry,
he put together one of his Chemistry. It was during this time
own, The P rinciples of that Mendeleev made the discov
ery that led to his most famous
This is not a achievement. He noticed certain
chess board. recurring patterns between d iffer
ent groups of elements and, using
existing knowledge of the ele
ments' chemical and physical
properties, he was able to make
further connections.
He systematically arranged the
known elements by atomic weight
in a grid-like diagram. His dia
gfam, known as the periodic table
of elements, is still used today.
He also wrote a book on the spec
troscope.
1 00 Great Scientists 57
passed on from one generation to
another'.
Why is August Weismann Thus was born the theory of the
considered to be one of the germ plasm , which he em bodied
greatest biologists of all in a book first published in Ger
time? m an and then in English. Its
A
essence was the notion that a"
ugust Weism ann was a living things contain a special
Germ an biologist and one hereditary substance, the germ
of the founders of the sci plasm .
ence of genetics. He is best The general idea is still accept
known for his 'germ plasm ' ed as valid today, though in place
theory. Weism ann's early of germ plasm one speaks of chro
studies were on the hydro m osomes, genes, and DNA. Weis
zoa, which are sm a" preda m ann's ideas made him one of the
tory anim als which live leading biologists of the world.
m ostly in the sea.
Weism ann's research on What are the contributions Rob
hydrozoa convinced him ert Heinrich Herman Koch is
that the germ cells of ani known for?
R
m als contain 'som ething
essential for the species, Obert Koch was a fam ous
som ething which m ust be Germ an physician who gained
carefully preserved and renown as one of the founders of
58 Tell Me Why
ease. These rules are k nown as
'Koch's postu lates'. M any of the
bacteriology and m icrobiol basic principles and techniques of
ogy. Koch was very m uch m odern bacteriology were adapt
interested in how the dis ed, or devised by R obert Koch,
ease k nown as anthrax who therefore is often regarded
spread from cattle to as the chief founder of that sci
hum ans. ence.
He laid down four criteria Robert Koch's brilliant contribu
in 1 890 for establishing the tions were ack nowledged in 1 9 05,
cause of an infectious dis- and he won the Nobel prize for
M edicine for his ground break ing
Have work on tuberculosis. Directly or
any idea about indirectly, Koch has influenced
Anthrax?
authorities in m any countries to
introduce public health legislation
based on k nowledge of the origin
of various infections.
He is also responsible for a
m ore enlightened attitude towards
the measures for controlling such
diseases, and the hygiene that
m ust be observed for preventing,
as well as treating them .
59
By placing a photog raphic
p l ate at the other e n d , R o ntgen
What was Wilhelm Ront was able to captu re the im age
gen's claim to fame? t hat was being lit up by these
W
u n known rays . S i nce he did not
ilhelm R ontgen, a Ger know the nat u re of these rays,
m an scientist, was the he called them X-rays . The fi rst
recipient of the first Nobel X- ray ever taken was an im age
P rize in P hysics. R ontgen of R ontgen 's wife's hand . H i s
carried out research in sev d iscovery o f X-rays ushered i n
eral fields, but his m ai n a g reat revo l ution i n t h e fields
claim t o fam e is the discov of physics and m ed i c i n e .
ery of X-rays.
In 1 895, R ontgen was Why Is Thomas Alva Edison a
conducting an experim ent colossus in the world of science?
T
by passing an electric cur
rent through a gas at homas Edison's story is truly
extrem ely low pressure. He an inspiring one. He struggled at
noticed that even though school, but loved reading and
the room was dark, and the conducting experim ents.
tube was covered with black This Am erican inventor began
carbon, a screen covered sending and receiving messages
with fluorescent m aterial via morse code- an electronically
was being lit up. conveyed alphabet using differ-
60 Tell Me Why
E DISON
Small Step
Great discoveries start with a
small step. When Edison was nine
years old, his mother gave him a
ent clicks for each letter - at book on how to do simple experi
the age of 1 5. Later, he ments at home. This sparked his
invented a version of the tel interest in science, and led to many
egraph that could send four wonderful inventions.
messages at once. In 1 877,
Edison invented the phono fected the phonograph by record
graph. The phonograph was ing 'M ary had a Little Lamb' on a
a machine that recorded and piece of tin foil!
played back sounds. He per- I n 1 878, Edison invented the
light bulb, as well as the power
For the future grid system, which could gener
world .... ate electricity, and deliver it to
homes through a network of wires.
