One of the fundamental sciences of our planet is physics and its laws. Every day we use the benefits of physicists who have been working for many years to make people's lives more comfortable and better. The existence of all mankind is built on the laws of physics, although we do not think about it. Thanks to whom the light is on in our homes, we can fly planes through the sky and swim across the endless seas and oceans. We will talk about scientists who dedicated themselves to science. Who are the most famous physicists whose work has changed our lives forever. There are a lot of great physicists in the history of mankind. We will talk about seven of them.
Albert Einstein (Switzerland) (1879-1955)
Albert Einstein, one of the greatest physicists of mankind, was born on March 14, 1879 in the German city of Ulm. The great theoretical physicist can be called a man of the world, he had to live in a difficult time for all mankind during the two world wars and often move from one country to another.
Einstein wrote over 350 papers in physics. He is the creator of the special (1905) and general theory of relativity (1916), the principle of equivalence of mass and energy (1905). Developed many scientific theories: quantum photoelectric effect and quantum heat capacity. Together with Planck, he developed the foundations of quantum theory, representing the basis of modern physics. Einstein has a large number of awards for his work in the field of science. The crown of all awards is the Nobel Prize in physics received by Albert in 1921.
Nikola Tesla (Serbia) (1856-1943)
The famous physicist-inventor was born in the small village of Smilyan on July 10, 1856. Tesla's work was far ahead of the time in which the scientist lived. Nicola is called the father of modern electricity. He made many discoveries and inventions, receiving more than 300 patents for his creations in all countries where he worked. Nikola Tesla was not only a theoretical physicist, but also a brilliant engineer who created and tested his inventions.
Tesla discovered alternating current, wireless transmission of energy, electricity, his work led to the discovery of X-rays, created a machine that caused vibrations of the earth's surface. Nikola predicted the advent of the era of robots capable of doing any job. Due to his extravagant demeanor, he did not gain recognition during his lifetime, but without his work it is difficult to imagine the daily life of a modern person.
Isaac Newton (England) (1643-1727)
One of the fathers of classical physics was born on January 4, 1643 in the town of Woolsthorpe in the UK. He was first a member, and later the head of the Royal Society of Great Britain. Isaac formed and proved the main laws of mechanics. He substantiated the movement of the planets of the solar system around the sun, as well as the onset of ebbs and flows. Newton created the foundation for modern physical optics. From the huge list of works of the great scientist, physicist, mathematician and astronomer, two works stand out, one of which was written in 1687 and "Optics" published in 1704. The top of his work is the law of universal gravitation, known even to a ten-year-old kid.
Stephen Hawking (England)
The most famous physicist of our time appeared on our planet on January 8, 1942 in Oxford. Stephen Hawking received his education at Oxford and Cambridge, where he later taught, and also worked at the Canadian Institute of Theoretical Physics. The main works of his life are connected with quantum gravity and cosmology.
Hawking explored the theory of the emergence of the world as a result of the Big Bang. He developed the theory of the disappearance of black holes, due to the phenomenon that received the name Hawking radiation in his honor. Considered the founder of quantum cosmology. A member of the oldest scientific society, which Newton was also a member of, the Royal Society of London for many years, joining it in 1974, and is considered one of the youngest members accepted into the society. With all his might, he introduces contemporaries to science with the help of his books and participating in television programs.
Maria Curie-Sklodowska (Poland, France) (1867-1934)
The most famous female physicist was born on November 7, 1867 in Poland. She graduated from the prestigious Sorbonne University, where she studied physics and chemistry, and subsequently became the first female teacher in the history of her Alma mater. Together with her husband Pierre and the famous physicist Antoine Henri Becquerel, they studied the interaction of uranium salts and sunlight, as a result of the experiments they received new radiation, which was called radioactivity. For this discovery, together with her colleagues, she received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903. Mary was a member of many learned societies around the globe. Forever went down in history as the first person to receive the Nobel Prize in two categories in chemistry in 1911 and physics.
Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen (Germany) (1845-1923)
Roentgen first saw our world in Lennep, Germany on March 27, 1845. He taught at the University of Würzburg, where on November 8, 1985 he made a discovery that changed the life of all mankind forever. He managed to discover x-radiation, which later received the name in honor of the scientist - x-rays. His discovery was the impetus for the emergence of a number of new trends in science. Wilhelm Conrad went down in history as the first winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Andrey Dmitrievich Sakharov (USSR, Russia)
On May 21, 1921, the future creator of the hydrogen bomb was born. Sakharov wrote many scientific papers on elementary particles and cosmology, magnetic hydrodynamics and astrophysics. But his main achievement is the creation of the hydrogen bomb. Sakharov was a brilliant physicist in the history of not only the vast country of the USSR, but also the world.
They changed our world and significantly influenced the lives of many generations.
Great physicists and their discoveries
(1856-1943) - an inventor in the field of electrical and radio engineering of Serbian origin. Nicola is called the father of modern electricity. He made many discoveries and inventions, receiving more than 300 patents for his creations in all countries where he worked. Nikola Tesla was not only a theoretical physicist, but also a brilliant engineer who created and tested his inventions.
Tesla discovered alternating current, wireless transmission of energy, electricity, his work led to the discovery of X-rays, created a machine that caused vibrations of the earth's surface. Nikola predicted the advent of the era of robots capable of doing any job.
(1643-1727) - one of the fathers of classical physics. He substantiated the movement of the planets of the solar system around the sun, as well as the onset of ebbs and flows. Newton created the foundation for modern physical optics. The top of his work is the well-known law of universal gravitation.
