ajb Posted March 14, 2014 Posted March 14, 2014 I guess that would be me! If mathematics is a science, lol! Based on how they changed physics, the names that come to my mind are i) Galileo - he was one of the first to believe that the laws of nature have a mathematical form and took science from philosophy to what we know as science today which is evidence based. ii) Newton - his formulation of universal gravity showed that the laws of physics on Earth apply to the heavens. iii) Maxwell - his unification of the electric and magnetic forces really changed theoretical physics, but maybe this was not really recognised at the time. First we have a very elegant field theory that is highly geometric in nature, i.e. we have a gauge theory. Second we have a duality (in vacuum) of the electric and magnetic fields. Thirdly the constant speed of light falls out of the equations. All three of these things have become very important in modern physics. iv) Einstein - he revolutionised how we view space and time as well as showing how gravity is a geometric property of what we call space-time. v) Dirac - he developed the field theory of particles like the electron. More than this based on just mathematical arguments he predicted the existence of antiparticles, thus doubling the particle content of the Universe in one swoop. Antimatter was discovered shortly after by Anderson. Dirac also formulated much of the modern approach to quantum mechanics. vi) Feynman - he is the originator of the powerful techniques of quantisation that are used today in particle physics known as path integral methods. He was a huge contributor to the quantum theory of electrodynamics which is the gold standard of a quantum gauge theory. The list just goes on... 1
imatfaal Posted March 14, 2014 Posted March 14, 2014 As a rank amateur - and give the wide scope of the question - I will chose two scientists who made a huge difference to me and many other hobby scientists. Before it was widely popular to reach out to the community, many years prior to the invention of the MOOC, and whilst Sal Khan was still at school and university - two physicist made serious lectures available to the public. From MIT there is the charismatic king of the practical demonstration - Prof Walter Lewin who, with a local television channel, filmed an entire year of first year physics classes 801 Classical Mechanics 802 Electricty and Magnetism & 803 Vibrations and Waves. These are all available free to view and now form part of an MOOC at edx.org And from the other side of the country and the spectrum is the Stanford theoretician Prof Leonard Susskind; softly spoken and undramatic but with an empathy and connexion to his students that I still find moving. He started a series of continuing education classes for those outside physics who wanted more than popscience - the Theoretical Minimum; this was heavy on the theory, uncompromising on the maths, and covered everything from classical mechanics to string theory.
EdEarl Posted March 14, 2014 Posted March 14, 2014 My favorite scientist is Stephen Hawking, not for his science, but for the way he has persevered in the face of being disabled shortly after he graduated.
J.C.MacSwell Posted March 14, 2014 Posted March 14, 2014 Must include the guy in my avatar, a young James Clerk Maxwell Feynman, for the wit as well as the science Always liked Archimedes, James Watt For a lesser known pick, Manfred Curry, scientist, inventor and yachtsman
Lightmeow Posted March 15, 2014 Posted March 15, 2014 I have always admired Carl Sagan, as he was a big avicate for science, and tried to spread the word of it. He is the reason why I love science, let it be known. When I was little, I always looked forward to watching his cosmos series.
swansont Posted March 15, 2014 Posted March 15, 2014 I can't help but notice that none of you has said swansont. I will have my revenge one day. Just Kidding! 3
Endercreeper01 Posted March 15, 2014 Posted March 15, 2014 My favorite scientist is Albert Einstein. He revolutionized physics with relativity.
J.C.MacSwell Posted March 16, 2014 Posted March 16, 2014 I can't help but notice that none of you has said swansont. I will have my revenge one day. Just Kidding! Hey...they laughed at Edison... So far we have: 2 votes: Einstein Feynman Maxwell 1 vote: ajb (voted for himself) Galileo Newton Dirac Walter Lewin Leonard Susskind Hawking Archimedes Watt Manfred Curry Sagan "Honourable" mention (by himself) to Swansont Disclosure: Although in a Science Forum, poll is not a scientific one, some have voted more than once, so far a pretty small sample size...but looks like we have a couple of our own among the favourite scientistists of all time...
