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For eons, human beings have felt that certain numbers, ratios, and shapes have sacred significance. For instance, the number ‘7’ has had great significance in various aspects of many cultures, geometric shapes have been associated with numbers, and the Fibonacci series and Golden Ratio are still instrumental in everything from Art to Music.  Sacred Meanings in Geometric Numbers and Shapes Symbolic and sacred meanings are also ascribed to certain geometric numbers, shapes, and geometric ratios or proportions. Through the ages, especially in the ancient world, some numbers had symbolic meaning attached, aside from their ordinary use for counting or calculating. In geometry, figures such as triangles, squares, polygons, hexagons, and so forth are all related to numbers. Triangles, for example, relate to three angles, squares to four, and so on. As an example of attaching sacred meanings to geometric numbers, the number ‘seven’ occurs consistently in diverse cultures around the world. And more, the religious and mythologies of the world are filled with sevens. Consider some of these: The shape of the pyramids of Egypt produces the number seven by combining the three-sided triangle and four-sided square. In music, the seven musical notes in a scale repeat at the octave. There are seven [...]

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Andreas Vesalius was a Belgian physician, anatomist and teacher. He is the founder of modern human anatomy, and is famous for his textbook Fabrica, considered the greatest medical book in his time. The actual name of the book is De humani corporis fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body), written in 1543. In the early 16th century, before Vesalius came into the medical scene, knowledge of human anatomy was based essentially on guesswork, and surgery was something unheard of. Medical students learned human anatomy not by studying bodies and dissecting them, but by reading the works of the Roman physician Galen (AD129-c. 216), considered a great authority at that time. The Greek philosopher Aristotle also studied anatomy closely, and, along with Leonardo da Vinci, was another forerunner of Vesalius. Vesalius Challenges the Human Anatomy Dissection Process One of the problems before Vesalius was the taboo on dissecting human bodies. A 14th century Bolognese doctor called Mondino DeLuzzi was one of the first to carry out a dissection. With his work, Vesalius broke two taboos. First, Vesalius challenged the more than one thousand year old authority of Galen. Second, Vesalius actually dissected human bodies, looking at anatomy closely, and encouraged his students [...]

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Sodium is a soft, light, silvery metallic chemical element.  It is extremely reactive and is never found naturally as pure sodium, thus, it combines with other elements.  Sodium changes color at high pressures. At a glance, and in Mendeleev’s Periodic Law of Elements, sodium belongs to category alkali metal, it has the symbol Na, and the atomic number 11. Its reaction with water produces caustic sodium hydroxide (lye) and a highly flammable hydrogen gas. When burned in air, sodium forms sodium peroxide. How was Sodium Discovered? In 1807, English chemist Sir Humphry Davy discovered sodium. He used the newly invented battery to pass electricity through caustic soda, and thereby produced small amounts of sodium. (Caustic soda is a chemical used to make soap and clean drains.) In similar experiments, Sir Davy also discovered another reactive metal called potassium. Sodium used to be called soda, a term which was said to have originated from sodanum, an ancient headache remedy that contained sodium. The chemical symbol for sodium, Na, which comes from natrium, is the Latin word for sodium. The word natrium comes from the ancient Egyptian word for salt, which is natron. Sodium in our Body Sodium helps our brains to [...]

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Engineer Godfrey Hounsfield and physicist Allan Cormack invented the “computed tomography” (CT) scan. Also known as a “computed axial tomography” (CAT) scan, it allows doctors to see the soft tissues inside the body, unlike the conventional X-ray that only allows the outline of bones and organs to be seen. As it uses a computer to produce detailed cross-sectional images of the body, doctors can examine the body one narrow “slice” at a time to pinpoint specific areas of concern. CAT Scan Inventors and Early CT Scan Machines The CT scan was invented in 1972 by two scientists working independently. British engineer Godfrey Hounsfield of EMI laboratories invented the CT scan in England, and South African-born physicist Allan Cormack of Tufts University invented it in the United States. The first machines were installed between 1974 and 1976, and were originally designed to scan the head of the body only. The whole-body-systems with studies became available in 1976.  Currently, an entire chest scan can be taken in 5 to 10 seconds using the most advanced multi-slice system. Many of the improvements have been made in patient comfort, the ability to scan more anatomy in less time, and an increase in image quality. [...]