John Dalton- English physical chemist. He discovered the law of uniform expansion of gases when heated, the law of multiple ratios, the phenomenon of polymers (for example, ethylene and butylene). Creator of the atomic theory of the structure of matter.
Michael Faraday(1791 - 1867) - English physicist and chemist, founder of the theory of the electromagnetic field. He made so many scientific discoveries in his life that a dozen scientists would have been enough to immortalize his name.
(1867 - 1934) - physicist and chemist of Polish origin. Together with her husband, she discovered the elements radium and polonium. Worked on radioactivity.
Robert Boyle(1627 - 1691) - English physicist, chemist and theologian. Together with R. Townley, he established the dependence of the volume of the same mass of air on pressure at a constant temperature (Boyle-Mariotte law).
Ernest Rutherford- English physicist, unraveled the nature of induced radioactivity, discovered the emanation of thorium, radioactive decay and its law. Rutherford is often rightly called one of the titans of physics of the twentieth century.
- German physicist, creator of the general theory of relativity. He suggested that all bodies do not attract each other, as it was believed since the time of Newton, but bend the surrounding space and time. Einstein wrote over 350 papers in physics. He is the creator of the special (1905) and general theory of relativity (1916), the principle of equivalence of mass and energy (1905). Developed many scientific theories: quantum photoelectric effect and quantum heat capacity. Together with Planck, he developed the foundations of quantum theory, representing the basis of modern physics.
Alexander Stoletov- Russian physicist, found that the magnitude of the saturation photocurrent is proportional to the light flux incident on the cathode. He came close to establishing the laws of electrical discharges in gases.
(1858-1947) - German physicist, creator of quantum theory, which made a real revolution in physics. Classical physics, in contrast to modern physics, now means "physics before Planck."
Paul Dirac- English physicist, discovered the statistical distribution of energy in a system of electrons. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of new productive forms of atomic theory."
Our understanding of the world around us in the heyday of the technological era is all this, and much more, the result of the work of numerous scientists. We live in a progressive world that is developing at a tremendous pace. This growth and progression is the product of science, numerous studies and experiments. Everything we use, including cars, electricity, health care and science, is the result of the inventions and discoveries of these intellectuals. Were it not for the greatest minds of mankind, we would still be living in the Middle Ages. People take everything for granted, but it is still worth paying tribute to those thanks to whom we have what we have. This list features ten of the greatest scientists in history whose inventions have changed our lives.
Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
Sir Isaac Newton was an English physicist and mathematician, widely regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time. Newton's contribution to science is wide and unique, and the laws he derived are still taught in schools as the basis of scientific understanding. His genius is always mentioned along with a funny story - allegedly, Newton discovered the force of gravity thanks to an apple that fell from a tree on his head. Whether or not the apple story is true, Newton also established the heliocentric model of the cosmos, built the first telescope, formulated the empirical law of cooling, and studied the speed of sound. As a mathematician, Newton also made a lot of discoveries that influenced the further development of mankind. 
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Albert Einstein is a German-born physicist. In 1921 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for discovering the law of the photoelectric effect. But the most important achievement of the greatest scientist in history is the theory of relativity, which, along with quantum mechanics, forms the basis of modern physics. He also formulated the mass energy equivalence relation E=m, which is named as the most famous equation in the world. He also collaborated with other scientists on works such as Bose-Einstein Statistics. Einstein's letter to President Roosevelt in 1939, alerting him to a possible nuclear weapon, is supposed to be a key impetus in the development of the US atomic bomb. Einstein believes that this is the biggest mistake of his life. 
James Maxwell (1831-1879)
Maxwell - Scottish mathematician and physicist, introduced the concept of the electromagnetic field. He proved that light and electromagnetic field travel at the same speed. In 1861 Maxwell took the first color photograph after researching in the field of optics and colors. Maxwell's work on thermodynamics and kinetic theory also helped other scientists to make a number of important discoveries. The Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution is another major contribution to the development of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. 
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
Louis Pasteur, French chemist and microbiologist, whose main invention was the process of pasteurization. Pasteur made a number of discoveries in the field of vaccination, creating vaccines against rabies and anthrax. He also studied the causes and developed methods for preventing diseases, which saved many lives. All this made Pasteur the "father of microbiology". This great scientist founded the Pasteur Institute to continue scientific research in many fields.
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
Charles Darwin is one of the most influential figures in human history. Darwin, an English naturalist and zoologist, advanced the theory of evolution and evolutionism. He provided a basis for understanding the origin of human life. Darwin explained that all life arose from common ancestors and that development occurred through natural selection. This is one of the dominant scientific explanations for the diversity of life. 
Marie Curie (1867-1934)
Marie Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics (1903) and Chemistry (1911). She became not only the first woman to win the award, but also the only woman to do so in two fields and the only person to achieve it across sciences. Its main field of research was radioactivity - methods for isolating radioactive isotopes and the discovery of the elements polonium and radium. During World War I, Curie opened the first radiology center in France and also developed a mobile field x-ray that helped save the lives of many soldiers. Unfortunately, prolonged exposure to radiation led to aplastic anemia, from which Curie died in 1934. 
Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)
Nikola Tesla, Serbian American, best known for his work in the modern electrical system and AC research. Tesla at the initial stage worked for Thomas Edison - he developed engines and generators, but later quit. In 1887 he built an induction motor. Tesla's experiments gave rise to the invention of radio communication, and Tesla's special nature gave him the nickname "mad scientist". In honor of this greatest scientist, in 1960, the unit of measurement of magnetic field induction was called "tesla". 
