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1876 In Science
The year 1876 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below. Astronomy * December 7 – First recorded observation of the Great White Spot on Saturn, made by American astronomer Asaph Hall, who uses it to calculate the planet's rotation period. Biology * Robert Koch demonstrates that ''Bacillus anthracis'' is the source of anthrax, the first bacterium conclusively shown to cause disease. * Koller's sickle in Bird, avian gastrulation is first described by August Rauber. * Francis Galton invents the silent dog whistle. * Meiosis was discovered and described for the first time in sea urchin eggs by the German biologist Oscar Hertwig. Chemistry * Josiah Willard Gibbs publishes ''On the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances'', a compilation of his work on thermodynamics and physical chemistry which lays out the concept of Thermodynamic free energy, free energy to explain the physical basis of chemical equilibria. Exploration * May 24 – End of the Chall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for scientific reasoning is tens of thousands of years old. The earliest written records in the history of science come from Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in around 3000 to 1200 BCE. Their contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and medicine entered and shaped Greek natural philosophy of classical antiquity, whereby formal attempts were made to provide explanations of events in the physical world based on natural causes. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, knowledge of Greek conceptions of the world deteriorated in Western Europe during the early centuries (400 to 1000 CE) of the Middle Ages, but was preserved in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age and later by the efforts of Byzantine Greek scholars who brought Greek ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Josiah Willard Gibbs
Josiah Willard Gibbs (; February 11, 1839 – April 28, 1903) was an American scientist who made significant theoretical contributions to physics, chemistry, and mathematics. His work on the applications of thermodynamics was instrumental in transforming physical chemistry into a rigorous inductive science. Together with James Clerk Maxwell and Ludwig Boltzmann, he created statistical mechanics (a term that he coined), explaining the laws of thermodynamics as consequences of the statistical properties of Statistical ensemble (mathematical physics), ensembles of the possible states of a physical system composed of many particles. Gibbs also worked on the application of Maxwell's equations to problems in physical optics. As a mathematician, he invented modern vector calculus (independently of the British scientist Oliver Heaviside, who carried out similar work during the same period). In 1863, Yale University, Yale awarded Gibbs the first American Doctor of Philosophy, doctorate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrick Manson
Sir Patrick Manson (3 October 1844 – 9 April 1922) was a Scottish physician who made important discoveries in parasitology, and was a founder of the field of tropical medicine. He graduated from University of Aberdeen with degrees in Master of Surgery, Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Law. His medical career spanned Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and London. He discovered that filariasis in humans is transmitted by mosquitoes. This is the foundation of modern tropical medicine, and he is recognized with an epithet "Father of Tropical Medicine". His discovery directly invoked the mosquito-malaria theory, which became the foundation in malariology. He eventually became the first President of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. He founded the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese (subsequently absorbed into the University of Hong Kong) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Manson was inflicted with gout during his service in China. His recurring c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brain Tumor
A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondary tumors, which most commonly have spread from tumors located outside the brain, known as brain metastasis tumors. All types of brain tumors may produce symptoms that vary depending on the size of the tumor and the part of the brain that is involved. Where symptoms exist, they may include headaches, seizures, problems with vision, vomiting and mental changes. Other symptoms may include difficulty walking, speaking, with sensations, or unconsciousness. The cause of most brain tumors is unknown. Uncommon risk factors include exposure to vinyl chloride, Epstein–Barr virus, ionizing radiation, and inherited syndromes such as neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis, and von Hippel-Lindau Disease. Studies on mobile phone exposure hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Macewen
Sir William Macewen, (; 22 June 1848 – 22 March 1924) was a Scottish surgeon. He was a pioneer in modern brain surgery, considered the ''father of neurosurgery'' and contributed to the development of bone graft surgery, the surgical treatment of hernia and of pneumonectomy (removal of the lungs). Career Macewen was born near Port Bannatyne, near Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, in western Scotland in 1848. He studied Medicine at the University of Glasgow, receiving a medical degree in 1872. He was greatly influenced by Joseph, Lord Lister (1827–1912), who revolutionised surgery by developing antisepsis, by the use of phenol, thus decreasing drastically the enormous mortality of surgical patients due to infections. By following Lister and adopting systematically the use of scrubbing (deep cleansing and disinfection of hands and arms), sterilisation of surgical tools, use of surgical gowns, and (recently discovered) anaesthesia, Macewen became one of the most innovative s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Ferrier