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Sir Edward Frankland was one of the foremost English chemists of his day. He laid the foundation of modern structural chemistry through his discovery of the theory of valence, which states that atoms come together to make chemical compounds in regular ratios. He also introduced the term “bond” to describe the way that atoms link to each other. Frankland became professor of chemistry at the prestigious Royal College of Chemistry and he published Water Analysis for Sanitary Purposes. Edward Frankland was born in Lancashire, England on January 18, 1825, an illegitimate son of a prominent lawyer. At age 15, he became an apprentice in a chemist’s shop. By 1847, he was a chemistry teacher at Queenwood College, Hampshire, but soon went to Germany in Marburg to work with Robert Bunsen for three months. Frankland Discovers Organometallic Compounds While working with Bunsen, Frankland became fascinated by a class of chemicals that bound metal atoms to other compounds, now called organometals. The particular set of these that he was looking at were zinc dialkyls. An addition to studying organometals, he used these compounds for entertainment. He described the process of adding water to these compounds, which resulted in a greenish blue flame, [...]

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  Dutch astronomer, mathematician and physicist Christiaan Huygens is famous for his invention of the first accurate pendulum clock, as well as his discovery of the rings of Saturn and its largest moon, Titan. He also founded the wave theory of light known as “Huygens Construction,” which he outlined in his Treatise on Light. Early Life of Christiaan Huygens, the ‘Little Archimedes’ Christiaan Huygens, (1629-1695), was born on April 14 in The Hague. He grew up in a wealthy environment, rich in both culture and intellectual pursuits. His father, Constantin Huygens, was a diplomat of the Dutch Republic, patron of the arts, composer and poet. Christiaan grew up exposed to distinguished visitors at home, such as the painter Rembrandt, English poet John Donne, and significantly for him, the great philosopher and mathematician René Descartes. The influence of these men on young Christiaan was instrumental in the development of his lifelong love for art, music, law, engineering, and above all, mathematics. His father called him “mon Archimede” (“my Archimedes”).  Christiaan was also an excellent card and billiard player, anda top-class rider. At the young age of 16, he entered the university and intensely focused on mathematics and law. He also  started [...]

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Hundreds of years ago, the ancient Aztecs, who ruled Mexico until the 1500s, were drinking chocolate. They made a spicy drink called xocoatl from cacao beans or seeds, which translates to “warm and bitter liquid” or “bitter water.” Then xocoatl became xocolatl in the Nahuatl dialects of Mexico.  In effect, xocolatl is the link to the modern word, chocolate. How was Xocolatl Discovered? In 1502, the Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus met some Aztec people in the West Indies. They gave him cacao beans as payment for trading goods. Columbus didn’t like the spicy drink they made from the beans, and didn’t realize how important cacao beans would become. In 1519, another Spanish explorer, Hernán Cortés, met Moctezuma, an Aztec emperor who loved xocolatl. Cortés realized how valuable the beans were and brought the drink back to Spain. The Beginning of Hot Chocolate When Cortés introduced xocolatl to the Spanish people, it was still a bitter-tasting drink. People experimented by adding different ingredients. Eventually, someone tried adding sugar, and sweet hot chocolate was born. In the 1500s and 1600s, cacao and sugar were very expensive, and only the rich could afford to drink chocolate. For instance, in France, only members of [...]

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The Oxford Dictionary of Physics defines radioactivity as “the integration of certain atomic nuclei accompanied by the emission of alpha-particles (helium nuclei), beta-particles (electrons or positrons), of gamma radiation (short-wavelength electromagnetic waves).” What does that mean, in simple terms? What is Radioactivity in Simple Terms? Basically, radioactivity can be defined in terms of the atom, which is the smallest part of an element that can exist. Some atoms are unstable and break down into new atoms. When this happens, it gives off energy, referred to as radioactivity. Who Discovered Radioactivity? Radioactivity was not just “discovered” by a single person – in the late 1800s and early 1900s, multiple scientists made huge advances in the field. French Physicist Henri Becquerel French physicist Henri Becquerel (1852-1908) discovered radioactivity by accident.  In 1896, he was experimenting with a metal called uranium. He placed some in a drawer on top of a packet of photographic plates. When he later unwrapped and developed the plates, he found them to be blackened. Becquerel reasoned that radiation from the uranium had gone through the packet and reacted with the photographic plates. In effect, he had discovered “radio-activity”, a name that Marie Curie gave to the phenomenon. The [...]

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