Edison registered 1 ,093 patents
in the US, as he continued to
invent products. He made signifi
cant contributions to storage bat
teries and motion pictures. His
i nventions changed the world for
ever, and Edison remains a
colossus in the field of science to
this day.
61
Bell heard the sound of a plucked
string al ong som e of the electrical
Why will Alexander Gra wire. This was caused because
ham Bell be always remem one of Bell's assistants, Thom as
bered? A. Watson, was trying to reactivate
A
a transm itter. It made Bell believe
lexander Graham Bell he could send the sound of a
was an influential scientist, human voice over the wire.
engineer, and inventor who After receiving a patent on
is considered to be the M arch 7'h, 1 876, for transm itting
inventor of the first practical sound along a single wire, he suc
telephone. Bell's mother and cessfully transm itted human
wife were both deaf, and this speech on M arch 1 0.
motivated his research on Bell's first words with the work
hearing and speech. ing telephone were spoken to his
Bell experimented with assistant Watson . They were " M r
sound, working with devic Watson, com e here. I want t o see
es such as a 'harm onic tel . you."
egraph, ' that is used to Bell also had a strong interest in
send m u ltiple m essages -other scientific fields, conducting
over a single wire. While m edical research, searching for
trying to discover the secret alternative fuel sources, develop
to transm itting m u ltiple ing hydrofoil watercraft and m uch
messages on a single wire, m ore.
62 Tell Me Why
IVAN PAVLOV
I
ate the sound of the bell with food,
van P avlov, a Russian they would produce saliva, wheth
physiologist, is an iconic fig er or not food followed. P avlov
ure who was the first to offer becam e fully convinced that
a scientific approach to psy human behaviour could be under
chology. stood and explained best in phys
P avlov studied m edicine iological term s, rather than in
under a fam ed physiologist m entalist term s. He won the 1 904
of the tim e, S . P . Botkin, Nobel P rize for P hysiology or
who taught him a great deal M edicine.
about the nervous system .
P avlov is known prim arily
for his work in conditioned
r esponse.
He conducted a legend
ary experim ent in which he
trained h ungry dogs to drool
at the sound of a bell, or
buzzer. M om ents before
feeding, a bell was rung to
E
nia, epilepsy, anxiety, and anaes
m il Herm ann Fischer, thesia.
m ore commonly known as Fischer's keen u nderstanding
Em il Fischer, was an em i of scientific problems, his intuition
nent Germ an chem ist. He and love of truth, and his insist
received the Nobel P rize for ence on experim ental proof 0
Chem istry in 1 902 in recog hypotheses, m arked him as one
nition of his work in the sug of the truly great scientists of all
ar and purine groups. tim e .
Em il Fischer helped to
reorganise the teaching of How did Henri Becquerel discov
chem i stry, and to establish er radioactivity?
H
research facilities. His work
in organic chem istry was enri Becquerel was a Frenc
prim arily on the constitution . physicist who discovered radio
and synthesis of substanc activity through his investigation
es present in organisms. of u ranium and other substances.
Fischer laid the chem ical Becquerel had becom e a high I
foundations for biochem is- respected physicist by 1 896. Afte
64 Tell Me Wh
Generation Next
Henry 8ecquerel came from a fami
ly of scientists. His father and
grandfather were scientists, and
the discovery of the X-ray in his son became a scientist too.
1 895, Becquerel began to
investigate whether there
was a fundamental connec familiarity with uranium com
tion between this form of pounds, and his general skill in
invisible radiation and visi laboratory techniques, including
ble light. photography, all played a key role
His expertise with phos in his discovery of radioactivity.
phorescent materials, his Becquerel experimented by plac
ing phosphorescent crystals on a
sealed photographic plate that
had been wrapped in opaque
paper, and never exposed to
direct light.
After the plate was developed,
images were visible on it. He
passed the results on to Madame
C urie, who named this phenome
non radioactivity. In 1 903, Bec
que rei shared the Nobel Prize for
Physics with the chemists Pierre
and Marie Curie.
