Physics [edit]

Eratosthenes evaluates the diameter of the Earth by comparing the length of the shortest shadow of the day with the distance between that location and a place where the sun shines to the bottom of the well at midday (240 BC) Galileo Galilei uses rolling balls to disprove the Aristotelian theory of motion (1602 1607) Otto von Guericke demonstrates atmospheric pressure using Magdeburg hemispheres (1654) Robert Boyle shows that the volume of a given amount of gas is inversely related to the pressure upon it (1660) Benjamin Franklin in 1747 describes experiments demonstrating negative and positive electrical charge, and in his 1752 kite experiment shows that lightning is a form of electrical discharge. Alessandro Volta constructs a new source of electricity, the electrical battery (1796) Henry Cavendish's torsion bar experiment measures the force of gravity in a laboratory (1798) Thomas Young shows that light is a wave in his double-slit experiment (c. 1805), extended in the 20th century to show it is a particle at the same time Hans Christian rsted discovers the connection of electricity and magnetism by experiments involving a compass and electric circuits (1820) Michael Faraday discovers magnetic induction in an experiment with a closed ring of soft iron, with two windings of wire (1831) James Prescott Joule demonstrates the mechanical equivalent of heat, an important step in the development of thermodynamics (1834) Christian Doppler arranges to have trumpets played from a passing train. The groundobserved pitch was higher than that played when the train was approaching then lower than that played as the train passed and moved away, demonstrating the Doppler effect (1845) Lon Foucault's namesake Foucault pendulum is first exhibited. It demonstrates the Coriolis effect and the rotation of the Earth (1851) Edwin Hall discovers a voltage across a conductor with a transverse applied magnetic field, the Hall effect (1879) Michelson-Morley experiment exposes weaknesses of the prevailing variant of the theory of luminiferous aether (1887) Heinrich Hertz demonstrates free space electromagnetic waves, predicted by Maxwell's equations, with a simple dipole antenna and spark gap oscillator (1887) Guglielmo Marconi demonstrates that radio signals can travel between two points separated by an obstacle. Marconi's servant is behind a hill 3 kilometers away and fires his rifle upon receiving the signals (1895). J. J. Thomson's cathode ray tube experiments (discovers the electron and its negative charge) (1897)

Lornd Etvs publishes the result of the second series of experiments, clearly demonstrating that inertial and gravitational mass are one and the same. (1909) Robert Millikan's oil-drop experiment, which suggests that electric charge occurs as quanta (whole units), (1909) Heike Kamerlingh Onnes demonstrates superconductivity (1911) Ernest Rutherford's gold foil experiment demonstrated that the positive charge and mass of an atom is concentrated in a small, central atomic nucleus, disproving the thenpopular plum pudding model of the atom (1911)

Plate produced by Arthur Eddingtonof the 1919 eclipse. Arthur Eddington leads an expedition to the island of Principe to observe a total solar eclipse (gravitational lensing). This allows for an observation of the bending of starlight under gravity, a prediction of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. It was confirmed (although it was later shown that the margin of error was as great as the observed bending) (1919) Otto Stern and Walther Gerlach conduct the Stern-Gerlach experiment, which demonstrates particle spin (1920) Enrico Fermi splits the atom (1934, although the results were not fully understood until 1939, by Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann) Enrico Fermi and Le Szilrd build the first critical nuclear reactor (1942) John Bardeen and Walter Brattain fabricate the first working transistor (1947) Clyde L. Cowan and Frederick Reines confirm the existence of the neutrino in the neutrino experiment (1955) The Scout rocket experiment confirms the time dilation effect of gravity. (1976) Alain Aspect performs the Bell test experiments in the 1980s. Eric A. Cornell and Carl E. Wieman synthesize Bose-Einstein condensate at the University of Colorado at Boulder (1995) Cockcroft-Walton generator 1600s

1609 Johannes Kepler states his first two empirical laws of planetary motion 1609 Galileo Galilei builds his first telescope 1613 Galileo Galilei uses sunspots to demonstrate the rotation of the sun 1619 Johannes Kepler states his third empirical law of planetary motion 1621 Willebrord Snell states his law of refraction 1656 Christian Huygens builds the first highly accurate pendulum clock 1665 Isaac Newton deduces the inverse-square gravitational force law from the acceleration of the moon 1665 Isaac Newton invents his calculus 1668 John Wallis suggests the law of conservation of momentum 1673 Christian Huygens publishes his discovery that ac=v2/R 1675 Ole Romer uses the orbital mechanics of Jupiter's moons to estimate the speed of light

1678 Christian Huygens states his principle of wavefront sources 1684 Isaac Newton proves that planets moving under an inverse-square force law will obey Kepler's laws 1687 Isaac Newton publishes his Principia Mathematica

