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On this day in 1867 Marie Curie was born.
Maria Salomea Skłodowska was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person and only woman to win twice, the only person to win twice in multiple sciences. She was also the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris.
She was born in Warsaw, in what was then the Kingdom of Poland, part of the Russian Empire. She studied at Warsaw’s Floating University and began her practical scientific training in Warsaw. In 1891, aged 24, she followed her older sister to study in Paris, where she earned her higher degrees and conducted her subsequent scientific work. She shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with her husband Pierre Curie and with physicist Henri Becquerel. She won the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Her achievements included a theory of radioactivity (a term that she coined), techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes, and the discovery of two elements, polonium and radium.
For many years she was the only female attendee of the famous Solvay Conference which was set up to consider problems in both physics and chemistry.
Nikola Tesla was born on this day in 1856.
Aged 35 (and a half) Tesla delivered a talk here at the Ri on AC power that was so spectacular, audiences flocked back the next night for an encore.
We love a science demonstration, and judging by his sprawling lecture desk, so did Tesla…
120 years after Tesla stood in the Faraday theatre (in 1892) we recreated a demonstration of his Tesla coil in the 2012 Christmas Lectures: https://youtu.be/5piP_qfDvBA?t=4s
Richard Feynman was born on this day in 1918. Let his take on the beauty of science and the world wash over you.
From the Feynman Series.
Leonard Euler was a Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, logician and engineer. He was born on this day in 1707. This illustration is from his paper on the Seven Bridges of Königsberg, a classic mathematical problem that he resolved in what is thought to be the precursor to graph theory and the idea of topology.
We’ve released a new archive with hours and hours of vintage science films!
The Bragg film archive features classic broadcasts, unique research recordings, and priceless glimpses into the history of science over the last century. Tuck in here!
Maria Mitchell, the first female professional astronomer in America, was born on this day in 1818. She discovered a comet, now known as Miss Mitchell’s Comet in 1847. Read the heartening story of her discovery here.
Michael Faraday was born on this day in 1791. He went on to become one of the world’s great scientists. He discovered electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism and electrolysis. His work shaped the modern world.
To celebrate, we had some cake in the lecture theatre he inspired so many from.
Neil Armstrong was born on this day in 1930.
August 5
Do your dreams ever look this trippy?
Brain imaging techniques have shown that our minds work differently when we’re asleep compared to when we’re awake. This got us thinking about one of life’s great questions: what is consciousness?
Can it be measured? Replicated? Created? Marcus du Sautoy puzzles over how we might measure consciousness using mathematical formulae, and looks to philosophy for a deeper understanding 🤔
Watch our new animation created by Diana Gradinaru: