People

Notable individuals have made significant contributions to our understanding of the universe include (in approximate chronological order):

Democritus: Formulated the concept of the atom.

Pythagoras: Introduced a theory on geometric shapes, specifically the Pythagorean theorem.

Eratosthenes: Determined the Earth is round by measuring the angle of the sun’s rays at different locations.

Copernicus: Proposed the heliocentric model, placing the sun at the center of the solar system.

Kepler: Discovered the laws governing planetary motion.

Boyle: Considered the first modern chemist, a pioneer of experimental scientific method.

Bacon: Father of empiricism, championed inductive reasoning in scientific study.

Galileo: Used a telescope to observe celestial bodies and challenged the notion of mass and gravity.

Huygens: Developed the pendulum and provided a mathematical explanation for unobservable phenomena.

Newton: Deciphered gravitational forces, introduced the inverse square law.

Euler: Invented functional notation, Trigonometric functions, and Euler’s formula.

Coulomb: Investigated electrical forces and defined electric field constants with ε0.

Lagrange: His principle of least action combined with Euler- Lagrange equations, leads to Lagrangian mechanics.

Dalton: Proposed the first homogeneous model of the atom and published the first atomic weights table.

Young: His Double Slit Experiment shined a new light on light – Their duality as waves or particles.

Avogadro: Formulated Avogadro’s law relating volumes of gases to molecular quantities.

Fourier: Contributed fundamental insights into harmonic series.

Ørsted: Observed magnetism, deduced its force properties.

Gauss: Deduced magnetism as a field.

Fresnel: Proposed the wave theory of light and developed new lenses.

Ampere: Linked moving magnetic forces to charge movement.

Ohm: Quantified the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance.

Faraday: Showed space could hold magnetic force in μ0.

Henry: Worked on magnetism and introduced the concept of self-inductance.

Lord Kelvin: Known for his work in thermodynamics. Discovered the electron, the first subatomic particle.

Heaviside: Thought a lightweight because of his education, he did the heavy mathematical work for Maxwell.

Maxwell: Formulated equations unifying electric and magnetic fields, c = 1/√μ0ε0 and field Z0 = √μ00.

Boltzmann: Laid foundations for statistical analysis in molecular studies.

Michelson: Measured the speed of light, conducted the Michelson–Morley experiment.

Thompson: Discovered the first sub-atomic particle, the electron.

Minkowski: Added the temporal dimension to space, developing four-dimensional space-time.

Millikan: Famous for his “Oil Drop” experiment where measured the charge of the electron.

Rutherford: Father of nuclear physics, credited with splitting the atom.

Einstein: Formulated E=mc² and revolutionized gravity as acceleration.

Compton: Demonstrated particle-like behavior of electromagnetic radiation.

Schwarzschild: Predicted gravitational radius and the event horizon of black holes.

Lorentz: Described the force on a point charge due to electric and magnetic forces.

Tesla: A pioneer in moving electro-mechanical energy, he transformed its methods. A Z0 aficionado.

Planck: Originator of quantum theory, introduced the concept of quantized energy.

Lemaitre: Proposed the Big Bang theory.

Hubble: Postulated the expansion of the universe based on redshift observations.

Bohr: Developed the atomic model with discrete energy levels.

Schrodinger: Developed the Schrödinger equation, a fundamental equation in quantum mechanics.

Nyquist: Developed communication theory, laying the groundwork for modern telecommunications and information theory.

Bose: Known for early quantum ideas based on statistics and the Bose Condensate. Bosons named after him.

Pauli: Formulated the Pauli exclusion principle, fundamental to quantum mechanics.

de Broglie: Proposed wave-particle duality in quantum mechanics.

Zwicki: Gave us “tired light” as an alternative to expansion as a reason for redshift.

Heisenberg: Formulated the uncertainty principle, contributing to quantum mechanics.

Dirac: His “Large Numbers Hypothesis” link variable speed of light to the size and age of the universe.

Anderson: Found Anti-matter.

Dicke: Proposed the Variable Speed of Light (VSL) theory of gravity, allowing the speed of light to vary locally.


Oppenheim:
Proposed a theory that envisages the fabric of space-time as inherently wobbly, not smooth and continuous (classical).

Feynman: Developed diagrams describing subatomic particle behavior, a significant contribution to electrodynamics.

Shapiro: Demonstrated redshift as a function of gravitational attraction.

Hawking: Developed a theory combining general relativity and quantum mechanics in cosmology.

Clauser: Proved Bohr’s ideas over Einstein’s in the “spooky action at a distance.”

Penrose: Revolutionized mathematical tools for analyzing spacetime properties.

Thorn: Known for his contributions in gravitational physics, astrophysics, and work on LIGO, the first gravity wave telescope.