Back to Top 1700s

1705 Edmond Halley predicts the periodicity of Halley's comet 1752 Benjamin Franklin shows that lightning is electricity 1767 Joseph Priestly proposes an electrical inverse-square law 1781 William Herschel discovers Uranus 1783 John Michell suggests that some objects might be so massive that not even light could escape 1785 Charles Coulomb introduces the inverse-square law of electrostatics 1798 Henry Cavendish measures the gravitational constant and determines the mass of the Earth 1798 Count Rumford has the idea that heat is a form of energy

Back to Top 1800s 1800 Alessandro Volta announces his invention of the electric battery 1801 Thomas Young demonstrates the wave nature of light and the principle of interference 1820 Hans Oersted notices that a current in a wire can deflect a compass needle providing the first concrete evidence of the connection between electricity and magnetism 1820 Within a week after Oersted's discovery reached France, Ampere discovers that two parallel electic currents will exert forces on each other 1821 Michael Faraday builds an electricity-powered motor 1824 Sadi Carnot analyzes heat engines 1826 Simon Ohm states his law of electrical resistance 1827 Robert Brown discovers the Brownian motion 1831 Faraday discovers electromagnetic induction 1848 Lord Kelvin discovers the absolute zero point of temperature 1849 Joule publishes results from his series of experiments (including the paddlewheel experiment) which show that heat is a form of energy 1850 Fizeau and Foucault measure the speed of light in water and find that it is slower than in air, in support of the wave model of light 1859 Maxwell works out the mathematics of the distribution of velocities of the molecules of a gas 1864 James Maxwell publishes his papers on a dynamical theory of the electromagnetic field 1873 James Maxwell states that light is an electromagnetic phenomenon 1874 Lord Kelvin formally states the second law of thermodynamics

1887 Albert Michelson and Edward Morley do not detect the ether drift 1887 Heinrich Hertz discovers the photoelectric effect 1888 Heinrich Hertz discovers radio waves 1896 Antoine Becquerel discovers the radioactivity of uranium 1897 Joseph Thomson discovers the electron 1899 Ernest Rutheford discovers that uranium radiation is composed of positively charged alpha particles and negatively charged beta particles

Advances in the knowledge of the laws of nature consisting either of experimental discoveries or t experimentally.

1687

Laws of motion and law of gravity: Newton

1780

1782

Conservation of matter: Lavoisier

1785

Inverse square law for electric charges confirmed: Coulomb

1801

Wave theory of light: Young

1803

Atomic theory of matter: Dalton

1805

1806

Kinetic energy: Young

1814

Wave theory of light, interference: Fresnel

1820

Evidence for electromagnetic interactions: Ampre, Biot, Savart

1824

Ideal gas cycle analysis, internal combustion engine: Sadi Carnot

1827

Electrical resistance, etc.: Ohm

1830

1838

Lines of force, fields: Michael Faraday

1838

Earth's magnetic field: Weber

18423

Conservation of energy: Mayer, Kelvin

1842

Doppler effect: Kelvin

1845

Faraday rotation (light and electromagnetic): Faraday

1847

Conservation of energy 2: Joule, Helmholtz

18501

Second law of thermodynamics: Clausius, Kelvin

1855

18579

Kinetic theory: Clausius, Maxwell

1861

Black body: Kirchhoff

1863

Entropy: Clausius

1864

dynamical theory of the electromagnetic field: Maxwell

1867

Dynamic theory of gases, Maxwell

1880

187189

Statistical mechanics: Boltzmann, Gibbs

1884

Boltzmann derives Stefan radiation law

1887

Electromagnetic waves: Hertz

1891

Invention of the Tesla Coil: Nikola Tesla

1893

radiation law: Wien

1895

X-rays: Rntgen

1896

Radioactivity: Becquerel

1897

Electron: Thomson

1304: Theodoric of Freibourg, experiments to investigate rainbows 1320: William of Occam, Occam's Razor 1355: Jean Buridan, physics of impetus 1440: Nicolas Cusanus, Earth is in motion 1440: Nicolas Cusanus, infinite universe 1450: Johann Gutenberg, first printing press in Europe 1472: Johannes Regiomontanus, observation of Halley's comet 1480: Leonardo de Vinci, description of parachute 1480: Leonardo de Vinci, compares reflection of light to reflection of sound waves 1490: Leonardo de Vinci, capillary action 1492: Leonardo de Vinci, foresees flying machines 1494: Leonardo de Vinci, foresees pendulum clock 1514: Nicolaus Copernicus, writes about heliocentric theory but does not yet publish

