SCIENCE with Ms Lun
Today in Science
October
7th: Niels Henrik David BOHR born 1885. Died 18 November 1962 (aged 77)
What: Danish born physicist.
Famous for: his work on atomic theory.
Bohr's father was a Professor of Physiology at Copenhagen University and was highly influential in Bohr's passion for physics. His younger brother, Harald, went on to become a mathematics professor.
Bohr gained a Master of Physics degree in 1909 and a doctorate in 1911. In 1912, he worked at the lab in Manchester under the guidance of Ernest Rutherford. He adapted Rutherford’s nuclear structure to Max Planck’s quantum theory and created the Bohr model, the most widely accepted model of the atom.
In 1922, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on atomic theory.
Bohr became professor of Theoretical physics in 1926 at Copenhagen University.
During WWII, Bohr ended up in the US via the UK and ended up working on the Manhattan Project under the pseudonym, Nicholas Baker. The Manhattan project ended up producing the uranium-based design called “the Little Boy” and a plutonium-based weapon called “the Fat Man", which were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the war, Bohr supported peaceful applications of atomic energy and openness between nations regarding nuclear weapons.
In 1962, Bohr died of heart failure, aged 77.
A synthetic, radioactive chemical element called bohrium (# 107 on the periodic table) was named after Bohr.
Bohr's atomic model shows electrons orbiting the nucleus in shells
21st: Alfred Bernhard NOBEL born 1833. Died 10 December 1896 (aged 63)
What: Swedish born chemist, inventor and philanthropist but moved with his family to St Petersburg.
Famous for: Nobel invented a detonator in 1863 and designed the blasting cap in 1865. After a nitroglycerin explosion killed Nobel's younger brother in 1864, Nobel decided to find a safer way to use the very unpredictable chemical. By incorporating an inert absorbent like diatomaceous earth, he succeeded and dynamite was invented (1867). In 1876, he invented gelignite.
Nobel's father was also an inventor and had a successful business making machinery and explosives.
With 355 patents to his name and investment in his brothers' oil companies, Nobel became a wealthy man. He never married or had children. In 1888, Alfred's obituary was mistakenly published for his brother, Ludwig. It read: "Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday." Unhappy with the way he thought he'd be remembered if he did die, Nobel decided to bequeath his fortune to the establishment of the Nobel prizes. They were first awarded in 1901, in the categories of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace (which Nobel originally called the prize for "fellowship among nations").
In 1896, Nobel died of a stroke.
A synthetic, radioactive chemical element called nobelium (# 102 on the periodic table) was named after Nobel.
Alfred Nobel on the Nobel prize medal
"My dynamite will sooner lead to peace than a thousand world conventions. As soon as men will find that in one instant, whole armies can be utterly destroyed, they surely will abide by golden peace."
18 - 30th: NZ Bird of the Year 2021
What: This competition is run annually since 2005 by NZ Bird and Forest. Voting is now open to vote for up to 5 birds in this year's competition.
Click on the logo to go straight to the Bird of the Year website or click on the button below to go to NZ Bird of the year page on this website. I have PDF Fact sheets for a few birds and more to come...
And the winner was...the NZ Long-tailed bat (pekapeka).
22nd: Charles Glenn KING born 1896. Died 23 January 1988 (aged 91)
Charles Glenn King was an American chemist who was a pioneer in nutrition research. At the same time as another scientist, Albert Szent-Györgyi (a Hungarian), King isolated vitamin C. However, Szent-Györgyi would later go on to win the Nobel prize for his efforts in 1937.
King also discovered the important function for vitamin B12 and contributed to our knowledge of fats, enzymes and vitamins.
Vitamin C is also known as ascorbic acid. It is named from the Latin words a "without" and scorbus "scurvy". Scurvy or scorbutus is a severe vitamin C deficiency characterised by bruising, bleeding gums, weakness, fatigue and rash. Often thought of as an old disease of sailors, it still occurs in the modern world.
Fruits and green vegetables high in vitamin C include citrus fruits, kiwifruit, tomatoes, strawberries, broccoli, cabbage, spinach and potatoes.
23rd: Mole Day or Avogadro's Number Day
What: Avogadro's number (or constant) is 6.02214076 x 10 to the power of 23 (sorry, this website doesn't support superscript!! Maybe WIX needs a scientist working on their programming).
Avogadro's number is the number of units in one mole of any substance (molecular weight in grams).
Mole day is celebrated from 6.02 am to 6.02 pm.