Sir David Ferrier FRS (13 January 1843 – 19 March 1928) was a pioneering Scottish neurologist and psychologist. Ferrier conducted experiments on the brains of animals such as monkeys and in 1881 became the first scientist to be prosecuted under the Cruelty to Animals Act, 1876 which had been enacted following a major public debate over vivisection. Life Ferrier was born in Woodside near Aberdeen, and educated at Aberdeen Grammar School before studying for an MA at Aberdeen University (graduated 1863). As a medical student, he began to work as a scientific assistant to the influential free-thinking philosopher and psychologist Alexander Bain (1818–1903), one of the founders of associative psychology. Around 1860, psychology was finding its scientific foundation mainly in Germany, with the rigorous research of Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–1894), who had trained as a physicist, and of Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920). They focused their work mainly in the area of sensory psych ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hibernation
Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It most commonly occurs during winter months. Although traditionally reserved for "deep" hibernators such as rodents, the term has been redefined to include animals such as bears and is now applied based on active metabolic suppression rather than any absolute decline in body temperature. Many experts believe that the processes of daily torpor and hibernation form a continuum and utilise similar mechanisms. The equivalent during the summer months is aestivation. Hibernation functions to conserve energy when sufficient food is not available. To achieve this energy saving, an endothermic animal decreases its metabolic rate and thereby its body temperature. Hibernation may last days, weeks, or months—depending on the species, ambient temperature ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karolina Olsson
Karolina Olsson (29 October 1861 – 5 April 1950), also known as "Soverskan på Oknö" ("The Sleeper of Oknö"), was a Swedish woman who purportedly remained in hibernation between 1876 and 1908 (32 years). This is believed to be the longest time that anyone has lived in this manner who then awoke without any residual symptoms. Life Olsson was born in Oknö near Mönsterås, the second-eldest of five children; her siblings were all brothers. She suffered a head wound while outdoors at age 14 on 18 February 1876, but seemed to recover from it quickly. On 22 February, she complained of a toothache. Her family believed that her tooth was sore because of witchcraft, and she was ordered to go to bed. However, when she fell asleep, she did not wake up. Her father was a fisherman and unable to afford a doctor, and the family relied instead on the advice of friends and the town midwife. Olsson's mother force-fed her milk and sugar water. Finally, the neighbors paid for a visit from a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Factorization
In mathematics, factorization (or factorisation, see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), English spelling differences) or factoring consists of writing a number or another mathematical object as a product of several ''factors'', usually smaller or simpler objects of the same kind. For example, is a factorization of the integer , and is a factorization of the polynomial . Factorization is not usually considered meaningful within number systems possessing division ring, division, such as the real number, real or complex numbers, since any x can be trivially written as (xy)\times(1/y) whenever y is not zero. However, a meaningful factorization for a rational number or a rational function can be obtained by writing it in lowest terms and separately factoring its numerator and denominator. Factorization was first considered by Greek mathematics, ancient Greek mathematicians in the case of integers. They proved the fundamental theorem o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mersenne Prime
In mathematics, a Mersenne prime is a prime number that is one less than a power of two. That is, it is a prime number of the form for some integer . They are named after Marin Mersenne, a French Minim friar, who studied them in the early 17th century. If is a composite number then so is . Therefore, an equivalent definition of the Mersenne primes is that they are the prime numbers of the form for some prime . The exponents which give Mersenne primes are 2, 3, 5, 7, 13, 17, 19, 31, ... and the resulting Mersenne primes are 3, 7, 31, 127, 8191, 131071, 524287, 2147483647, ... . Numbers of the form without the primality requirement may be called Mersenne numbers. Sometimes, however, Mersenne numbers are defined to have the additional requirement that be prime. The smallest composite Mersenne number with prime exponent ''n'' is . Mersenne primes were studied in antiquity because of their close connection to perfect numbers: the Euclid–Euler theorem as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Édouard Lucas
__NOTOC__ François Édouard Anatole Lucas (; 4 April 1842 – 3 October 1891) was a French mathematician. Lucas is known for his study of the Fibonacci sequence. The related Lucas sequences and Lucas numbers are named after him. Biography Lucas was born in Amiens and educated at the École Normale Supérieure. He worked in the Paris Observatory and later became a professor of mathematics at the Lycée Saint Louis and the Lycée Charlemagne in Paris. Lucas served as an artillery officer in the French Army during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. In 1875, Lucas posed a challenge to prove that the only solution of the Diophantine equation: :\sum_^ n^2 = M^2\; with ''N'' > 1 is when ''N'' = 24 and ''M'' = 70. This is known as the cannonball problem, since it can be visualized as the problem of taking a square arrangement of cannonballs on the ground and building a square pyramid out of them. It was not until 1918 that a proof (using elliptic functions) was found for t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Challenger Expedition
The ''Challenger'' expedition of 1872–1876 was a scientific program that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography. The expedition was named after the naval vessel that undertook the trip, . The expedition, initiated by William Benjamin Carpenter, was placed under the scientific supervision of Sir Charles Wyville Thomson—of the University of Edinburgh and Merchiston Castle School—assisted by five other scientists, including Sir John Murray, a secretary-artist and a photographer. The Royal Society of London obtained the use of ''Challenger'' from the Royal Navy and in 1872 modified the ship for scientific tasks, equipping it with separate laboratories for natural history and chemistry. The expedition, led by Captain George Nares, sailed from Portsmouth, England, on 21 December 1872. Other naval officers included Commander John Maclear. – pages 19 and 20 list the civilian staff and naval officers and crew, along with changes that took place during the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