65
MAX PLANCK
Max
A quantum is the smallest pos
P lanck was a Ger sible amount of energy. P lanck' s
man theoretical physicist, constant - a fixed number- i s used
who made significant con to calculate the energy of quanta.
tributions. He changed The theory has been developed
our u nderstanding of to explain the behaviou r of parti
physics when he discov cles and the energy they emit.
ered that hot objects do P lanck was awarded the Nobel
not radiate a smooth , con P rize for P hysics in 1918.
tinuous range of energies
as was earlier believed . What was Sigmund Freud's great
I nstead, he fou nd that est achievement?
S
the energies radiated by
hot objects have distinct igmUnd Freud was an Austri
values. H is d iscovery was . an neurologist. He is best known
the begi n n i ng of the Q u an for developing the theories and
tum theory - an entirely techniques of psychoanalysis.
new type of physics that P sychoanalysis is a m et h o
revol utionized our u nder- of t reatment t h ro u g h w h i c h a
66 Tell Me Wh
Freud established a theory as to
why this happens often to som e
analyst uncovers uncon people. Sigm und Freud's greatest
scious conflicts based on the achievem ent was in the area of
free associations, dream s, the unconscious m ind.
and fantasies of the patient. Although many before him were
All of Freud's work aware of its existence, he was the
revolved around the m ind one who was finally able to
how it work ed, and how to achieve scientific recognition in
diagnose and treat certain the area of psychoanalysis.
m aladies of the m ind. He
analyzed himself as well .
It's a dream.
H e began t o pick apart his
dream s, and tried to deci
pher their m eaning.
In dOing so, he provide�
an incredible account of
how dream s originate and
why. He explored what
would become k nown as
Freudian slips, where one
has a slip of the tongue and
either m isreads som ething,
or forgets a name.
J
In discovering the electron,
. J . Thom son, an English Thom son also m oved towards the
physicist, took science to invention of an imm ensely impor
new heights with his 1 89 7 tant new tool for chem ical analy
discovery of the electron - sis - the m ass spectrom eter.
the subatom ic particle. Then, in 19 1 2, Thom son dis
When Thomson began covered that stable elem ents
his research career, it was could exist as isotopes. Isotopes
thought that atom s were are different form s of the sam e
the sm al lest particles. elem ent that exist with different
Nobody had a clear picture atom ic m asses.
of how atom s m ight look. It J.J. Thomson was awarded the
was already known that Nobel P rize for P hysics in 1 906.
atom s were associated i n
som e way with electric What were the longterm effects of
charges. Heinrich Hertz's work?
H
I n 1 897, aged 40, Thom
son carried out a now einrich Hertz, a bril liant Ger
famous experim ent with a m an scientist, conducted experi-
68 Tell Me Why
magnetic waves led to f u rther
experimentation with this new
ments that proved the f orm of electromagnetic radiation,
behaviou r of the electro which was called 'Hertzian
magnetic waves predicted waves'.
by James Maxwell. Around 1 91 0, this was replaced
He also built an appara with the term 'radio waves'. Hertz'
tus to measure the velocity discovery eventually led to the
of the electromagnetic invention of the wireless tele
waves. In addition, Hertz graph, and the radio.
proved Maxwell's theory
that light and heat are elec Just creating
tromagnetic radiations. waves.
Hertz d iscovered the pho
toelectric effect which
states that a charged object
loses its charge f aster when
exposed to u ltraviolet light.
The unit of f requency -
measured in cycles per
second- was named 'hertz'
in his honour.
Hertz's proof of the exist
ence of airborne electro-
R
quitoes from breeding.
onald Ross was an Indi Mosquitoes lay their eggs in
an born British doctor who stagnant water. By not allowing
is famous for his work con stagnant water to collect, both
cerning malaria. He was their breeding and the spread of
able to successfully demon malaria are controlled. Ross also
strate how the malaria bac established an organization to
teria resided in the fight malaria specifically in Sri
mosquitoes' gastrointesti Lanka.
nal tract. Ronald Ross received the
He worked in the I ndian Nobel Prize for Physiology o�
Medical Service for 25 Medicine in 1 902, for his work on
years, and his research the transmission of malaria.
started while he was at the While Ross is remembered for
Presidency General Hospi his malaria work, this remarkable
tal. ·man was also a mathematician,
From time to time, he epidemiologist, sanitarian, editor,
went around a nearby vil novelist, dramatist, poet, and an
lage to collect mosquitoes amateur musician, composer an
with the help of the Indian artist!
