science newsletter: Newsletter for Tuesday 11 December

Newsletter - December 11 - Today in Science History

TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY

NEWSLETTER - DECEMBER 11

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.

On 11 Dec 1882, Max Born was born, a discoverer of quantum theory. Today's Science Store pick is The End of the Certain World: The Life and Science of Max Born, by Nancy Thorndike Greenspan. Born's full story includes exile from Hitler's Germany and teaching nine Nobel physicists. Though Born is a Nobel prize-winner, he is not a household name physicist, yet he was pivotal in the early days of quantum mechanics and beyond. He maintained a forty year friendship with Einstein, who wrote in a letter to him that "Theoretical physics will flourish wherever you happen to be; there is no other Born to be found in Germany today." New $~~26.95~~, Price: $20.48. Available Used from $0.91 (as of time of writing).
Yesterday's pick: Alfred Nobel: A Biography. For picks from earlier newsletters, see the Today in Science Science Store home page.

Quotations for Today

"It is odd to think that there is a word for something which, strictly speaking, does not exist, namely, 'rest.' We distinguish between living and dead matter; between moving bodies and particles at rest. This is a primitive point of view. What seems dead, a stone or the proverbial 'door-nail', say, is actually forever in motion. We have merely become accustomed to judge by outward appearances; by the deceptive impressions we get through hour senses." - Max Born (born 11 Dec 1882)

"If my efforts have led to greater success than usual, this is due, I believe, to the fact that during my wanderings in the field of medicine, I have strayed onto paths where the gold was still lying in the wayside. It takes a little luck to distinguish gold from dross, but that's all." - Robert Koch, German bacteriologist (born 11 Dec 1843)

"Prophetic of infidel times, and indicating the unsoundness of our general education, 'The Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation' has started into public favour with a fair chance of poisoning the fountains of science, and sapping the foundations of religion." (Book review 1845) - David Brewster, Scottish physicist (born 11 Dec 1781)

QUIZ

Births

A Canadian-born manufacturer, born 11 Dec 1874, was the inventor of the pasteurizing process for cheese. In 1916, he patented a processed cheese formula, based on milk solids, that would not spoil. He took his formula to the U.S. Army, and sold them 6 million pounds of the processed cheese product. Soldiers developed a taste for the creation. The processed cheese was a popular replacement during the depression for expensive real cheese.
Can you name this inventor?

Sir David Brewster, born 11 Dec 1781, was a Scottish physicist noted for his experimental work in optics and polarized light, and especially for Brewster's Law, which relates the refractive index of a material to its polarizing angle. He patented the kaleidoscope in 1817. Later, he used lenses to improve 3D images viewed with a stereoscope. Brewster also recommended a notable use of the lightweight, flat Fresnel lens.
What application did he recommend for the Fresnel lens?

Deaths

Vincent du Vigneaud (1901-1978) was an American biochemist who isolated and synthesized two hormones: vasopressin and oxytocin.
Which gland produces these hormones?

Events

On 11 Dec 1972, Apollo XVII astronauts landed on the moon for a three-day exploration, which would be the final Apollo mission to the moon.
Can you name either of these astronauts?

On 11 Dec 1967 the Concorde, a joint venture between two countries and the world's first supersonic airliner, was unveiled.
Which two countries were partners in the production of the Concorde?

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 December 11 web page of Today in Science History.

Or, try this link first for just the brief answers.

Fast answers for the previous newsletter for December 10: a reactor with its core surrounded by a "blanket" of uranium-238 so that neutrons from the core convert this into plutonium-239, which can also be used as a fission fuel; Swedish; when different conductive materials that are kept at different temperatures; the decade containing the year 1984; to determine if a pilot could eject from an airplane at supersonic speed and live.

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