TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER • 20 AUGUST
On 20 Aug 1831, the Austrian geologist Eduard Suess was born. He helped establish the fields of paleogeography and tectonics. He coined the name Gondwanaland for an ancient supercontinent that he proposed existed eons ago, but due to tectonic activity, broke apart into the continents we know today.
By reading an obituary of a scientist, often interesting sidelights are revealed. Such is the case with The Sketch of the Life of Eduard Suess by Pierre Termier, translated in the Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution.
“Suess's water” was the way residents of Vienna referred to the new, purer water supply for which Suess spent three years convincing the municipal council of the need to switch from the unwholesome water of the Danube and lakes. Instead, he advised, there were mountain springs which would provide a greater purity and freshness. Seven years later, when this healthier water was brought to flow in the city, the obituary writer records that mortality in the city was halved. This geologist saved lives!
On 20 Aug 1953, the Soviet Union released the news that it had detonated its first hydrogen bomb, eight days earlier (12 Aug 1953), in Kazakhstan. It came less than 10 months after the first U.S. bomb test, Mike, (1 Nov 1952) announced by President Harry Truman on 7 Jan 1953. Notably, the Soviet bomb was more portable than the U.S. device—small enough to fit in a plane, and be easily weaponizeable, though its size limited the amount of thermonuclear fuel and explosive force. The Arms Race kicked into high gear.
Today's book pick is: Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, by Richard Rhodes, who earlier won the Pulitzer Prize for his book The Making of the Atomic Bomb. In Dark Sun, another monumental work of history, Rhodes provides the definitive, often shocking story of the politics and the science behind the development of the hydrogen bomb and the birth of the Cold War. Based on secret files in the United States and the former Soviet Union, this engrossing book discloses how and why the United States decided to create the bomb that would dominate world politics for more than forty years. Rhodes targets a general audience and with great success, balances the consequent need for clarity with depth and technical detail.
Whereas his earlier book on the atomic bomb told the story of scientists and the cooperation between nations to defeat the Nazis, Dark Sun tells the story of how weapons of mass destruction polarized scientists, nations, military sects, and political mindsets. It has over 120 five-star reviews on the Amazon site.
It is available from Amazon, typically about New from $10.49. Used from $2.01. (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)
 | The first business of a man of science is to proclaim the truth as he finds it, and let the world adjust itself as best it can to the new knowledge. — Percy W. Bridgman, American experimental physicist (died 20 Aug 1961).  |
 | Success in research needs four Gs: Glück, Geduld, Geschick und Geld. Luck, patience, skill and money. — Paul Ehrlich, German bacteriologist, hematologist and immunologist (died 20 Aug 1915). |
 | Die Gewohnheit einer Meinung erzeugt oft völlige Ueberzeugung von ihrer Richtigkeit, sie verbirgt die schwächeren Theile davon, und macht uns unfähig, die Beweise dagegen anzunehmen. The habit of an opinion often leads to the complete conviction of its truth, it hides the weaker parts of it, and makes us incapable of accepting the proofs against it. — Jöns Jacob Berzelius, Swedish chemist (born 20 Aug 1779). |
| 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 | |
 | Valentin Petrovich Glushko, born 20 Aug 1908 was a Soviet rocket scientist, a pioneer in rocket propulsion systems, and a major contributor to Soviet space and defense technology. He worked with renowned rocket designer Sergey Korolyov from 1932 to 1966. The two had a triumphant year in 1957, when they launched the first intercontinental ballistic missile in August and sent the first artificial satellite into orbit in October. What was the name of this satellite? |
 | Akutsu Tetsuzo (left), Eduard Suess and Jöns Jacob Berzelius were each born on 20 Aug, though in different years. Not in the same order, they were notable for postulating the existence of the giant landmass Gondwanaland; building the first artificial heart that was implanted and kept an animal alive; and the development of modern chemical symbols (such as Fe). Can you match each scientist to his claim to fame? |
| Deaths | |
 | Sir Fred Hoyle (1915-2001) unintentionally coined the term “Big Bang.” Can you describe the theory of the universe he believed in? |
| | Percy Williams Bridgman (1882-1961) was an American experimental physicist noted for his studies of materials at high temperatures and pressures. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1946 for his “invention of an apparatus to produce extremely high pressures.” To the nearest power of ten, how many atmospheres of pressure was he eventually able to produce? |
| Events | |
 | On 20 Aug 1977, NASA launched Voyager 2, an unmanned spacecraft towards Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. It carried a 12-inch copper phonograph record. What did the recording contain? |
 | On 20 Aug of a certain year, the first demonstration telecast of home television in the U.S. was received in New York City. A half-hour program was hosted by the cartoonist Harry Hirschfeld, and demonstrated on screens placed in a store in the Hotel Ansonia, the Hearst building, and a home at 98 Riverside Drive. The signal travelled about six miles, the greatest distance for TV transmission to date. In which decade did this TV demonstration take place? |
Fast answers for the previous newsletter for August 19: Philco • Greenwich Observatory • James Watt • all of them • two dogs • daguerreotype.
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