70 Tell Me Wh
Sense of H umour
Thomas Morga. was a Jovial ••
witII a SIal of hUllOUr, and a flair
Who was Thomas Hunt for practIal _. M.....·s data,
Morgan? oftH ICI'IbMId • tlll lIIck If USId
IIIVIlIpes, .. .... dICInttd
T homas H unt Morgan with '" cerpsn .
was an eminent American • Radha Nalr
zoologist and geneticist. In
1 909, he had begun his
study of Drosophila mela chromosomes. Morgan received
nogaster, or the fruit fly. the Nobel P rize in P hysiology or
He chose this part icular Medicine in 1 933 for his discover
insect for his study of genet ies on the role that the chromo
ics since it was cheap, and some plays in heredity. Morgan's
took up little room in his work has played a key role in
cramped laboratory. establishing the field of genetics.
As a result of his research ,
Morgan was able t o deter
mine the precise behaviour
and location of the genes
,
.... ·f ..
.
./
these flies.
.
........ ... .
M
her discovery of radium and polo
arie Curie, a P olish nium, and subsequent research.
born French chemist and M arie Curie became internation
physicist, is a legend for ally famous, and scientists came
many reasons. She was the from around the world to study
first woman to win a Nobel radioactivity with her. The Curie
P rize, and the first person, Institute in P aris, founded by M arie
and only woman, to win it in 1 92 1 , is still a major cancer
twice. M arie's research was research facility to this day.
in the field of radioactivity.
With the help of her hus Why is Ernest Rutherford called
band P ierre Curie, she the father of nuclear physics?
E
made numerous scientific
discoveries; including one rnest Rutherford is considered
showing that radiation did to be the father of nuclear physics
indeed come from the atom because his research has played
itself. a key role in the current under
In 1 903, the Nobel P rize standing of the nuclear level
in P hysics was awarded to structure of atoms.
72 Tell Me Why
RUT H ERFORD
G
Ocean for the first time. As a
UglielmO Marconi, a result of his success Marconi was
famous Italian physicist, awarded the Nobel Prize for Phys
invented the wireless tele ics in 1 909 , along with Karl Ferdi
graph. He is hailed as the nand Braun, 'in recognition of
'father of radio'. their contributions to the develop
He began conducting his ment of wireless telegraphy'.
experiments with radio
waves with the aim of utiliz Why is Albert Einstein called a
ing them to produce a use scientific genius?
A
ful system of 'wireless
telegraphy'. Radio waves lbert Einstein was an intellec
are streams of energy that tual giant whose scientific
carry electric signals achievements influenced the phi
th rough the air. Marconi losophy of science forever.
created a telegraph that . Born in Germany, he made awe
could send electric signals, some contributions to the field of
using radio waves. th eoretical physics, and in 1 9 2 1 ,
The signals travelled won a Nobel Prize for his work in
through the air, instead of th is field.
74 Tell Me Why
EINSTEIN
75
ALEXANDER F LEM ING
A
mould alive, and began testing it
lexander Fleming, a on laboratory animals. With fur
Scottish biologist, pharma ther experimentation, Fleming
cologist and botanist, made established that this mould, that
history with the discovery of he named penicil l i n , could
penicillin, the world' s first destroy many types of bacteria,
antibiotic substance, in 1928. such as the ones responsible for
Fleming was studying scarlet fever, meningitis, and
deadly bacteria when he d iphtheria.
made his awesome dis Fleming p u blished his
covery, qu ite by accident. research on pen i c i l l i n , and two
He had unintentionally left other scientists, H oward Florey
open the cover of the bac and Ernst Boris C h a i n , d iscov
teria c u lt u re plate with ered how to isolate the penicil
which he was working lin and increase its potenti a l .
when he went away on a These f i n d i n g s were u sed t o
holiday. When he returned, massprod uce penici l l i n i n o rder
he noticed that a mould to treat wounded soldiers d u r
had formed on the exposed i n g World War I I , t h u s saving
cu lture. m i l l ions of l ives.
76 Tell Me Why
become known as the Bohr mod
el of the atom in 1 9 1 1 . His work
Who was Niels Bohr? was published in 1 9 1 3. Bohr
N
expanded Rutherford's work on
eils Bohr was a Dan nuclear structure and also the
ish physicist, philosopher quantum theory work proposed
and promoter of scientific by Max Planck. He adapted them
research. Bohr began into what became widely known
research on what would as the Bohr model.
Bohr was one of the first to final
It's the
ize a model that demonstrated
Bohr model
everywhere... electrons orbiting the n ucleus of
an atom, and also the first to theo
rize that an electron could move
from a higher orbit to a lower one,
and that in the process energy
was emitted.
Bohr explained that each ele
ment on the periodic table had
chemical properties that were
determined by the number and
behaviour of their electrons. This
g reat scientist was awarded the
Nobel Prize in Physics in 1 922.
77
the beginning for H ubble. He con
tinued measuring distances and
Why is Edwin Hubble velocities in deep space.
famous? His findings, published in 1 929,
E
led to the widely accepted notion
dwin Hubble, an that the Universe is expanding.
American astronomer, The well known H ubble Space
made a huge impact on Telescope is named after Edwin
astronomy, and science in H u bble.
general, by demonstrating The Hubble Space Telescope
that other galaxies, besides has provided valuable research
our own M ilky Way, existed. data and images since it was car
Less than a century ago, ried into orbit in 1 990, leading to
many scientists believed many breakthroughs in the field
there was j ust one galaxy, of astrophysics.
the M ilky Way. Despite his accomplishments,
On December 3011\ 1 924, H u bble never won the Nobel
Edwin H u bble announced P rize in physics, since at that
he had evidence that the time; astronomers were not eligi
M ilky Way galaxy was j ust bl.e for the award.
one of the many galaxies in However,Edwin H u bble has
the Universe. received other accolades, howev
Discovering that our gal er. Both an asteroid and a M oon
axy wasn't alone was j ust crater bear his name.
78 Tell Me Why
HERMANN MULLER
Fly Lab
Muller was _ If _ who
founded 1Iat Fly tab'. TIll. lab was
tile entre of IIIIfII11Rt rtUII"CII
Why is Hermann Joseph IIl8 If II
Muller considered an out In..... ftJ
standing scientist? mr.••,111 II
79
pointed to the presence of a parti
cle with no electrical charge in the
X-rays in 1 926. This highly nucleus of atom s. In those days,
original discovery estab m ost researchers believed there
lished his international rep were electrons within the nucleus
utation as a geneticist and as well as outside it.
eventually won him the Chadwick and som e others,
Nobel P rize. believed in the possibility that
M u ller frequently warned particles with no charge could be
the public of the long-term in the nucleus. This was the neu
dangers of radioactive fall tron and its discovery by Chad
out from nuclear war and wick dram atically changed the
nuclear testing. He thus course of science.
played an im portant role in It m ade it possible to artificially
raising public awareness in create elements heavier than ura
this area. nium . Chadwick received the
Nobel P rize in P hysics in 1 9 35 for
How did James Chadwick this discovery.
change the course of sci Jam es Chadwick led the British
ence? team in the M anhattan P roject, in
J
which the UK and Canada sup
am es Chadwick was ported the United State's World
an English physicist whose War II effort to build the world's
research with radioactivity first nuclear bom b.
80 TeLL Me Why
peace activist, author, and educa
tor is extraordinary for his many
Why is Linus Pauling con achievements.
sidered an extraordinary Pau ling was awarded the Nobel
person? Prize in Chemistry in 1 954 for his
L
scientific work. In 1962, he was
inus Pau ling, an Amer awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
ican chemist, biochemist, for his peace activism. This makes
him the only person to be award
ed two unshared Nobel Prizes.
In science, Pau ling was a found
er of quantum chemistry, molecu
lar biology, and molecular
genetics. To him we owe several
indispensable scientific concepts.