Niels Bohr (1885-1962)
The Danish physicist Niels Bohr was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1922 for his work on quantum theory and the structure of the atom. Bohr is famous for discovering the model of the atom. In honor of this greatest scientist, the element ‘Borium’, formerly known as hafnium, was even named. Bohr was also instrumental in founding CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. 
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Galileo Galilei is best known for his achievements in astronomy. An Italian physicist, astronomer, mathematician and philosopher, he improved the telescope and made important astronomical observations, among them the confirmation of the phases of Venus and the discovery of the moons of Jupiter. The frantic support of heliocentrism became the reason for the persecution of the scientist, Galileo was even subjected to house arrest. During this time he wrote The Two New Sciences, for which he was called the "Father of Modern Physics". 
Aristotle (384-322 BC)
Aristotle is a Greek philosopher who is the first real scientist in history. His views and ideas influenced scientists in later years as well. He was a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His work covers a wide variety of subjects - physics, metaphysics, ethics, biology, zoology. His views on the natural sciences and physics were innovative and became the basis for the further development of mankind. 
Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev (1834 - 1907)
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev can be safely called one of the greatest scientists in the history of mankind. He discovered one of the fundamental laws of the universe - the periodic law of chemical elements, to which the entire universe is subject. The history of this amazing man deserves many volumes, and his discoveries have become the engine of the development of the modern world.
We present to your attention a list of scientists whose worldview was religious. To make the list more “reliable”, we tried by all means to avoid including people on whose worldview there are conflicting information, Pravoslavie.fm reports.
Physics
Galileo Galilei Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642)
Worldview. Catholic. Claimed that “the Holy Scriptures can in no case affirm a lie or err; his sayings are absolute and undeniably true."
Contribution to science. Refuted Aristotelian physics. He was the first to use a telescope to observe celestial bodies. He laid the foundations of classical mechanics, basing it on the experimental method, for which he is often called the "father of modern physics."
Edme Mariotte Edme Mariotte (1620 - 1684)
Worldview. Roman Catholic priest, abbot of the monastery of Saint Martinsubon.
Contribution to science. One of the founders of the French Academy of Sciences. In 1660 he opened the so-called. "blind spot" in the human eye. 17 years later, Boyle discovered the law of the relationship between the volume and elasticity of a gas. He built a theory of impact in a mechanic, and also created a ballistic pendulum. Contributed to the development of aerodynamic theory with considerations about the relationship between speed and drag.
Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal (1623 - 1662)
Worldview. Jansenist Catholic. A religious philosopher, Pascal defended the Christian faith, argued with Descartes, argued with the atheists of his time, condemned the casuistry of the Jesuits, who justified the vices of high society (in Letters to a Provincial), the author of numerous reflections on philosophical and religious topics. He wrote the work "Thoughts on Religion and Other Subjects", a collection of ideas in defense of Christianity from criticism from atheists, which includes the famous "Pascal's wager".
Contribution to science. Created a calculating machine-arfmometer. Empirically refuted at that time the dominant axiom, adopted from Aristotle, that nature is "afraid of the void", at the same time formulated the basic law of hydrostatics. In correspondence with Fermat, he laid the foundations of the theory of probability. He also stands at the origins of projective geometry and mathematical analysis.
Sir Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727)
outlook. Anglican, views are close to the heresy of Arianism. Newton studied the Bible, and the volume of his texts on the study of Scripture exceeds the volume of scientific texts he wrote. With his work, Principia Mathematica hoped to induce a thinking person to believe in God.
Pierre Louis de Maupertuis Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (1698 - 1759)
Worldview. Catholic, philosopher. Voltaire wrote many satires against him, for example, "Doctor Akaki, the papal physician", before his death, the scientist admitted that Christianity "leads a person to the greatest good with the help of the greatest possible means."
Contribution to science. He introduced the concept of the principle of least action into mechanics, and immediately pointed out its universal nature. He was a pioneer in genetics, in particular, some find that his views contributed to the formation of the theory of evolution and natural selection.
Luigi Galvani Luigi Galvani (1737 - 1798)
Worldview. Catholic. He studied theology, wanted to connect his life with the Church, but chose the path of science. About the deep religiosity of Galvani says his biographer, Professor Venturoli. In 1801, another biographer, Alibert, writes about the scientist: “It can be added that in his public demonstrations, he never completed his lectures without calling his listeners to the renewal of faith, always drawing their attention to the idea of eternal Providence, which develops, preserves and makes life flow among many other kinds of things."
Contribution to science. He was one of the first to study electrophysiology and "animal electricity". The phenomenon of "galvanism" was named after him.
Alessandro Volta Alessandro Volta (1745 - 1827)
Worldview. Catholic. The dogmas, social life and rituals of the Roman Church made up a large part of the life (culture) of Volta. His best friends were the clerics. Volta remained close to his brothers: the canon and the archdeacon, and was a church person (practitioner, in Catholic terminology). Examples of his religiosity include flirting with Jansenism in the 1790s, an 1815 confession of faith written to defend religion against scientism. In 1794, Volta wrote several letters: to his brothers and to a professor of theology from the University of Pavia, in these letters he asked them for advice on his possible marriage.
Contribution to science. Physicist, invented the chemical battery in 1800. Discovered methane. Found ways to measure charge (Q) and potential (V). Created the world's first chemical current source.
