Newsletter for Tuesday 6 August

 

TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY NEWSLETTER - 6 AUGUST

Feature for Today

Book of the Day

Quotations for Today
	"I have been trying to point out that in our lives chance may have an astonishing influence and, if I may offer advice to the young laboratory worker, it would be this—never neglect an extraordinary appearance or happening. It may be—usually is, in fact—a false alarm that leads to nothing, but may on the other hand be the clue provided by fate to lead you to some important advance." - Sir Alexander Fleming, Scottish bacteriologist (born 6 Aug 1881)
	"The pursuit of the good and evil are now linked in astronomy as in almost all science. ... The fate of human civilization will depend on whether the rockets of the future carry the astronomer's telescope or a hydrogen bomb." - Sir Bernard Lovell, English radio astronomer (died 6 Aug 2012)
	"Never to have seen anything but the temperate zone is to have lived on the fringe of the world. Between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer live the majority of all the plant species, the vast majority of the insects, most of the strange ... quadrupeds, all of the great and most of the poisonous snakes and large lizards, most of the brilliantly colored sea fishes, and the strangest and most gorgeously plumaged of the birds. " - David Fairchild, American botanist and plant explorer (died 6 Aug 1954)

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
	Jon Postel, born 6 Aug 1943, was an American computer scientist who in the late 1960s was a graduate student developing the ARPANET for use by the U.S. Dept. of Defense. Later, he played a pivotal role in creating and administering the Internet. What internal aspect of the Internet did he create?
	Sir Alexander Fleming, born 6 Aug 1881, was a Scottish bacteriologist. In 1928, while working on influenza virus, he observed that mould had developed accidently on a staphylococcus culture plate and that the mould had created a bacteria-free circle around itself. He experimented further and he found that a mould culture prevented growth of staphylococci, even when diluted 800 times. The active substance initiated the highly effective practice of antibiotic therapy for infectious diseases. What name did he give the active substance?
Deaths
	Joseph-Achille Le Bel (1847-1930) was a French chemist who was the first to present a theory on the relationship between molecules and how they absorb or reflect light. For his contribution explaining optical activity he is regarded as the cofounder of stereochemistry, with J. H. van't Hoff. How did his theory explain optical activity?
	Johann Von Lamont (1805-1879) was a Scottish physicist and astronomer,  noted for discovering that the magnetic field of the Earth fluctuates with a period of a number of years. What is the number of years in this period of fluctuaction?
Events
	On 6 Aug 1996, NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin announced the (possible) discovery of evidence of a primitive life form on Mars. What was the evidence based on?
	On 6 Aug 1945, during World War II, an atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, by the Americans. Can you name the city that was bombed?
	On 6 Aug of a cetain year, the electric chair was used for the first time (to execute the murderer, William Kemmler, in New York). What was the decade of this first execution by the electric chair.

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 August 6 web page of Today in Science History. Or, try this link first for just the brief answers. Fast answers for the previous newsletter for August 5: Neil Armstrong; a tusklike growth on his face, which was also disfigured by tumours; coal mines; quasi-stellar radio sources.

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