By the early 1930s, Pauling was
able to show that quantu m chem
istry could do more than produce
results that agreed with experi
ments. He used it to correctly pre
dict the properties of molecules
and their structures. In 1 957, he
was instrumental in gathering a
petition to ban nuclear weapons
81
atoms, setting off a chain reaction
that would release enormous
testing. It was signed by amounts of energy.
over 1 1 ,000 scientists from In 1 938, Fermi received the
50 countries. Later, the Nobel Prize in Physics for his
United States, the United work on induced radioactivity by
Kingdom, and the Soviet neutron bombardment and the
Union agreed to a partial discovery of transuranic ele
nuclear test ban, mainly as ments.
a result of the petition. Paul His experiments led to the first
ing received the 1 962 Nobel controlled nuclear chain reaction
Peace Prize for his efforts. in Chicago, on December 2nd,
1 942. Subsequently, d u ring World
Why will Enrico Fermi's War I I , Fermi became one. of the
name be always remem principal leaders on the Manhat
bered? tan Project, which focused on the
E
development of the atomic bomb.
nrico Fermi, an Italian , Fermi was also deeply interest
physicist is remembered ed in high-energy physics, and
as the architect of the nucle led investigations into the origin of
ar age. cosmic rays, and theories on the
Fermi discovered that fantastic energies present in cos
uranium neutrons could be mic ray particles. Element 1 00,
used to split other u ranium fermium, is named in his honour.
82 Tell Me Why
ALBERT SABIN
A
Sabin proved that polio viruses
lbert Sabin was a Pol not only grew in nerve tissue, as
ish-born physician and was generally assumed, but that
virologist - a virologist is a they lived in the small intestines.
scientist who studies virus This discovery indicated that polio
es. After qualifying as a might be prevented by a vaccine
doctor in 1931 , Sabin taken through the mouth.
Albert Sabin will always be
remembered as the scientist who
developed the live poliovirus vac
cine that made eradication of the
disease a possibility .
To ensure its safety , Sabin and
his colleagues took the vaccine
themselves before testing it on
others. Sabin also developed vac
cines for encephalitis or swelling
of the brain, sand-fly fever, and
dengue fever - viral diseases
transmitted by mosquitoes.
F
and they needed to u nderstand
rancis Crick, an Eng the structure of DNA, in order to
lish molecular biologist, will fully understand genetics.
always be remembered as In 1 95 1 , Crick went to Cam
one of those responsible for bridge in England to work in the
u nveiling the mystery of the Cavendish Laboratory, in order to
study the structure of DNA. Along
with James Watson and Maurice
Wilkins, Crick developed the dou
ble helix structure of the DNA
molecule. They shared the Nobel
Prize for Physiology or Medicine
in 1 962.
Crick also wrote several text
books. He will always remain one
of the luminaries of the scientific
(( world for his famous discovery . . . a
discovery that became a mile
stone in science.
84 Tell Me Why
RICHARD FEYNMAN
R
physics among the general pub
ichard Feynman was lic,
an American scientist who Feynman wrote two important
is considered to be one of books- 'The Character of Physical
the greatest and most influ Law' and 'Q. E . D : The Strange
ential theoretical physicists Theory of Light and Matter'. He
in history. was awarded the 1 965 Nobel
Feynman revolutionized Prize in Physics for successfully
the field of quantum resolving problems related to the
mechanics and form u lated theory of quantum electrodynam
the theory of quantum elec ics.
trodynamics.
Feynman is responsible Why is James Watson consid
for the introduction of fun ered one of the titans of science?
J
damental computational
techniques and notations ames Watson, an American
into physics. The Feynman molecular biologist, geneticist,
diagrams have dramatically and zoologist shared the 1 962
changed the way in which Nobel Prize in Physiology or Med
basic physical processes icine for discovering the structure
1 00 Great Scientists 85
JAMES WATSON
Intelligence Test
The first test to assess practical
intelligence is known as the
Binet - Simon scale. It was devised
by a famous French psychologist,
of DNA in 1 953. He gained
Alfred Binet.
worldwide fame and promi
. Sneha Rao
nence as the joint author of
the four scientific papers
between 1 953 and 1 954, low scientist Francis Crick. Their
which he co-wrote with fel- work laid down the double helical
structure of deoxyribonucleic
acid, or DNA.
