Monthly Archives: June 2014

Charles Goodyear — July 1 marks the passing of Charles Goodyear. Charles Goodyear was a hardware merchant that turned to inventing when his business failed. He had invented a valve for inflating life vests made of a new substance called india rubber. India rubber was a recently discovered substance extruded from the sap […]

Today In Science History – July 1 – Charles Goodyear ...

This entry was posted on June 30, 2014 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on July 24, 2021)

John William Strutt — June 30 marks the passing of John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh. Lord Rayleigh was an English physicist who won the 1904 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the element argon. His colleague, William Ramsay won the 1904 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contribution to this discovery. […]

Today In Science History – June 30 – Lord Rayleigh

This entry was posted on June 29, 2014 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on June 30, 2021)

Collection of Parkesine Objects — June 29 marks the passing of Alexander Parkes. Parkes was an English metallurgist and the man who introduced us to plastic. Parkes created his plastic by dissolving cellulose in nitric acid and adding wood naphtha as a solvent. When the solvent evaporated, a flexible material was left. Parkes was quick […]

Today In Science History – June 29 – Alexander Parkes ...

This entry was posted on June 28, 2014 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on June 21, 2021)

Erlenmeyer Flask — June 28 is Emil Erlenmeyer’s birthday. Erlenmeyer was a German chemist best known for the flask that bears his name. An erlenmeyer flask is a piece of laboratory glassware consisting of a conical based flask with cylindrical neck. This design allows the chemist to do much of the same work […]

Today In Science History – June 28 – Emil Erlenmeyer ...

This entry was posted on June 27, 2014 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on June 21, 2021)

James Smithson — June 27 marks the passing of James Smithson. Smithson was a British chemist and mineralogist. Smithson was a Royal Society fellow who studied a variety of subjects such as human tears, snake venom. His work determining the true nature of one form of the mineral calamine. Most calamines are a mixture […]

Today In Science History – June 27 – James Smithson ...

This entry was posted on June 26, 2014 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on June 21, 2021)

What Is a Mole — A mole is a SI base unit of measurement. This is a definition of unit, its value, and example problems using the mole in chemistry.

What Is a Mole In Chemistry? Definition

This entry was posted on June 25, 2014 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on October 25, 2021)

Paul Niggli — June 26 is Paul Niggli’s birthday. Niggli was a Swiss mineralogist and pioneer of x-ray crystallography. X-rays were discovered by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895, but weren’t recognized as electromagnetic radiation until 1912. Based on their energy, if they were light, their wavelength would have to be on the order of […]

Today In Science History – June 26 – Paul Niggli ...

This entry was posted on June 25, 2014 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on June 21, 2021)

Damaged Spektr ModuleI — June 25 is the anniversary of an “Oops” moment in science history. On June 25, 1997, the Russians ran a test flight of the Progress resupply spacecraft from the Mir space station. The purpose of the test was to see if the spacecraft could be docked manually by a cosmonaut […]

Today In Science History – June 25 – Mir “Oops” ...

This entry was posted on June 24, 2014 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on June 21, 2021)

Fred Hoyle — June 24 is Fred Hoyle’s birthday. Hoyle was a well-known British astronomer who was the first to outline the creation of elements within stars. Hoyle’s work on nucleosynthesis showed how elements greater than helium could be formed through fusion reactions within stars. His first paper showed the core temperature of stars […]

Today In Science History – June 24 – Fred Hoyle ...

This entry was posted on June 23, 2014 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on June 22, 2022)