1515: Leonardo Da Vinci, progress in mechanics, aerodynamics and hydraulics 1537: Niccolo Tartaglia, trajectory of a bullet 1551: Girolamo Cardano, studies of falling bodies 1553: Giambattista Benedetti, proposed equality of fall rates 1543: Nicolaus Copernicus, heliocentric theory published 1546: Gerardus Mercator, Magnetic pole of Earth 1572: Tycho Brahe, witnesses a supernova and cites it as evidence that the heavens are not changeless 1574: Tycho Brahe, Observes that a comet is beyond the moon 1576: Tycho Brahe, constructs a planetary observatory 1576: Thomas Digges, illustration of an infinite universe surrounding a Copernican solar system 1577: Tycho Brahe, observes that a comet passes through the orbits of other planets 1581: Galileo Galilei, constancy of period of pendulum 1581: Robert Norman, dip of compass shows that Earth is a magnet 1584: Giordano Bruno, suggests that stars are suns with other Earth's in orbit 1585: Giovanni Benedetti, impetus theory is better than Aristotle's physics 1585: Simon Stevin, law of equilibrium 1586: Simon Stevin, pressure in column of liquid 1586: Simon Stevin, verification of equality of fall rates 1589: Galileo Galilei, showed that objects fall at the same rate independent of mass 1592: Galileo Galilei, suggests that physical laws of the heavens are the same as those on Earth 1592: Galileo Galilei, primitive thermometer 1593: Johannes Kepler, related planets to platonic solids 1596: David Fabricius, observes a variable star, (Mira Ceta) 1600: Galileo Galilei, study of sound and vibrating strings 1600: William Gilbert, static electricity and magnetism 1604: Johannes Kepler, mirrors, lenses and vision 1604: Galileo Galilei, distance for falling object increases as square of time 1608: Hans Lippershey, optical telescope 1609: Lippershey and Janssen, the compound microscope 1609: Johannes Kepler, 1st and 2nd laws of planetary motion 1609: Thomas Harriot, maps moon using a telescope 1609: Johannes Kepler, notion of energy 1609: Galileo Galilei, builds a telescope 1610: Galileo Galilei, observes the phases of Venus 1610: Galileo Galilei, observes moons of Jupiter 1610: Galileo Galilei, observes craters on the moon 1610: Galileo Galilei, observes stars in the Milky Way 1610: Galileo Galilei, observes structures around Saturn 1611: Fabricius, Galileo, Harriot, Scheiner, sunspots 1611: Marco de Dominis, explanation of rainbows 1611: Johannes Kepler, principles of the astronomical telescope

1612: Simon Marius, Andromeda galaxy 1612: Galileo Galilei, hydrostatics 1613: Galileo Galilei, principle of inertia 1615: S. de Caus, forces and work 1618: Francesco Grimaldi, interference and diffraction of light 1619: Johannes Kepler, 3rd law of planetary motion 1619: Johannes Kepler, explains why a comets tail points away from the Sun 1619: Rene Descartes, vision of rationalism 1620: Francis Bacon, the empirical scientific method 1620: Francis Bacon, heat is motion 1620: Jan Baptista van Helmont, introduces the word "gas" 1621: Willebrod Snell, the sine law of refraction 1624: Galileo Galilei, theory of tides 1626: Godfried Wendilin, verification of Kepler's laws for moons of Jupiter 1630: Cabaeus, attraction and repulsion of electric charges 1631: Pierre Gassendi, observes a transit of Mercury 1632: Galileo Galilei, Galilean relativity 1632: Galileo Galilei, Support for Copernicus' heliocentric theory 1632: John Ray, water thermometer 1636: G. Pers de Roberval, gravitational forces are mutual attraction 1636: Marin Mersenne, speed of sound 1637: Rene Descartes, inertia, mechanistic physics 1637: Rene Descartes, refraction, rainbow and clouds 1638: Galileo Galilei, motion and friction 1639: Jeremiah Horrocks, observes a transit of Venus 1640: Evangelista Torricelli, theory of hydrodynamics 1641: Ferdinand II, sealed thermometer 1642: Blaise Pascal, mechanical calculator 1644: Evangelista Torricelli, mercury barometer and artificial vacuum

Pre-Galilean Physics

1269 1514

Petrus de Maricourt conducts experiments with magnets and magnetic compasses. Nicolaus Copernicus develops his heliocentric theory. He publishes it in 1543, a few days before his death.