The DNA molecule is a mega
molecule that is the fundamental
substance in the process of
genetic replication. One of the
most celebrated science writers,
Watson published his textbook
' Molecular Biology of the Gene' in
1 965 and his best-selling autobio
graphical book 'The Double Helix,'
in 1 968.
Watson helped to establish and
direct the Human Genome Pro
ject at the National I nstitute of
Health, where he oversaw the
86 Tell Me Why
lysed. This did not stop him from
working on the subject of black
mapping of the genes in holes and providing theories for
h u man chromosomes. His their behavior, including the idea
own genome was that they emit radiation.
sequenced in 2007, making Hawking believed black holes to
him the second person to be celestial death traps that swal
have this done. lowed up all energy. However, he
determined there was room for
What makes Stephen this phenomenon, through the
Hawking truly remarkable? merging of quantum theory, gen
S
eral relativity and thermodynam
tePhen Hawking, the ics, distilling it all into one path
oretical physicist and cos breaking formula in 1 974.
mologist, is remarkable in Hawking wanted to write a book
many ways. Despite chal about the mysteries of the uni
lenging physical impair verse that would connect with the
ments, he has contributed public. This task seemed impos
hugely to the world of sci sible after he lost the abilities to
ence. write and speak. But Hawking did
Hawking suffers from a n9t give up, and his vision was
type of motor neuron dis finally realized when his 'A Brief
ease that has left him H istory of Time' became a best
almost completely para- seller.
S
he developed, as well as informa
ushruta, who lived in tion on other specialties like med
the ?Ih century BC, was an ICine, paediatrics, geriatrics,
ancient I ndian surgeon who diseases of the ear, nose, throat
was famous for his pioneer and eye, toxicology, aphrodisiacs
ing operations and tech- and psychiatry.
Examples of some of Sushru
ta's groundbreaking operations
include rhinoplasty which i nvolves
repairing or restructuring the
nose, removal of a dead foetus,
and surgical removal of stones in
organs like the urinary bladder.
Sushruta used wine to dull the
pain during operations. He
encouraged his students to prac
tice surgical techniques by oper
ating on objects like watermelons
and reeds.
Sushruta took surgery in ancient
India to admirable heights and
TeLL Me Why
ics such as algebra, arithmetic,
plane and spherical trigonometry.
because of his nu merous I ncluded in it are theories on con
contributions to the science tinued fractions, sum of power -
and art of surgery in I ndia, series, sine tables, and quadratic
he is regarded as the 'father equations.
of su rgery' and -the 'father Aryabhata also did a consider
of plastic surgery'. able amount of work in astrono
my. He knew that the Earth is
Why is Aryabhata consid rotating on an axis around the
ered to be a giant among Sun and the Moon rotated around
mathematicians? it. He discovered the position of
A
nine planets and stated that these
ryabhata was a great also revolved around the sun.
mathematician and astron Aryabhata stated that the cor
omer in Ancient I ndia. He rect number of days in a year is
wrote many mathematical 365. He was the first person to
and astronomical treatises. mention that the Earth was not flat
H is chief work was the but, in fact spherical shape. This
'Ayrabhatiya' which was a great man has been honou red in
compilation of mathematics many ways. The first I ndian satel
and astronomy. lite was named 'Aryabhata'. A
Ayrabhatiya covers sev l unar crater and an I ndian research
eral branches of mathemat- centre also bear his name.
S
behaviour of radio waves.
ir Jagadish Chandra Bose devised another instru
Bose is one of the most ment called 'Coherer'. ln 1 9 1 7, he
famous among Indian sci founded the Bose Institute, and
entists. He was a physicist, dedicated it to the promotion of
biologist, biophysicist, bota scientific studies in India.
nist and archaeologist, as
well as a writer of science I N DIA'S P R I D E
fiction .
