science newsletter: Newsletter for Tuesday 9 October

Newsletter - 9 October - Today in Science History

TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER - 9 OCTOBER

Feature for Today

On 9 Oct 1780, the first expedition of its kind in the U.S. departed to observe a total solar eclipse in Penobscot, Maine, led by Samuel Williams of Harvard University. This is also notable, because Penobscot Bay was at the time held by the British enemy!

To learn how science could be advanced even during times of war, read an account given in History of Islesborough, Maine (1893).

Book of the Day

On 9 Oct 1906, Joseph Glidden died, inventor of the first US commercial barbed wire that transformed large-scale animal farming in the West, displacing cowboys and the round-up. Today's Science Store pick is Devil's Rope: A Cultural History of Barbed Wire, by Alan Krell. Price $25.00. Also available Used from $0.45 (as of time of writing)..
Yesterday's pick: Wedding of the Waters: The Erie Canal and the Making of a Great Nation. For picks from earlier newsletters, see the Today in Science Science Store home page.

Also of interest: Sneakiest Uses for Everyday Things: How to Make a Boomerang with a Business Card, Convert a Pencil into a Microphone, Make Animated Origami, Turn a TV Tray into a Giant Robot and Create Alternative Energy Science Projects, by Cy Tymony. Teachers, parents, scout leaders, and enterprising youngsters will use their ingenuity to turn ordinary, everyday objects into something extraordinary, like Walkman ear buds into an intercom, or a telephone cord into a motor. New $~~10.99~~, Price $8/79. Also available Used from $3.08 (prices as of time of writing).
Earlier publications in the series by Cy Tymony: Sneakier Uses for Everyday Things: How to Turn a Calculator into a Metal Detector, Carry a Survival Kit in a Shoestring, Make a Gas Mask with a Balloon, Turn Dishwashing Liquid Into a Copy Machine, Convert a Styrofoam Cup into a Speaker and Make a James Bond Spy Jacket. (2005) New $~~10.95~~, Price $8.79. Also available Used from $0.47 (as of time of writing).
Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things: How to Turn a Penny into a Radio, Make a Flood Alarm with an Aspirin, Change Milk Into Plastic, Extract Water And Electricity From Thin Air, Turn On a TV With Your Ring and Other Amazing Feats. (2003) New $~~10.99~~, Price $7.56. Also available Used from $0.72 (as of time of writing).

Quotations for Today
	"You are urgently warned against allowing yourself to be influenced in any way by theories or by other preconceived notions in the observation of phenomena, the performance of analyses and other determinations." - Emil Fischer, German Nobel Prize-winning chemist (born 9 Oct 1852)
	"The specific goals we set for ourselves are almost always subsidiary to our long range intentions. A good parent, a good neighbour, a good citizen, is not good because his specific goals are acceptable, but because his successive goals are ordered to a dependable and socially desirable set of values." (1947) - Gordon Allport, American humanistic psychologist (died 9 Oct 1967)
	"The secret in science is to ask the right questions, and it is the choice of problem more than anything else that marks the man of genius in the scientific world." - Sir Henry Tizard, English chemist and inventor (died 9 Oct 1959)

QUIZ
Before you look at today's web page, see if you can answer some of these questions about the events that happened on this day. Some of the names are very familiar. Others will likely stump you. Tickle your curiosity with these questions, then check your answers on today's web page.
Births
	A German physicist, born 9 Oct 1879, was a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1914 for his discovery of the diffraction of X-rays in crystals. This enabled scientists to study the structure of crystals and hence marked the origin of solid-state physics, an important field in the development of modern electronics. *Can you name this scientist?*
Deaths
	Felix Wankel (1902-1988) was a German engineer who invented the first rotary internal combustion engine. Many people had proposed rotary engine designs, but none had pursued it for as long or as relentlessly as Felix Wankel. By what name is Boulder Dam now known?
Events
	On 9 Oct 1936, the first generator at Boulder Dam began transmitting electricity to Los Angeles. From 1939 to 1949, its powerplant was the world's largest hydroelectric installation. *By what name is Boulder Dam now known?*
	On 9 Oct 1780, the first U.S. astronomy expedition to record an eclipse of the sun left from Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass., for Penobscot Bay, led by Samuel Williams. The country was at war with Britain, and when they arrived, a British officer was in charge of Penobscot Bay. *What happened to the expedition?*

Answers

When you have your answers ready to all the questions above, you'll find all the information to check them, and more, on the October 9 web page of Today in Science History. Or, try this link first for just the brief answers.

Fast answers for the previous newsletter for October 8: Russell; Henry-Louis Le Chatelier; germanium; the decade containing the year 1906.

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