Classical Physics

1592 1600 1604

1609 1609 1613 1619 1621 1638 1651 1662

16651966 1668 1672 1676 1714 1738 1742 1838 1747

1848 1766 1777 1787 1798 1798

Galileo Galilei invents the thermometer. William Gilbert publishes De Magnete which starts the modern treatment of magnetism. He also shows that the earth is a magnet. Galileo Galilei proves that falling bodies are accelerated towards the ground at a constant rate. He also shows that the distance for a falling object increases as the square of the time. Johannes Kepler publishes his First and Second laws of planetary motion in a book entitled Astronomia Nova. Galileo Galilei builds a telescope after hearing of its invention. Galileo Galilei introduces his principle of inertia. Johannes Kepler publishes his Third law of planetary motion. Willebrord van Roijen Snell introduces the law of refraction. Galileo introduces the concept of the relativity of motion in his Two New Sciences. Blaise Pascal shows that pressure applied at one point in a liquid is transmitted unchanged to all points in the liquid (Pascal's Principle). Robert Boyle, while experimenting with gases, shows that if a fixed amount of a gas is kept at a constant temperature, the pressure and the volume of the gas follow a simple mathematical relationship. Isaac Newton begins his work on the motion of bodies. He also completes his theory of colors, develops the main ideas on the calculus, and his law of gravitation. Isaac Newton designs and builds a reflecting telescope. Isaac Newton, in a letter to the Royal Society, describes his experiments explaining the nature of color. This letter became Newton's first published scientific paper. Robert Hooke proposes his law relating the elongation of a spring to the force applied to produce that elongation. Gabriel Fahrenheit introduces the mercury thermometer and his new scale of temperature. Daniel Bernoulli develops the foundations of hydrodynamics. Anders Celsius proposes a new temperature scale. Friedrich Bessel first observes the parallax of a star with the aid of a telescope. Benjamin Franklin conducts experiments that show that one type of electrification could be neutralized by the other type. This indicated to him that the two types of electricity were not just different; they were opposites and calls one type positive and the other negative. William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, devises what is now known as the absolute temperature scale or Kelvin scale. Joseph Priestley proposes that the force between electric charges follows an inverse square law. Charles de Coulomb invents a torsion balance to measure the force between electrically charged objects (Coulomb's law). Jacques-Alexander Charles discovers the relationship between the change in volume of a gas with temperature. He fails to publish his discovery. Henry Cavendish adapts the torsion balance invented by Coulomb to measure the gravitational constant. Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, introduces the idea that the heat was a form of

1800 1802 1802

1804

1808 1814 1819 1820 1820 1822 1827 1831 1842 1843 1846 1850 1851 1868 1869 1873 1887

motion. Alessandro Volta invents the battery. Thomas Young, in a landmark experiment, demonstrates that light is a wave phenomenon. Gian Domenico Romagnosi proposes in a newspaper article that an electric current affects a magnetic current. His discovery is largely ignored. Oersted, a better known scientist, would discover the same phenomenon in 1819. Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, without knowledge of Charles' work of 1787, discovers the relationship between the expansion of a gas at constant pressure and the temperature. This discovery is known as Gay-Lussac's law. John Dalton develops his atomic theory. Joseph von Fraunhofer invents the spectroscope and with it he observes the absorption lines in the sun's spectrum two years later. Hans Christian Oersted discovers that an electric current deflects a magnetic compass. His discovery, published in a scientific journal, gets noticed. Andr Ampre gives mathematical form to Oersted's discovery. In modern language, Ampre's law is stated as follows: an electric current creates a magnetic field. Biot and Savart propose a force law between an electric current and a magnetic field. Andr Ampre shows that two wires carrying electric currents attract each other. Georg Ohm shows that current and voltage are related by a very simple relationship, known today as Ohm's law. Michael Faraday showed experimentally that a changing magnetic field produces an electric current (Faraday's law). Christian Doppler proposes his Doppler Effect for sound and light waves. James Joule measures the electrical equivalent of heat. Gustav Kirchhoff proposes his rules of electrical circuits (Kirchoff's rules). Rudolf Gottlieb, known as Clausius, states the second law of thermodynamics. Armand Fizeau measures the velocity of light in a moving medium. James Clerk Maxwell proposes the electromagnetic nature of light and suggests that electromagnetic waves exist and are observed as light. Dmitri Mendeleyev proposes his periodic table of the chemical elements. Johannes van der Waals develops his theory of intermolecular forces in fluids. Heinrich Hertz generates electromagnetic waves in his laboratory.

Modern Physics

1887 1895 1890 1897 1898 1898

Albert Michelson and E.W. Morley, in a landmark experiment, determine the absence of the ether, a substance postulated to fill all space. Wilhelm Roentgen discovers X-rays. James Prescott Joule measures the mechanical equivalent of heat. J.J. Thomson determines the charge to mass ratio of the electron. Pierre and Marie Curie discover the radioactive elements radium and polonium. Ernest Rutherford discovers alpha and beta radiation.