Bose proved by experi Some more scientists who made
mentation that both animals our country proud ...
and plants share much in Meghnad Saha - Astrophysics
common. He demonstrated S.N. Bose - Theoretical Physics
that plants are also sensi S.S. Bahtnagar - Space Technology
tive to heat, cold, light, Y. Subbarao - Biochemistry
noise and various other Homi Bhaba - Atomic Science
external stimuli. Har Gobind Khorana - Biochemistry
Bose built a very sophisti E.C.G. Sudarshan - Quantum Physics
cated instrument called
90 Tell Me Why
completely mastered advanced
trigonometry by the age of 1 3,
Why is Srinivasa Ramanu and discovered sophisticated the
jan considered a mathe orems on his own .
matical genius? His memory for mathematical
S
formulae and constants seems to
rinivasa Ramanujan have been boundless- he amazed
was, without doubt, a math classmates with his ability to
ematical genius. Without recite the values of irrational num
any formal training in the bers to as many decimal places
subject, he made significant as they asked for.
contributions to the theory Ramanujan went to Cambridge
of n umbers, i nvestigation of i n April 1 91 4, thanks to the help of
elliptical functions, infinite Prof. G . H . Hardy. Two years later,
series, continued fractions, he was awarded the equivalent of
and Mock theta functions. a PhD. for his work. The note
Ramanujan showed a books he had brought from India
natural inclination towards were filled with thousands of identi
mathematics when he was ties, equations and theorems which
ten years old. By age 1 1 , he he had discovered for himself.
had more mathematical In 1 91 8 Ramanujan became the
knowledge than two col first Indian Mathematician to be
lege students who were elected a Fellow of the British
lodgers at his home. He Royal Society.
S
a 'fingerprint' for the molecule.
ir C.V. Raman is best Today, Raman spectroscopy,
known for his work in the which relies on these 'finger
field of light scattering. prints,' is used in laboratories all
Raman was intrigued by the
blue colour of glaciers and Searching
the Mediterranean Sea and for the Raman-
wanted to unravel the mys Effect.
92
ence. Chandrasekhar was one of
the first scientists to couple the
over the world to identify study of physics with the study of
molecules and to analyze astronomy. His most celebrated ·
living cells and tissues to work concerns the radiation of
detect diseases such as energy from stars, particularly the
cancer. dying fragments known as white
Sir C .V. Raman received dwarfs.
the Nobel Prize for Physics Chandrasekhar shared the
in 1 930. He was the first 1 983 Nobel Prize in Physics for
Indian to win the Nobel his work on the physical process
Prize for Physics, and is es involved in the evolution of
considered to be a scientist stars. He worked on a wide vari
par excellence. ety of astrophysical problems.
At the University of Cambridge,
What were Subrahmanyan he developed a theoretical model
Chandrasekhar's achieve explaining the structure of white
ments? dwarf stars. NASA renamed the
S
Advanced X-ray Astrophysics
Ubrahmanyan Chan Facility as the Chandra X-Ray
drasekhar worked on the 9bservatory in his honour. This
origins and structures of observatory helps astronomers
stars, earning an important better understand the structure
place in the world of sci- and evolution of the U niverse.
", }
94 Tell Me Why
MOBY DlCK DON QUIXOTE
PHOTO a U I Z-7 A N SW E R S
C.
...,. -- ...,. ......
96 Tell Me Why
Are scarecrows really scary?
Not scary enough! Farmers used to
put scarecrows up in the middle of a
field of crops to frighten crows or other
birds, so they wou ldn't eat their crops.
The birds were supposed to think
the straw figure dressed in old clothes
was a real man, and fly away in fear.
Well , at first the scarecrows kept the
birds away, but birds will stay away
from anything they don't u nderstand,
even drying laundry. So, after a few
days, the birds came back, and ate
the crops just as they did before there
was a scarecrow.
In fact, sometimes, in a field of corn,
you might find a flock of crows perched
right on the scarecrow, seeming to
Question sent by: enjoy his company! But farmers put
Tapsi Khanna, on e-mail. up scarecrows anyway. They feel saf
Send us your questions er with them out there, whether they
E mail: tellmewhy@mmp.in scare the birds or notl
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at M.M. Publications Ltd. P_B. No. 226. Kotlayam - 686 001 and Malayala Manorama Press. Kottayam - 686 039
and published from M.M. Publications Ltd. P.8. No. 226. Kotlayam - 686 001.