André-Marie Ampère (1775 - 1836)
Worldview. Catholic. The scientist is credited with the following statement: “Study, explore earthly things - this is the duty of the man of science. With one hand, explore nature, and with the other, like a father’s clothes, hold on to the edge of God’s robe. At the age of 18, the scientist believed that there were three climaxes in his life: "The first communion, reading the work of Antoine Thomas" eulogy to Descartes ", and the taking of the Bastille." When his wife died, Ampère wrote out two stanzas from the Psalms and the prayer “O Lord, Merciful God, unite me in Heaven with those whom you allowed me to love on Earth”, while strong doubts overwhelmed him, and in his free time the scientist read Bible and Church Fathers.
Contribution to science. Physicist and mathematician. In electrodynamics: he established a rule for determining the direction of the magnetic field on a magnetic needle ("Ampère's law"), discovered the influence of the Earth's magnetic field on moving conductors with current, discovered the interaction between electric currents, formulated the law of this phenomenon ("Ampère's law"). Contributed to the development of the theory of magnetism: discovered the magnetic effect of the solenoid. Ampère was also an inventor - it was he who invented the commutator and the electromagnetic telegraph. Ampère also contributed to chemistry through his collaborations with Avogadro
Hans Christian Oersted Hans Christian Oersted (1777 - 1851)
Worldview. Lutheran (presumably). In his speech of 1814, entitled "The development of science, understood as the task of religion" (this speech the scientist placed in his book "The Soul in Nature", in which he writes that this speech includes many ideas that are more developed in other parts of the book, but here they are presented as a whole), Oersted states the following: “we will try to establish our conviction about the existing harmony between science and religion, showing how a man of science should look at his studies if he understands them correctly, namely, as the task of religion." What follows is a long discussion that can be found in the book.
Contribution to science. Physicist and chemist. He discovered that electric current creates a magnetic field. The first modern thinker who described in detail and gave a name to a thought experiment. Oersted's work was an important step towards a unified concept of energy.
Michael Faraday Michael Faraday (1791 - 1867)
outlook. Protestant, Church of Scotland. After his marriage, he served as a deacon and church warden in one of the meetinghouses of his youth, the researchers note that "a strong sense of harmony between God and nature permeated his whole life and work."
Contribution to science. Contributed to electromagnetism and electrochemistry. Considered the best experimenter and one of the most influential scientists in the history of science. Discovered benzene. He noticed a phenomenon that he called diamagnetism. Discovered the principle of electromagnetic induction. His invention of electromagnetic rotators served as the basis for the electric motor. Including thanks to his efforts, electricity began to be used in technology.
James Prescott Joule James Prescott Joule (1818 - 1889)
Worldview. Anglican (presumably). Joule wrote: “The phenomenon of nature, be it mechanical, chemical, vital, almost completely passes into itself for a long time. Thus, order is maintained and nothing is put out of order, nothing is lost forever, but the whole mechanism, as it is, works smoothly and harmoniously, all controlled by God's will. He was one of the signatories of the "Declaration of Students of the Natural and Physical Sciences", written in response to the wave of Darwinism that came to England.
Contribution to science. He formulated the first law of thermodynamics, discovered Joule's Law on the power of heat during the flow of electric current. He was the first to calculate the speed of gas molecules. Calculate the mechanical equivalent of heat.
Sir George Gabriel Stokes Sir George Gabriel Stokes (1819 - 1903)
Worldview. Anglican (presumably). In 1886 he became president of the Victoria Institute (Victoria Institute), whose goal was to give an answer to the evolutionary movement of the 60s, in 1891 Stokes gave a lecture at this institute, was also president of the British and Foreign (Foreign) Bible Society, was actively involved in missionary problems. Stokes said "I do not know of any sound conclusions of science that would be contrary to the Christian religion."
Contribution to science. Physicist and mathematician, author of the Stokes theorem, made a significant contribution to the development of hydrodynamics, optics and mathematical physics.
William Thomson, Lord Kelvin William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (1824 - 1907)
Worldview. Presbyterian. Throughout his life he was a devout man, he attended church every day. As can be seen from the speech of the scientist in the "Christian Evidence Society" (an organization created to overcome atheism in Victorian society), Thompson believed that his faith helps him to know reality, informs him. In the broadest sense of the word, the scientist was a creationist, but he was by no means a "flood geologist", you can say that he supported the view known as theistic evolution. Often openly disagreed with the followers of Ch. Darwin, entered into disputes with them.
Contribution to science. Mathematical physicist and engineer. He formulated the first and second laws of thermodynamics, helped to unify the emerging disciplines in physics. He guessed that there was a lower temperature limit, absolute zero. Also known as an inventor, author of about 70 patents.
James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (1831 - 1879)
Worldview. Evangelical Christian. At the end of his life he became a churchwarden in the Church of Scotland. As a child, he attended services both in the Church of Scotland (his father's denomination) and in the Episcopal Church (his mother's denomination).
Contribution to science. Physicist whose main achievement was the formulation of the classical theory of electromagnetism. Thus, he united previously disparate observations, experiments and equations in electricity, magnetism and optics into a single theory. Maxwell's equations show that electricity, magnetism and light are one and the same phenomenon. These achievements of his have been called "the second greatest unification in physics" (after the work of Isaac Newton). The scientist also helped develop the Boltzmann-Maxwell distribution, which is a statistical tool for describing certain aspects in the kinetic theory of gases. Maxwell is also known as the person who created the first permanent color photograph in 1861.