davidivad Posted March 16, 2014 Posted March 16, 2014 i would have to go with Illya Prigogine. he gave the second law of thermodynamics a run for it's money. order out of chaos... awesome book.
rktpro Posted March 16, 2014 Posted March 16, 2014 Richard Feynman, because from his lecture books could I entertain myself.
swansont Posted March 16, 2014 Posted March 16, 2014 "Honourable" mention (by himself) to Swansont No, I'm not my favorite scientist. I'd have to say Feynman, because he did such a good job of explaining things clearly. A scientific skill I admire.
davidivad Posted March 16, 2014 Posted March 16, 2014 i would also like to include Feynman as he gave us such a great way to look at things in particle physics.
ReasonPrevails Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 Definitely Isaac Newton, hands down! He defined the base upon which all modern physics stands. The stroke of genius that is calculus still boggles my mind, such a mix of creativity and mathematics.
Bill Angel Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 My greatest admiration is for the founders of Quantum Theory: Bohr, Planck, Schroedinger (and others)
MigL Posted March 21, 2014 Posted March 21, 2014 Enrico Fermi, probably the last physicist able to excel at both theoretical as well as experimental physics.
imatfaal Posted March 21, 2014 Posted March 21, 2014 Enrico Fermi, probably the last physicist able to excel at both theoretical as well as experimental physics. Indeed - and also an innovative, much loved and inspirational teacher; theoretical, experimental, and academic - that's a hard trio to excel at
Ant Sinclair Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 There had to be a creator and his patterns of creation so evident; Take Plancks' Constant - c = h x f from Pythagoras/Angles of pentagram we get 432 (base frequency) 300000000/432 = 694444.44recur which just happens to be the radius of the sun. Again take 432 x 5 = 2160 which is sum of angles of a cube but also the six circle flower formation pattern, everything has been designed around the numbers 5 & 9. 2160 also happens to be the length of time of each Zodiacal precession 2160 years!!!! Planck is my favourite for showing me Gods' hand at work! Look at Jupiters radius - is it not the vacuum cleaner of the solar system with a radius of 69910, after all the asteroids/meteors and other space debris it has collected since creation of the solar system could it not had an originally had a radius of 69444.44 recurring?
ajb Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 Planck is my favourite for showing me Gods' hand at work! You have voted for Planck, great he was one of the founders of quantum mechanics. However, your reasoning for voting for him sounds like numerology to me.
J.C.MacSwell Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 There had to be a creator and his patterns of creation so evident; Take Plancks' Constant - c = h x f from Pythagoras/Angles of pentagram we get 432 (base frequency) 300000000/432 = 694444.44recur which just happens to be the radius of the sun. Again take 432 x 5 = 2160 which is sum of angles of a cube but also the six circle flower formation pattern, everything has been designed around the numbers 5 & 9. 2160 also happens to be the length of time of each Zodiacal precession 2160 years!!!! Planck is my favourite for showing me Gods' hand at work! Look at Jupiters radius - is it not the vacuum cleaner of the solar system with a radius of 69910, after all the asteroids/meteors and other space debris it has collected since creation of the solar system could it not had an originally had a radius of 69444.44 recurring? Thank God Planck did not take any of that into consideration.
Bettina Posted March 29, 2014 Posted March 29, 2014 Michio Kaku. Because he captures me like Carl Sagan did. I never get that feeling with anyone else. Bee
Phi for All Posted March 29, 2014 Posted March 29, 2014 Michio Kaku. Because he captures me like Carl Sagan did. I never get that feeling with anyone else. Bee I love his advocacy for sustainable use of space, and his efforts to deal with space junk. Policy governance is shaped by such well-respected people. Always good to see you, Bee.
Intellectual Posted April 22, 2014 Posted April 22, 2014 1. Stephen Hawking - Michio Kaku - Brian Greene 2. Albert Einstein - Brian Cox 3. Carl Sagan 4. Isaac Newton 5. Schrodinger 6. Dr. Sheldon Cooper () if only he was real lol
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