Newsletter for Saturday 19 June.

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TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY

NEWSLETTER • 19 JUNE

Feature for Today

Book of the Day

On 19 Jun 1906, Ernst Chain was born, German-born British biochemist who shared the 1945 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Sir Alexander Fleming and Howard Walter Florey (later Baron Florey) for their work on penicillin. Today's book pick is: The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat: The Story of the Penicillin Miracle, by Eric Lax. Although Nobel laureate Alexander Fleming is well-known for his observation of the antibiotic qualities of a penicillium mold, it was the relatively little-known work of Florey and Chain that made the vital contribution of solving immense technical problems of the large-scale production of penicillin. The curious title refers to the way in which these scientists, working in Oxford during WW II, planned in the event of invasion to destroy all their work to prevent it from falling into enemy hands, yet rubbed their jackets with penicillium spores to carry the secret with them if they fled. This piece of medical research history is a fascinating, informative and important story, making the book one that everybody will find to be rewarding reading.

It is available from Amazon, typically about New from $12.07. Used from $2.01. (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)

Quotations for Today

	Science, as long as it limits itself to the descriptive study of the laws of nature, has no moral or ethical quality and this applies to the physical as well as the biological sciences. — Sir Ernst Boris Chain, German-English biochemist (born 19 Jun 1906).
	Chemistry: that most excellent child of intellect and art. — Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood, English physical chemist (born 19 Jun 1897).
	On se persuade mieux, pour l’ordinaire, par les raisons qu’on a soi-même trouvées, que par celles qui sont venues dans l’esprit des autres. We are generally more effectually persuaded by reasons we have ourselves discovered than by those which have occurred to others. — Blaise Pascal, French mathematician and physicist (born 19 Jun 1623).

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
	On 19 Jun 1922, the son of a famous Nobel-winning Danish physicist was born. They both contributed to the building of the atomic bomb during WW II. His father had won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. His son shared a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1975, “for the discovery of the connection between collective motion and particle motion in atomic nuclei and the development of the theory of the structure of the atomic nucleus based on this connection.” What is the family name of these scientists?
	On 19 Jun 1623, Blaise Pascal was born, a French mathematician, physicist and child prodigy. He laid the foundation for the modern theory of probabilities. He invented the syringe and hydraulic press. He is best known for his work in hydrodynamics. He died at the young age of 39 having been sickly and physically weak through life. Autopsy showed he had been born with a deformed skull. What physical quantity has a unit named for him, and his work in that field?
Deaths
	Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) was a British explorer and naturalist, known for his promotion of science. As an independent naturalist, Banks participated in a voyage to Newfoundland and Labrador in 1767. He successfully lobbied to be included on what was to be James Cook’s first great voyage of discovery, on board the Endeavour (1768-71). King George III appointed Banks adviser to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Banks established his London home as a scientific base (1776) with natural history collections he made freely available to researchers. He was also a long-time president of which British scientific society?
Events
	In 240 BC, Eratosthenes, a Greek astronomer and mathematician, conducted an experiment comparing the length of shadows cast by sticks at two distant locations. As director of the great library of Alexandria, he had read in a papyrus book that in Syene, approaching noon on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, shadows of temple columns grew shorter. At noon, they were gone. The sun was directly overhead. However, a stick in Alexandria, far to the north, could cast a pronounced shadow. What significant measurement was he able to make by taking measurements, and application of geometry, based on this idea?
	In 1987, the U.S. Supreme court overturned a 1981 state “Creationism Act.” The state law required that if evolution was taught in a state public elementary or secondary schools, it must be accompanied by instruction in “creation science.” The court found the Act unconstitutionally endorsed religion, and clearly stated that “Forbidding the teaching of evolution when creation science is not also taught undermines the provision of a comprehensive scientific education.” Which was the state had tried to require Creationism instruction along with evolution?
	In 1934, Robert R. McMath at the McMath-Hulbert Observatory, Pontiac, Michigan used a spectroheliokinematograph to make moving pictures of the Sun. What this movie captured was different from any previously made, which were of eclipses. What did this movie of the Sun show?

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 June 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 June 18: quasar • Alphonse Laveran • canals • ionosphere • Africa (as in Africanized honey bees) • fewer parts, simpler construction, safer, more reliable, and greater power • the decade including the year 1981.

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