Sir John Ambrose Fleming Sir John Ambrose Fleming (1849 - 1945)
Worldview. Congregationalist. Fleming was a creationist and rejected Darwin's ideas as atheistic (from Fleming's book Evolution or Creation?). In 1932, he helped found the Evolution Protest Movement. Fleming once preached "in the fields" at St. Martin's in London, and his sermon was devoted to the testimony of the Resurrection. The scientist bequeathed most of his inheritance to Christian charitable organizations that helped the poor.
Contribution to science. Physicist and engineer. Considered the father of modern electrical engineering. He formulated two rules known to physics: the left and the right hand. Invented the so-called Fleming lamp ("Fleming valve")
Sir Joseph John Thomson Sir Joseph John Thomson (1856 - 1940)
Worldview. Anglican. Raymond Seeger in his book J. J. Thomson, Anglican" states the following: "As a professor, Thompson attended the Sunday evening service of the university chapel, and as head of the university, the morning. Moreover, he took an interest in the Trinity Mission in Camberwell. With respect for his personal religious life, Thompson invariably prayed every day and read the Bible before bed. He really was a believing Christian!
Contribution to science. Physicist, discovered the electron and the isotope. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1906 for "the discovery of the electron and services in the field of theoretical and experimental research on the conduction of electricity in gases." The scientist also invented the mass spectrometer, discovered the natural radioactivity of potassium and showed that hydrogen has only one electron per atom, while previous theories allowed for many electrons in hydrogen.
Max Planck Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (1858 - 1947)
Worldview. Catholic (converted six months before his death), before that a deeply religious deist. In his work “Religion and Natural Science,” the scientist wrote (the quote was given with context, from the beginning of the paragraph: “With such a coincidence, one should, however, pay attention to one fundamental difference. God is given to a religious person directly and primarily. From Him, His almighty will comes all life and all manifestations of both the corporeal and the spiritual world, although He is unknowable by the mind, nevertheless He directly manifests Himself through the medium of religious symbols, putting His holy message into the souls of those who, believing, trust Him. for the natural scientist, only the content of his perceptions and the measurements derived from them is primary. From here, by means of inductive ascent, he tries as far as possible to approach God and His world order as the highest, eternally unattainable goal. Consequently, both religion and natural science need faith in God, while In this regard, for religion, God stands at the beginning of all reflection, but for natural science, at the end.
Contribution to science. The founder of quantum physics, which is why he won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918. He formulated Planck's postulate (radiation of dark bodies), an expression for the spectral power density of the radiation of an absolutely black body.
Pierre Duhem Pierre Maurice Marie Duhem (1861 - 1916)
Worldview. Catholic. Often argued with Marcel about religious issues. D. O'Connor and E. Robinson in Duhem's biography argue that his religious views played a big role in determining his scientific views. The scientist also dealt with the philosophy of science, in his main work he showed that since 1200 science was not ignored, and that the Roman Catholic Church encouraged the development of Western science.
Contribution to science. Known for his work on thermodynamics (the Gibbs-Duhem relation, the Duhem-Margules equation), he also contributed to hydrodynamics, the theory of elasticity.
Sir William Bragg Sir William Lawrence Bragg (1890 - 1971)
Worldview. Anglican (possibly Anglo-Catholic). Bragg's daughter, wrote about the scientist's faith: “For W. Bragg, religious faith was the willingness to put everything on the hypothesis that Jesus Christ was right, and to test this with an experiment in doing a work of mercy throughout life. Bible reading was compulsory. Bragg often said that "if I have any style of writing at all, it's because I was raised on the Authorized Version [of the Bible]." He knew the Bible and could usually give out a "chapter or verse." The young professor W. Bragg became a church warden in the Church of Sts. John in Adelaide. He also received permission to preach."
Contribution to science. Physicist, 1915 Nobel Prize winner for "services in the study of crystals by means of X-rays". Bragg also created the first instrument for recording diffraction patterns. Together with his son, he developed the basics of a method for determining the structure of crystals from the diffraction pattern of x-rays.
Arthur Holly Compton Arthur Holly Compton (1892 - 1962)
Worldview. Presbyterian. Raymond Seeger, in his article Compton, Christian Humanist, published in The Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation, writes the following: . Throughout his life, the scholar was active in church affairs, from teaching Sunday school and serving as a church warden to positions on the Presbyterian Board of Education. Compton believed that the main problem of mankind, inspiring the meaning of life, lay outside of science. According to the Times magazine in 1936, the scientist was for some time a deacon in the Baptist Church.
Contribution to science. The physicist was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1927 for discovering the Compton effect. Invented a method to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth.
Georges Lemaitre Monseigneur Georges Henri Joseph Édouard Lemaître (1894 - 1966)
Worldview. Catholic priest (since 1923). Lemaitre believed that faith could be an advantage for a scientist: “As science passes through the mere stage of description, it becomes true science. She also becomes more religious. Mathematicians, astronomers, and physicists, for example, are very religious people, with few exceptions. The deeper they penetrate into the mystery of the universe, the deeper becomes their conviction that the force behind the stars, electrons and atoms is law and goodness.
Contribution to science. Cosmologist, author of the theory of the expanding Universe, Lemaitre was the first to formulate the relationship between the distance and speed of galaxies and proposed in 1927 the first estimate of the coefficient of this relationship, now known as the Hubble constant. Lemaitre's theory of the evolution of the world starting with the "original atom" was ironically called the "Big Bang" by Fred Hoyle in 1949. This name, "Big Bang", has historically stuck in cosmology.
