Science Birthdays, August 31

Today is the birthday of Guillaume Amontons, born in 1663, he invented a new hygrometer in 1687, and improved Galileo’s thermometer in 1695, He should be more famous for Amonton’s Law. Everyone talks about Boyle’s Law and Charles’ Law but fail to mention Amonton’s Law, He said that the pressure of a gas increases with increased temperature. He also said in 1702 that if the temperature dropped enough, there would be no pressure, thus an absolute zero.  This concept was made known by Lord Kelvin in 1848.

Today is also the birthday of Michel Chevreul, born in 1786, he was a chemist who discovered margaric acid and designed an early form of soap made from animal fat and salt, he died in 1889 at the age of 102.

Hermann von Helmholtz, born in 1894, he discovered the principle of conservation of energy while working on muscle metabolism, he invented the opthalmoscope for observation of the inside of the eye, he wrote several theorems on the vortex dynamics of fluids, he wrote the Helmholtz equation for electromagnetism, and did many other things, he died in 1894 at age 73.

Bernard Lovell, born in 1913, was a radio astronomer, he died in 2012 at age 98.

David Politzer, born in 1949 received the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of asymptotic freedom in quantum chromodynamics.

Natural Disasters, August 31

1886      Charleston Earthquake, a 7.0 Mw earthquake with a Mercalli intensity of X, which is extreme, kills 60 people in Charleston, SC.

1980      Flood in Ibadan, after 12 hours of heavy downpour over 300 people are killed.

2012      A 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the Philippine province of Eastern Samar.

Dog Tip of The Day, August 31

You have to show a dog who is boss, in dog language that is the alpha male.  This does not mean that you punish the dog. It means it shows the dog you are in control. The dog already has a good idea about this because you control its food and treats. I always think a dog looks at us as one who controls light. Light is such an important thing, and I am sure animals realize it. What do they think when we turn on the lights?  Be an alpha, but be a good one.

Science Birthdays, August 30

Today is the birthday of Jacobus Henricus Van’t Hoff, born in 1852, He was the first winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He accounted for the optical activity in carbon compounds by assuming the bonds were directed to the corners of a regular tetrahedron.  He also made contributions in kinetics, equilibrium and osmotic pressure. He died in 1911 at age 58

Ernest Rutherford, born in 1871 is famous for his gold foil experiment and the hypothesis of a nucleus in the atom. He died in 1937 at age 66.

Theodor Svedberg, born 1884, developed analytical ultracentrifugation to separate proteins from one another, he died in 1971 at age 86.

Edward Purcell, born 1912 discovered nuclear magnetic resonance in liquids and solids, he also proposed the Scallop Theorem to explain aquatic motion at low Reynolds numbers in Newtonian fluids, he died in 1997 at age 84.

Lajos Kisfaludy, born in 1924 introduced the concept of protective groups in peptide synthesis, nearly 80 medicines were synthesized using this technique, he died in 1988 at age 64.

Natural Disasters, August 30

I have nothing for this day.

Dog Tip of The Day, August 30

Did you ever observe a dog’s ears? I have a German Shepherd and I like to watch what he does with his ears. They turn in the direction of sounds and they will follow a person or animal walking by. His ears are constantly turning in the direction of sounds or interests. Take some time today to observe some of these amazing advantages that some animals have over us.

Science Birthdays, August 29

Today is the Birthday of Charles Kettering, born in 1876, invented the electric starting motor, leaded gasoline, freon as a refrigerant, Duco laquers and enamals, the first practical colored paints for automobiles.  Founded Delco.

Natural Disasters, August 29

Sorry, I have been away for a few days, here is the natural disaster update for August 25-29:

Aug 25  1814      1812 Washington D.C. Tornado

              1931      1931 China Floods, 4 million people died

              1933      The Diexi earthquake in China killed 9000 people

Aug 26  1883      Eruption of Krakatoa begins, it will eventually kill 120,000 people

Aug 27  1881      Georgia Hurricane, makes landfall near Savannah and killed an estimated 700 people.

              1883      Eruption of Krakatoa, four enormous explosions destroy the island of Krakatoa

1893      Sea Islands Hurricane struck the United States near Savannah, Georgia killing between 1000 and 2000 people.

2011      Hurricane Irene struck the United States east coast and killed 47 people.

Aug 28  1884      Howard South Dakota Tornado

1990      Joliet tornado, an F5 tornado stuck Illinois and and cities of Plainfield and Joliet killing 29 people.

Aug 29  2005      Hurricane Katrina, devastated much of the Gulf coast from Louisiana to Florida, killing 1836 people and causing 108 billion dollars in damages.

Dog Tip of the Day, August 29

If you are going to a county fair or other summer activity, before you take your dog on hot asphalt parking lots and walkways, take off your shoes and walk barefoot yourself to see how the dog feels.

Science Birthdays, August 24

Today is the birthday of Albert Claude, born in 1899, he made images of cells using the electron microscope which deepened the understanding of their structure and function.  He also discovered chloroplasts in plant cells. He discovered the process of cell fractionation where cells are ground up and centrifuged to separate the components.