Two famous scientists were born in the month of March. Can you guess who they are? Okay time-up. They are none other than Albert Einstein and Joseph Priestley. ya! pays both these men a tribute and reveals a few fun facts about their rarely-discussed personal lives.
Albert Einstein was born in 1879 on March 14. Like we know, Einstein's life was filled with achievements. The most famous one being the discovery of the famous formula E=mc2. But do we know anything about the man Albert Einstein if we were to minus his achievements from him? To celebrate his birthday let us take a u-turn and drive back into the era of Einstein.
Did you know that a magnetic compass got Albert Einstein to become who he is? Yup, that is a fact, and here is how the story goes. Once when Einstein fell sick (all at the age of 5) his father gave him a compass to make him feel better.When Einstein got a grip
over this gadget, he was highly fascinated. The needle's invariable northward swing, guided by an invisible force, totally impressed
the young Einstein. This was when the compass convinced him that there had to be "something behind things, something deeply hidden." And this was how a compass made him pick his career.
We all know the funny photograph of Einstein sticking out his tongue don't we? Well, you will be surprised to learn that Einstein was not trying to be funny here. This picture was clicked on Einstein's birthday. It is said that he was being hounded by photographers on
this occasion. By the end of it all he was so annoyed that he stuck his tongue out in exasperation.
He did so only to try and ruin the photograph. But because he had the reputation for being quirky, the photo was just seen as another example of his irascible charm.
There was a point in time when Einstein was at the peak of his popularity. To be precise, this was in the period before World War II. During this time, if Einstein would take a walk on the American streets he would be stopped by someone or the other who would want him to explain this or that theory.Finally the genius found a way to handle these incessant inquiries. He began telling inquirers "Pardon me, so sorry! Always I am mistaken for Professor Einstein."
A Priest-ly Scientist Joseph Priestley was born on March 13, 1733. His greatest contribution has been the discovery of oxygen in 1774.Priestley also answered ageold questions of why and how things burn.
Priestley's father was a cloth-dresser and he sadly, lost his mother as she died during childbirth when Priestley was seven-years-old. As a result, he was raised by his aunt. As a child, Priestley used to remain ill and his early education was neglected. However, by his
mid-teens, he had discovered his natural aptitude for languages and learnt Hebrew, Latin and Greek. Priestley's aunt wanted him to be a minister and so he entered the Dissenting Academy at Daventry, a non-conformist school for ministers. Thus, his first position was that of assistant to the Presbyterian minister at Needham Market. This is when his philosophy grew extraordinarily liberal and he
gradually came to question the divinity of Jesus.
In 1762, Priestley married his Mary. He moved to Leeds five years later in charge of Mill Hill Chapel. Here, it so happened that his house was next to a brewery. And so, Priestley soon began experiments on 'fixed air' produced in unlimited supply by the brewery. In
1772 he announced his invention of soda-water.
Priestley was self-taught in chemistry but possessed both curiosity and manipulative skills that served him well in the lab. Priestley was the first pneumatic chemist (someone who tries to understand the physical properties of gases and how they relate to chemical
reactions) and discovered eight gases, a record that still stands.
In 1791 Priestly's house and lab were destroyed by a mob who disagreed with his views on religion and politics. Fortunately, Priestley and family managed to escape to the USA.
Towards the end of his life, Priestley reflected: "I have a tolerably good habit of circumspection with regard to facts; but as to onclusions from them, I am not apt to be very confident."
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Albert Einstein was born in 1879 on March 14. Like we know, Einstein's life was filled with achievements. The most famous one being the discovery of the famous formula E=mc2. But do we know anything about the man Albert Einstein if we were to minus his achievements from him? To celebrate his birthday let us take a u-turn and drive back into the era of Einstein.
Did you know that a magnetic compass got Albert Einstein to become who he is? Yup, that is a fact, and here is how the story goes. Once when Einstein fell sick (all at the age of 5) his father gave him a compass to make him feel better.When Einstein got a grip
over this gadget, he was highly fascinated. The needle's invariable northward swing, guided by an invisible force, totally impressed
the young Einstein. This was when the compass convinced him that there had to be "something behind things, something deeply hidden." And this was how a compass made him pick his career.
We all know the funny photograph of Einstein sticking out his tongue don't we? Well, you will be surprised to learn that Einstein was not trying to be funny here. This picture was clicked on Einstein's birthday. It is said that he was being hounded by photographers on
this occasion. By the end of it all he was so annoyed that he stuck his tongue out in exasperation.
He did so only to try and ruin the photograph. But because he had the reputation for being quirky, the photo was just seen as another example of his irascible charm.
There was a point in time when Einstein was at the peak of his popularity. To be precise, this was in the period before World War II. During this time, if Einstein would take a walk on the American streets he would be stopped by someone or the other who would want him to explain this or that theory.Finally the genius found a way to handle these incessant inquiries. He began telling inquirers "Pardon me, so sorry! Always I am mistaken for Professor Einstein."
A Priest-ly Scientist Joseph Priestley was born on March 13, 1733. His greatest contribution has been the discovery of oxygen in 1774.Priestley also answered ageold questions of why and how things burn.
Priestley's father was a cloth-dresser and he sadly, lost his mother as she died during childbirth when Priestley was seven-years-old. As a result, he was raised by his aunt. As a child, Priestley used to remain ill and his early education was neglected. However, by his
mid-teens, he had discovered his natural aptitude for languages and learnt Hebrew, Latin and Greek. Priestley's aunt wanted him to be a minister and so he entered the Dissenting Academy at Daventry, a non-conformist school for ministers. Thus, his first position was that of assistant to the Presbyterian minister at Needham Market. This is when his philosophy grew extraordinarily liberal and he
gradually came to question the divinity of Jesus.
In 1762, Priestley married his Mary. He moved to Leeds five years later in charge of Mill Hill Chapel. Here, it so happened that his house was next to a brewery. And so, Priestley soon began experiments on 'fixed air' produced in unlimited supply by the brewery. In
1772 he announced his invention of soda-water.
Priestley was self-taught in chemistry but possessed both curiosity and manipulative skills that served him well in the lab. Priestley was the first pneumatic chemist (someone who tries to understand the physical properties of gases and how they relate to chemical
reactions) and discovered eight gases, a record that still stands.
In 1791 Priestly's house and lab were destroyed by a mob who disagreed with his views on religion and politics. Fortunately, Priestley and family managed to escape to the USA.
Towards the end of his life, Priestley reflected: "I have a tolerably good habit of circumspection with regard to facts; but as to onclusions from them, I am not apt to be very confident."
--
à´Žà´²്à´²ാ à´ാà´µുà´•à´™്ങളും à´¨േà´°ുà´¨്à´¨ു
a very informative write up on the life of two great scientists.
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