Werner Karl Heisenberg Werner Karl Heisenberg (1901 - 1976)
Worldview. A Lutheran, though, towards the end of his life he was considered a mystic, as his views on religion were not orthodox. The author of the statement: "The first sip from a glass of natural science makes an atheist, but God waits at the bottom of the glass."
Contribution to science. Winner of the Nobel Prize in 1932 for the creation of quantum mechanics. In 1927, the scientist published his uncertainty principle, which brought him worldwide fame.
Sir Nevill Francis Mott (1905 - 1996)
Worldview. Christian. Here is the scientist's statement: “I believe in a God who can answer prayers, whom we can trust, and without whom life on Earth would be meaningless (a fairy tale told by a lunatic). I believe that God has revealed Himself to us in many ways, through many men and women, and for us in the West, the clearest revelation is through Jesus Christ and those who followed him.
Contribution to science. In 1977 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for "fundamental theoretical studies of the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems."
Nikolai Nikolaevich Bogolyubov (1909 - 1992)
Worldview. Orthodox. A. Bogolyubov writes about him: “The totality of his knowledge was a single whole, and the basis of his philosophy was his deep religiosity (he said that non-religious physicists can be counted on the fingers). He was a son of the Orthodox Church, and whenever time and health allowed him, he went to Vespers and Mass to the nearest church.”
Contribution to science. He proved the theorem "on the sharpness of the wedge", created, together with N. Krylov, the theory of nonlinear oscillations. Created a consistent theory of superconductivity. In the theory of superfluidity, he derived kinetic equations. Proposed a new synthesis of Bohr's theory of quasi-periodic functions.
Arthur Leonard Shawlow Arthur Leonard Schawlow (1921 - 1999)
Worldview. Methodist. Henry Margeno cites the following statement of the scientist: "And I see the need for God both in the Universe and in my life." When the scientist was asked if he was a religious person, he replied: “Yes, I was raised a Protestant and I was in several denominations. I go to church, a very good Methodist church.” The scientist also declared that he was an orthodox Protestant.
Contribution to science. Physicist, received the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics for "contributions to the development of laser spectroscopy". In addition to optics, Shavlov also explored areas of physics such as superconductivity and nuclear magnetic resonance.
Abdus Salam Mohammad Abdus Salam (محمد عبد السلام) (1926 - 1996)
outlook. Muslim of the Ahmadi community. In his Nobel speech, the scientist quotes the Koran. When the Pakistani government passed a constitutional amendment declaring members of the Ahmadiyya community to be non-Muslims, the scholar left the country in protest.
Contribution to science. In 1979 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for the theory of the unification of weak and electromagnetic interactions. Some of his main achievements were also: Pati-Salam model, magnetic photon, vector mesons, work on supersymmetry.
Charles Hard Townes Charles Hard Townes (born 1915)
outlook. Protestant (United Church of Christ). In a 2005 interview with The Guardian, the scholar said he "had been raised a Christian and while my ideas changed I always felt like a religious person", in the same interview Townes stated: "What is the science? Science is an attempt to understand how the universe works, including the human race. What is religion? It is an attempt to understand the purpose and meaning of the universe, including the human race. If there is this purpose and meaning, then it must be interconnected with the structure of the universe and the way it works (…) Therefore, faith must teach us something in science and vice versa.”
Contribution to science. One of the founders of quantum electronics, in 1964 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for "fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which led to the creation of emitters and amplifiers based on the laser-maser principle." In 1969, together with other scientists, he discovered the so-called. "maser effect" (radiation of cosmic water molecules at a wavelength of 1.35 cm), together with a colleague, was the first to calculate the mass of a black hole in the center of our galaxy. The scientist also made a contribution to nonlinear optics: he discovered the stimulated Mandelstam Brillouin scattering, introduced the concept of the critical power of a light beam and the phenomenon of self-focusing, and experimentally observed the effect of light autocollimation.
Freeman John Dyson Freeman John Dyson (born 1923)
Worldview. A Christian without a denomination, although Dyson's views can be described as agnostic (in one of his books he wrote that he did not consider himself a believing Christian, but only a practicing one and stated that he did not see the point in a theology that claims to know the answers to fundamental questions) . The scientist vigorously disagrees with reductionism, so, in his Templeton lecture, Dyson said: “Science and religion are two windows through which people look, trying to understand the Universe, to understand why they are here. These two windows offer a different view, but they are directed to the same universe. Neither is complete, both are one-sided. Both exclude significant parts of the real world."
Contribution to science. Theoretical physicist and mathematician, known for his work on quantum electrodynamics, astronomy, and nuclear engineering.
Anthony Hewish Antony Hewish (born 1924)
outlook. Christian. From a letter to T. Dmitrov: “I believe in God. It makes no sense to me to think that the universe and our existence are just an accident on a cosmic scale and that life arose as a result of random physical processes, simply because favorable conditions were created for this. As a Christian, I begin to understand the meaning of life thanks to faith in the Creator, Whose nature was partly revealed in a Man born 2000 years ago.
Contribution to science. In 1974 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for "a decisive role in the discovery of pulsars."
Arno Allan Penzias Arno Allan Penzias (born 1933)
outlook. Jew, in Jerry Bergman's book the following quote is given by a scientist: "The best data we have is what I would be able to predict if I had only the Pentateuch of Moses, the book of Psalms and the whole Bible in front of me." In his speeches, the scientist often said that he sees a meaning in the Universe, and pointed out the unwillingness of the scientific community to accept the Big Bang Theory, since it points to the creation of the world.
