Newsletter for Thursday 12 November.

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TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY

NEWSLETTER • 12 NOVEMBER

Feature for Today

Book of the Day

On 12 Nov In 1799, Andrew Ellicot Douglass wrote the first known record of a meteor shower observed in the U.S. Meteor succeeded meteor in such rapid succession that it was impossible to count them; at times the sky seemed full of them, and the earth was illuminated as with a morning light. Today's book pick is: The Heavens on Fire: The Great Leonid Meteor Storms, by Mark Littmann, who engagingly traces the history and mythology of meteors, profiles the fascinating figures whose discoveries advanced the field, and explores how meteors have changed the course of life on earth.

It is available from Amazon, typically about New from $24.95. Used from $4.83. (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)

Quotations for Today

	Nothing will ever equal that moment of joyous excitement which filled my whole being when I felt myself flying away from the earth. It was not mere pleasure; it was perfect bliss. Escaped from the frightful torments of persecution and of calumny, I felt that I was answering all in rising above all. — Jacques-Alexandre-César Charles, French physicist, mathematician and inventor (born 12 Nov 1746).
	Some proofs command assent. Others woo and charm the intellect. They evoke delight and an overpowering desire to say, 'Amen, Amen'. — Sir John William Strutt, Lord Rayleigh, English physical scientist (born 12 Nov 1842).

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
	Audouin Dollfus, born 12 Nov 1924, is a French astronomer, who made several balloon flights for high-altitude observations, including the first stratospheric ascension in France. On the basis of comparative light-polarizing qualities, he concluded that the surface material of Mars consists of pulverized limonite. Limonite is principally made up of what metal element?
	Jacques-Alexandre-César Charles was a French mathematician, physicist, and inventor. With Nicolas and Anne-Jean Robert, he made several balloon ascents, and was the first to use hydrogen for balloon inflation (1783). Charles invented most of the equipment that is still used in today's balloons. About 1787 he developed Charles's law for a gas at constant pressure. What is the relationship given in Charles' law?
Deaths
	Percival Lowell (1855-1916) was an American astronomer who predicted the existence of a new planet and initiated the search that ended in its discovery. What planet's existence did he predict?
Events
	On 12 Nov of a certain year, the first modern surgery on the frontal lobes for treatment of mental disorders was performed by Egas Moniz Portugal. Moniz injected absolute alcohol into the frontal lobes of a mental patient through two holes drilled in the skull. He later used a technique that severed neurons. Moniz was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Such radical surgery has fallen out of favour. In what decade was this first such surgery made?
	On 12 Nov 1833, a great shower of meteors was recorded. Many observers clearly reported that the meteors seemed to radiate from a spot in the sky, and as the stars moved slowly westward during the night, the radiant point moved with it. This recurrent phenomenon is now known as the Leonid meteor storm. Why was the name Leonid given to these meteors?

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 November 12 web page of Today in Science History. Or, try this link first for just the brief answers.

Fast answers for the previous newsletter for November 11: American • sphygmomanometer • New York City • Finnish • supernova (Nova Cassiopeiae 1572) • Liverpool.

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