List of Physics Scientists and Their Inventions

Scientific inventions have impacted our lives in a huge manner. The contributions of scientists and physicists cannot be unseen. The changes have been so which we thought at a point would not be possible. 

Table of Contents
1.Famous Scientists of the World and Their Inventions
Albert Einstien
J.J Thomson
Isaac Newton
Ernest Rutherford
James Chadwick
John Dalton
Charles-Augustin de Coulomb
Georg Simon Ohm
Michael Faraday
Max Planck
Thomas Edison
Henri Becquerel
Marie Sklodowska-Curie
Heinrich Rudolf Hertz
Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen
Neils Bohr & Rutherford
Enrico Fermi
2. Summary

Famous Scientists And Their Inventions

A scientist is someone who does observation, experimentation, and data analysis to explore the world. While on the other hand, an investigator is someone responsible for conducting research or inquiries to uncover facts and solve problems.

Only a few people were able to excel in both fields. Here is a list of 17 famous scientists and their discoveries. 

Albert Einstein 

The equation E = mc², which implies that energy and mass (or matter) are the same thing yet exist in many forms, is the most famous contribution of Albert Einstein. A photon is a microscopic energy packet of electromagnetic radiation, also referred to as a light quantum. Albert Einstein first presented the idea of discrete energy packets existing during the transmission of light in his explanation of the photoelectric effect. In 1921, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the photoelectric effect. Albert Einstein was best known for his general and Special theory of relativity. 

JJ Thomson 

The electron was discovered by British physicist J.J. Thomson, a recipient of the Physics Nobel Prize. Thomson was able to demonstrate that cathode rays were made up of hitherto unidentified negatively charged particles (electrons), from which he calculated and deduced that they would have smaller bodies than atoms and a significant charge-mass ratio. He is also credited with discovering the initial proof of stable element isotopes.

Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton made various contributions to mathematics (calculus) and optics (white light composition), but he is mainly known for giving us the three laws of motion, which form the base of contemporary physics. The law of universal gravitation was produced as a result of his definition of the principles of motion. Future advances in science were made possible by Isaac Newton’s findings.

Ernest Rutherford

Ernest Rutherford is known as the “father of nuclear physics”. He proposed the Rutherford model, which tells us that an atom is made up of a small, charged nucleus that is surrounded by free space and is surrounded by tiny electrons. He proposed the existence of the neutron and discovered protons. He found that uranium emits alpha and beta particles. Ernest Rutherford is renowned for his exceptional investigations into radioactivity and the atom. 

John Dalton

John Dalton introduced the atomic theory. The theory consists of five parts as follows:

• All matter is made up of tiny, definite particles called atoms.
• Atoms are indivisible and indestructible.
• Atoms of a given element are identical in size, mass, and chemical properties.
• Atoms of different elements contain different masses.
• Atoms of different elements combine in fixed whole-number ratios when forming compounds.

He gave us Dalton’s Law, which tells us that the total pressure of a mixture of gases is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of the individual gases. Partial pressure is the pressure that each gas would exert if it alone occupies the volume of the mixture at the same temperature.

James Chadwick

James Chadwick discovered the neutron for which he won the Nobel Prize in 1905. A tremendous amount of energy is released when neutrons hit an element because the nuclei can penetrate and split. Therefore, Chadwick’s discoveries played a very important role in understanding the concept of nuclear fission. 

Charles-Augustin de Coulomb

Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, a French physicist best known for Coulomb’s Law, is the law that defines the amount of force between two charged particles that are at rest.

He created this equation to research the electrostatic repulsion theory given out by Joseph Priestley, an English scientist. He also did a lot of research on silk fibers, metal elasticity, and mechanical friction. He is the inspiration for the Coulomb, the SI unit of electric charge.

Georg Simon Ohm

The law bearing his name, known as “Ohm’s Law,” was established by German physicist Georg Simon Ohm. It asserts that the current flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to its voltage and inversely proportional to its resistance.

Michael Faraday 

Michael Faraday produced the first known compounds of carbon and chlorine. He also described benzene. He invented the first electric motor in 1921, and he also discovered a way to convert mechanical energy into electricity on a large scale, creating the first electric generator in early 1930. His experiments led us to understand the concept of electromagnetism more clearly.

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison made many significant innovations and discoveries. Here, we’ve highlighted a handful of the most notable ones:

• Invented the carbon rheostat
• Discovered incandescent light
• Invented the motion picture camera
• Discovered thermionic emission
• Invented the fluorescent electric lamp

Edison has been referred to as “America’s greatest inventor.” He created several gadgets in industries like electric power production and mass communication. Working with several researchers and staff, he was a pioneer in the application of organized science and cooperation to the process of innovation.

Henri Becquerel

Henri Becquerel is famous for his discovery of spontaneous radioactivity. He won Nobel Prize for Physics along with Pierre and Marie Curie in 1903. As a result, the SI unit of radioactivity Becquerel is named after him. 

Marie Sklodowska-Curie

Marie Curie was the first female to win a Nobel Prize and is known for the discovery of the elements Polonium and Radium. She conducted pioneering research on radioactivity.

Max Planck 

Planck’s constant(h) also known as the quantum of action, was discovered in 1900 by German theoretical physicist Max Planck. His work laid the foundation for quantum theory for which he was awarded Nobel Prize. He made a substantial contribution to the atomic and subatomic processes.

Hienrich Rudolf Hertz

Heinrich discovered the Photoelectric effect, a significant phenomenon while studying electromagnetism. He made the important discovery of radio waves, which is usually seen as supporting James Clerk Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory. He found that exposure to UV light caused the metal to lose charge more quickly. He didn’t look into this impact anymore. Albert Einstein later hypothesized that light was composed of discrete energy packets called photons in the year 1905. As a result of this finding, quantum mechanics was developed.

Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen

He was a German Physicist who is considered the father of diagnostic radiology. He detected electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range known as X-Rays. For the discovery of X-Rays, he won Nobel Prize in Physics. 

Neils Bohr & Rutherford

As previously mentioned, Rutherford defined an atom as having a positive central mass that is encircled by circling electrons. The idea that electrons moved in quantized orbits was one that Neils Bohr had. Bohr worked on Rutherford’s model to confirm his suspicions that particles couldn’t inhabit simply any energy level.

Enrico Fermi

Enrico Fermi, also known as the “architect of the nuclear age”, built the first nuclear reactor. He was given the Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on neutron bombardment-induced radioactivity. 

Summary

Year	Discoveries	Scientist Name
1905	Photon	Albert Einstien
1897	Electron	J.J Thomson
1919	Proton	Ernest Rutherford
1808	Atom	John Dalton
1932	Neutron	James Chadwick
1687	Law of Motion	Isaac Newton
1779	Coulomb	Charles-Augustin de Coulomb
1827	Ohm’s Law	Georg Simon Ohm
1831	Electromagnetic Induction	Michael Faraday
1880	Thermionic Emission	Thomas Edison
1896	Radioactivity	Henri Becquerel
1898	Radium	Marie Sklodowska-Curie
1900	Quantum Theory	Max Planck
1905	Photoelectric Effect	Heinrich Rudolf Hertz
1895	X-Ray	Rontgen
1905	Relativity	Albert Einstien
1913	Atomic Structure	Neils Bohr & Rutherford
1942	Nuclear Reactor	Enrico Fermi