Contribution to science. Physicist, for the discovery of relic radiation in 1976 received the Nobel Prize in Physics. With the help of a maser, I solved the problem of increasing the accuracy of antenna tuning.
Joseph Taylor, Jr. Joseph Hooton Taylor, Jr. (b. 1941)
Worldview. Quaker. The worldview of the scientist is known from the book of Istvan Hargitai, to the question “Could you tell us about your attitude to religion?” the scientist replied as follows: “My family and I are active members of the Friends religious community, that is, the Quaker community. Religion is an important part of our lives (especially for my wife and I; to a lesser extent for our children). My wife and I often spend time with other believers in our community; it helps us to better understand our attitude to life, reminds us of what we are on Earth for and what we can do for others. Quakers are a group of Christians who believe in the possibility of direct communication between man and the Spirit, whom we call God. Reflection and self-contemplation helps to communicate with this Spirit and learn a lot about yourself and how you should live on Earth. Quakers believe that wars cannot resolve conflicts and that lasting results are achieved through the peaceful resolution of problems. We have always refused and refuse to participate in the war, but we are ready to serve our country in other ways. We believe that there is something Divine in every person, therefore human life is sacred. In people, you need to look for the depth of spiritual presence, even in those with whom you differ in views.
Contribution to science. Physicist, awarded the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physics for "the discovery of a new type of pulsar that has opened up new possibilities in the study of gravity."
William Daniel Phillips (b. 1948) William Daniel Phillips
Worldview. Methodist. One of the founders of the International Society for Science and Religion. Known for his frequent participation in the dialogue of "faith and science". In his autobiography on the Nobel Prize website, Phillips writes: “In 1979, after Jane and I moved to Gathersburg, we joined the United Methodist Church (…) Our children were inexhaustible for us. a source of blessing, adventure and challenge. At that time, Jane and I were looking for new jobs, and having children required a delicate balance between work, home, and church life. But somehow, our faith and our youthful energy carried us through these times.”
Contribution to science. Physicist, winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for "development of methods for cooling and trapping atoms with a laser beam."
Maths
René Descartes René Descartes (1596 - 1650)
Worldview. Catholic. One of the reasons for writing his Meditations was the defense of the Christian faith, in particular, in one of the chapters, Descartes re-formulated the ontological proof of the existence of God, he also wrote: “In a sense, one can say that without knowing God, one cannot have reliable knowledge of nothing.
Contribution to science. Mathematician, created the Cartesian coordinate system and laid the foundations of analytic geometry. The first deduced mathematically the law of refraction of light at the boundary of two different media.
Pierre de Fermat Pierre de Fermat (1601 - 1665)
Worldview. Catholic.
Contribution to science. Mathematician, creator of number theory, author of Fermat's Last Theorem. The scientist formulated the general law of differentiation of fractional powers. He founded analytical geometry (along with Descartes), applied it to space. He stood at the origins of the theory of probability.
Christian Huygens Christiaan Huygens (1629 - 1695)
Worldview. Protestant of the Reformed Church. When the French monarchy ceased tolerating Protestantism in 1881 (the repeal of the Edict of Nantes), Huygens left the country, although they wanted to make an exception for him, which testifies to his religious convictions.
Contribution to science. The first president of the Fartsuz Academy of Sciences, he stayed for 15 years. He discovered the theory of evolute and involute. He invented the pendulum clock and published the classic work on mechanics, The Pendulum Clock. He deduced the laws of uniformly accelerated freely falling bodies and formulated thirteen theorems on centrifugal force. Together with Fermat and Pascal, he laid the foundations of the theory of probability. Discovered Saturn's satellite Titan and described the rings of Saturn, discovered an ice cap at the South Pole of Mars. Invented a special eyepiece, consisting of two plano-convex lenses, named after him. The first urged to choose a universal natural measure of length. Simultaneously with Wallis and Wren, he solved the problem of the collision of elastic bodies.
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646 - 1716)
Worldview. A Christian is presumably a Protestant. He spoke out against theological orthodoxy, and against materialism and atheism. He created his own philosophical doctrine, the so-called. monadology of Leibniz, which was close to deism and pantheism.
Contribution to science. He founded mathematical analysis and combinatorics. He laid the foundations of mathematical logic and combinatorics. He made a very important step towards the creation of a computer, for the first time he described the binary system of calculation. Was the only person freely working with both continuous and discrete. He was the first to formulate the law of conservation of energy. Created a mechanical calculator (together with H. Huygens).
Leonhard Euler Leonhard Euler (1707 - 1783)
Worldview. Christian. He believed in the Divine inspiration of Scripture, argued with Danny Diderot about the existence of God, wrote an apologetic treatise "Defending Divine Revelation from the Objections of Freethinkers."
Contribution to science. It is often said that, from the point of view of mathematics, the 18th century is the age of Euler. Many call him the greatest mathematician of all time, Euler was the first to link analysis, algebra, trigonometry, number theory and other branches of mathematics into a single system, listing all his discoveries by name is impossible due to the format of this rubric.
