Newsletter for Monday 19 October.

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TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY

NEWSLETTER • 19 OCTOBER

Feature for Today

Book of the Day

On 19 Oct 1937, Ernest Rutherford died, the Nobel prize-winning British physicist, a pioneer in the structure of the atom who made numerous revolutionary discoveries, he is remembered in particular in school science text books for his gold-foil alpha-particle scattering experiment. From the “half-life” of radioactive materials, he led a massive reevaluation of the age of the earth—previously judged just 100 million years old. Rutherford and his colleagues were the first to split the atom. Under Rutherford's rigorous and boisterous direction, a whole new generation of remarkable physicists emerged. Today's book pick is: A Force of Nature: The Frontier Genius of Ernest Rutherford (Great Discoveries), by Richard Reeves, a new intellectual biography in which the description of Rutherford leaps off the page, a ruddy, genial man and a towering figure in scientific history.

It is available from Amazon, typically about New from $15.61. Used from $1.60. (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)

Quotations for Today

	In some strange way, any new fact or insight that I may have found has not seemed to me as a “discovery” of mine, but rather something that had always been there and that I had chanced to pick up. — Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Indian-American astronomer and astrophysicist (born 19 Oct 1910).
	I came into the room, which was half dark, and presently spotted Lord Kelvin in the audience and realised that I was in for trouble at the last part of my speech dealing with the age of the earth, where my views conflicted with his. To my relief, Kelvin fell fast asleep, but as I came to the important point, I saw the old bird sit up, open an eye and cock a baleful glance at me! Then a sudden inspiration came, and I said Lord Kelvin had limited the age of the earth, provided no new source (of energy) was discovered. That prophetic utterance refers to what we are now considering tonight, radium! Behold! the old boy beamed upon me. — Sir Ernest Rutherford, New Zealand-English physicist (died 19 Oct 1937).
	As he approached the place where a meeting of doctors was being held, he saw some elegant limousines and remarked, “The surgeons have arrived.” Then he saw some cheaper cars and said, “The physicians are here, too.” ... And when he saw a row of overshoes inside, under the hat rack, he is reported to have remarked, “Ah, I see there are laboratory men here.” — Walter Bradford Cannon, American physiologist and neurologist (born 19 Oct 1871).
	Evolution on the large scale unfolds, like much of human history, as a succession of dynasties. — Edmund Beecher Wilson, , American zoologist (born 19 Oct 1856).

Quiz

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
	Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, born 19 Oct 1910, was an Indian-American astrophysicist who, with William A.Fowler, was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics. What was his prize-winning astrophysical theory?
	On 19 Oct 1909, Marguerite Catherine Perey was born, a French chemist who identified the last naturally occurring element to be discovered. In 1929, she took a position as a technician and became the personal assistant of Marie Curie. What was the last naturally occurring element to be discovered?
Deaths
	On 19 Oct 1937, Ernest Rutherford died, the British physicist who solved the mystery of atomic structure, and identified the existance of a massive but tiny nucleus containing the positive charges, surrounded by electrons. In which country was Rutherford born?
	Sir Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875) didn't actually invent the Wheatstone Bridge (though he did popularize it), but did invent the concertina (1829), the stereoscope (1838), and an early form of the telegraph. What is the purpose of the Wheatstone Bridge equipment?
Events
	On 19 Oct 1973, a US Federal Judge signed his decision following a lengthy court trial which declared the ENIAC patent invalid and belatedly credited a physicist with developing the first electronic digital computer, the ABC, in 1937-42 at Iowa State University. By this decision, who was belatedly recognized as the first to build the ABC electronic digital computer?
	On 19 Oct 1872, a slab of slate in New South Wales was found containing the largest mass of gold ever found. How closely can you guess the mass of this gold (in kilograms)?

Answers

When you have your answers ready to all the questions above, you'll find all the information to check them, and more, on the October 19 web page of Today in Science History. Or, try this link first for just the brief answers.

Fast answers for the previous newsletter for October 18: ozone • inverted-T rails spiked to wooden ties laid on crushed stone roadbed • Intelligence Quotient, the ratio of “mental age” to chronological age, with 100 being average • New Jersey • the decade containing the year 1969 • Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology.

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