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Scientists who have changed our modern life.

RAMOSS

RAMOSS

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There are a lot of scientists out there. Many of their accomplishments are very much underrated by the public, through ignorance of what they did, or not realized the implications of the invention. I thought I would go through some of the people who made discoveries that have vast implications in modern society, whose names are not house hold knowledge, but whose accomplishments are the basis for much we do today.

I'll start with probably a more well known name, but whose scientific achievements are not so recognized.
Let's first talk about Spread spectrum technology, which was developed by actress Hedy Lemarr and composer George Antheil back in 1941. That was initially used to case an 'unbreakable code' by allowing messages to be sent on variable frequencies so the message could not be intercepted.
It actually wasn't used until the Cuban missile crisis, but today, the use of spread spectrum is what makes the such devices as cell phone, wireless telephones , wireless computers and routers, etc etc etc.
Just think.. your ability to type on your cell phone to post to this forum is based on the invention of two entertainers back that put a patent on it back in WW2.
 
I have said before that I wish we would start rotating the faces of great scientists on our money instead of the same old politicians. The Founding Fathers did some great things, but they don't any more PR.
 
Skeptic Bob said:
I have said before that I wish we would start rotating the faces of great scientists on our money instead of the same old politicians. The Founding Fathers did some great things, but they don't any more PR.
Click to expand...

Hometown monuments to these sorts of people make a whole lot more sense than the Confederate monuments
 
RAMOSS said:
There are a lot of scientists out there. Many of their accomplishments are very much underrated by the public, through ignorance of what they did, or not realized the implications of the invention. I thought I would go through some of the people who made discoveries that have vast implications in modern society, whose names are not house hold knowledge, but whose accomplishments are the basis for much we do today.

I'll start with probably a more well known name, but whose scientific achievements are not so recognized.
Let's first talk about Spread spectrum technology, which was developed by actress Hedy Lemarr and composer George Antheil back in 1941. That was initially used to case an 'unbreakable code' by allowing messages to be sent on variable frequencies so the message could not be intercepted.
It actually wasn't used until the Cuban missile crisis, but today, the use of spread spectrum is what makes the such devices as cell phone, wireless telephones , wireless computers and routers, etc etc etc.
Just think.. your ability to type on your cell phone to post to this forum is based on the invention of two entertainers back that put a patent on it back in WW2.
Click to expand...

" Tesla was robbed !!! "
 
Fenton said:
" Tesla was robbed !!! "
Click to expand...

If you want to post information about Tesla, go right ahead. THere are plenty of people.. and the alternating current is still used today.
 
There are a lot of scientists who have changed our lives for the better, too many to list. Here are a few of them, though:

famous_scientists.jpg
 
Funny story, my Grandfather got in a drunken fistfight with Francis Crick in the mid 1950s. Apparently for all the good he did with his DNA research he was kind of a jag.
 
RAMOSS said:
There are a lot of scientists out there. Many of their accomplishments are very much underrated by the public, through ignorance of what they did, or not realized the implications of the invention. I thought I would go through some of the people who made discoveries that have vast implications in modern society, whose names are not house hold knowledge, but whose accomplishments are the basis for much we do today.

I'll start with probably a more well known name, but whose scientific achievements are not so recognized.
Let's first talk about Spread spectrum technology, which was developed by actress Hedy Lemarr and composer George Antheil back in 1941. That was initially used to case an 'unbreakable code' by allowing messages to be sent on variable frequencies so the message could not be intercepted.
It actually wasn't used until the Cuban missile crisis, but today, the use of spread spectrum is what makes the such devices as cell phone, wireless telephones , wireless computers and routers, etc etc etc.
Just think.. your ability to type on your cell phone to post to this forum is based on the invention of two entertainers back that put a patent on it back in WW2.
Click to expand...

Probably my favorite person in science is Tycho Brahe. Not only did he do the bulk of the work and tedius record keeping upon which Kepler developed the laws of planetary motion, but the man's life was a fascinating blend of scientific dedication and impressive amounts of debauchery.
 
The person who had the most impact on modern science would be whoever invented the decimal system of numbers. Imagine calculating the trajectory of a comet or the position of a planet relying on being able to multiply LX times XVI without converting to base ten first.

Then, how would 4x10^12 be noted, or 4x10^-9.

Then there was algebra.

Science relies on math. It was the Arabs who invented modern numbers, before their religious leaders told them to rely on the Koran instead of science. Imagine how different the world might be had they not listened to those ancient imams.
 
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