Carl Friedrich Gauss Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777 - 1855)
outlook. Lutheran. Although Gauss did not believe in a personal God and was considered a deist, it can be argued that he had a religious worldview, for example, he believed in the immortality of the soul and life after death. According to Dunnington, Gauss believed in an immortal, righteous, omniscient and omnipotent God. With all his love for mathematics, Karl Friedrich never made it an absolute, he said: “There are problems to the solution of which I would attribute infinitely greater importance compared to mathematical problems, for example, problems related to ethics, or our relationship to God, or concerning our destiny and our future; but their solution lies entirely beyond our limits and absolutely beyond the scope of science.”
Contribution to science. The scientist is often called the King of Mathematics (lat. Princeps mathematicorum), this reflects his invaluable and vast contribution to the “queen of sciences”. So, in algebra, Gauss came up with a rigorous proof of the fundamental theorem of algebra, discovered the ring of integer complex numbers, and created the classical theory of comparisons. In geometry, the scientist made a contribution to differential geometry, for the first time he took up the internal geometry of surfaces: he discovered the surface characteristic (named after him), proved the basic theorem of surfaces, Gauss also created a separate science - higher geodesy. Dunnington claimed that Gauss was the first to study non-Euclidean geometry, but was afraid to publish his results, considering them meaningless. In mathematical analysis, Gauss created the theory of potential, studied elliptic functions. The scientist was also interested in astronomy, where he studied the orbits of minor planets, found a way to determine the elements of the orbit from three complete observations. Many of his students later became great mathematicians. The scientist also studied physics, where he developed the theory of capillarity and the theory of lens systems, and also laid the foundations for the theory of electromagnetism, designed (together with Weber) the first primitive electric telegraph.
Bernard Bolzano Bernard Placidus Johann Nepomuk Bolzano (1781 - 1848)
Worldview. Catholic priest. In addition to his scientific studies, Bolzano also dealt with theological and philosophical issues.
Contribution to science. Bolzano's writings contributed to the formation of rigorous definitions of analysis using "epsilon" and "delta". In many areas of mathematics, the scientist was a pioneer, ahead of his time: even before Cantor, Bolzano studied infinite sets, using geometric considerations, the scientist obtained examples of continuous, but nowhere differentiable functions. The scientist put forward the idea of an arithmetic theory of a real number, in 1817 he proved the Bolzano-Weierstrass theorem (regardless of the latter, who discovered it half a century later), the Bolzano-Cauchy theorem.
Augustin Louis Cauchy (1789 - 1857)
Worldview. Catholic. He was close to the Jesuit order, was a member of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, Augustin often had difficulties with colleagues because of his views.
Contribution to science. He developed the basis of mathematical analysis, for the first time strictly defined the limit, continuity, derivative, integral, convergence of a series in mathematical analysis, introduced the concept of convergence of a series, created the theory of integral residues, laid the foundations of the mathematical theory of elasticity, made a significant contribution to other areas of science.
Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (1791 - 1871)
Worldview. Anglican (presumably). He confidently defended the reliability of biblical miracles in an era when people were increasingly moving away from the Christian worldview.
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One of the most ancient and important scientific disciplines is physics - a science that studies the properties of matter, the basis of all natural science.
It is for this reason that physics is considered a fundamental science. Other natural sciences (biology, chemistry, geology, etc.) describe separate classes of material systems that ultimately obey physical laws.
James Watt (1736 - 1819), Scottish physicist and inventor, was born in England on January 19, 1736. The creator of the first universal steam engine, he had no special education, at first he was a skilled and talented toolmaker and served at the University of Glasgow.
Watt's road to world fame began with ordinary, routine work. One day he was assigned to fix a model of Newcomen's steam engine. He could not cope until he realized that the reason was not in the failure of the model, but in the principles underlying it. One day, during a walk, Watt came up with the idea to separate the condenser for cooling the steam and the working cylinder. Using this principle, Watt creates his model of a steam engine, which is still kept in the London Museum. Due to its efficiency, the Watt steam engine was widely used and was of great importance in the transition to machine production. In the 1800s, a share of the power generated by British industry was largely provided by Watt's steam engines.
James Watt introduced the first unit of power - horsepower. He also designed devices that were widely used in the future: a mercury vacuum gauge, a mercury open manometer, a water gauge for boilers, and a pressure indicator. He also invented copy ink (1780), and established the composition of water (1781).
Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is the inventor of the telephone. The Bell family moved from Scotland to Canada and later to the USA. Bell was neither a physicist nor an electrical engineer by training. He started out as an assistant teacher of music and public speaking, and later worked with people who were deaf or had speech impediments.
Bell was very eager to help these people. A great love for a girl who lost her hearing after an illness prompted him to design devices and devices with which he demonstrated the articulation of speech to the deaf. In Boston, he opened an educational institution where he trained teachers for the deaf. In 1893, A. Bell received the title of professor of physiology of the organs of speech at Boston University. Subsequently, he studied in depth the physics of human speech, acoustics, and soon began to conduct experiments using an apparatus in which the membrane transmits sound vibrations. He gradually approached the idea of creating a telephone that would allow the transmission of various sounds if he could cause oscillations of an electric current that correspond in intensity to the vibrations of air produced by a given sound.
Soon A. Bell changes the direction of his activities and begins work on the creation of a telegraph, which would be able to transmit several texts simultaneously. During this work, chance helped discover the phenomenon that led to the invention of the telephone.
One day, Bell's assistant was pulling out a record in the transmitter. In the receiver at this time, Bell heard a rattling sound. As it turned out, this plate closed and opened the electrical circuit. Bell took this observation very seriously. A few days later, the first telephone set was made, which consisted of a small membrane made of drum skin and a signal horn to amplify the sound. It was this device that became the progenitor of all telephones.
