Monthly Archives: February 2018

Antoine Henri Becquerel — On March 1, 1896, Antoine Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity. Earlier in the week, he planned an experiment to expose uranium to sunlight and then store the uranium in a black bag with a photographic plate. Earlier trials of the experiment resulted in an image of the uranium crystals on the […]

Today in Science History – March 1 – Discovery of ...

This entry was posted on February 28, 2018 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on March 1, 2022)

Herman Hollerith — February 29 is a rare date on the calendar. It only comes around every four years to synch up the date to the Sun’s position in the sky. Science history can be made on a leap day just like any other day. February 29 is Herman Hollerith’s birthday. Hollerith was an American […]

Today in Science History – February 29 – Herman Hollerith ...

This entry was posted on February 28, 2018 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on May 10, 2021)

Dord — Dord is a noun in physics and chemistry that means density. At least, that’s what it meant for nearly 5 years. On February 28, 1939, the word ‘Dord’ was discovered to be an error in the second edition of Webster’s New International Dictionary published in 1934. Dord is an example […]

Today in Science History – February 28 – Dord Definition

This entry was posted on February 27, 2018 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on May 10, 2021)

1917 Bayer Aspirin ad — February 27 could be considered aspirin’s birthday in the United States. The process to make aspirin was patented in 1900 by Felix Hoffman on behalf of the German pharmaceutical company, Bayer. Acetylsalicylic acid had been around in one form or another since 1853 when Charles Frédéric Gerhardt published his synthesis […]

Today in Science History – February 27 – Aspirin

This entry was posted on February 26, 2018 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on May 10, 2021)

Henry Dow — February 26 is Herbert Henry Dow’s birthday. Dow was the Canadian industrialist who founded the Dow Chemical Company, the third largest chemical company in the world. Dow began his first business extracting useful elements from underground brine. Brine is a solution of mostly salt but contains a wide variety of useful […]

Today in Science History – February 26 – Henry Dow

This entry was posted on February 25, 2018 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on February 26, 2022)

Theodor Svedberg (1884 - 1971) — February 25 marks the passing of Theodore H. E. Svedberg. Svedberg was a Swedish chemist best known for the invention of the ultracentrifuge. Svedberg was a colloid chemist studying the various physical properties of particles suspended in solution such as diffusion, light absorption, and sedimentation. His work helped prove Einstein’s […]

Today in Science History – February 25 – Theodor Svedberg

This entry was posted on February 23, 2018 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on February 25, 2022)

One simple example of an exothermic process is the heat you can feel if you let laundry detergent dissolve in water in your hand. — Interesting chemical reactions don’t necessarily require a chemistry lab and expensive glassware. For example, you can experience an exothermic chemical reaction using nothing more complicated than a handful of laundry detergent powder and a bit of water. An exothermic reaction is one which produces heat as chemical bond energy is […]

Easy Exothermic Detergent Reaction

This entry was posted on February 23, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on May 16, 2021)

Henry Cavendish — February 24 marks the passing of Henry Cavendish. Cavendish was an English natural philosopher who made a meticulous study of air and calculated the density of the Earth. In the late 18th Century, scientists used the term gas and air interchangeably. Cavendish was one of the first to notice that […]

Today in Science History – February 24 – Inflammable Air

This entry was posted on February 22, 2018 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on February 24, 2022)

Carl Friedrich Gauss — February 23 marks the passing of Carl Friedrich Gauss. Gauss was a German physicist and mathematician who made numerous contributions to a wide variety of topics, including electricity and magnetism, number theory, statistics, and astronomy. As a young elementary student, one of his teachers asked him to add the first […]

Today in Science History – February 23 – Carl Gauss

This entry was posted on February 22, 2018 by Todd Helmenstine (updated on May 10, 2021)