Name: Grade: Teacher:

Michelle Nelson 9 Confidence Mrs. Ricketts

This Project contains 4 main scientists which contributed greatly to Physics that we know and learn today .

I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my fellow Peer , Parents and also my Teacher who has shown the attitude and the substance of a genius: the continually and persuasively conveyed a spirit of adventure in regard to research and scholarship, and an excitement in regard to teaching. Without their supervision and constant help this dissertation would not have been possible.

Einstein's early work on the theory of rel

During Einsteins employment at the Patent Office, he did the majority of his lifes works in his spare time. In 1905, Einstein published three important articleseach on a different topic. The first dealt with electromagnetism, especially focusing on the contributions Max Planck had made. Einstein used Plancks quantum hypothesis to describe visible electromagnetic radiation, or light (http://www.humboldt1.com/~gralsto/einstein/1905.html). Einsteins theory formed the basis for a large part of quantum mechanics. The second paper of 1905 discussed the special theory of relativity. Einstein realized that the equations describing the motion of an electron in fact could describe the nonaccelerated motion of any particle or any suitably defined rigid body (ibid). He reinterpreted the classic principle of relativity and said that the laws of physics had to have the same form in any frame of reference. A second important hypothesis Einstein made was to assume that the speed of light remained constant in all frames of reference, which

Maxwellian theory required. Einstein was not the first person to propose a connection between mass and energy either; he contributed more in unifying classical mechanics and Maxwellian electrodynamics. The third of Einsteins 1905 papers dealt with statistical mechanics, a field that both Ludwig Boltzmann and Josiah Willard Gibbs had elaborated on also. Einstein was unaware of Gibbs contributions and extended Boltzmanns work to calculate the average trajectory of a microscopic particle encountering random collisions with other molecules in a liquid or gas. Einsteins paper provided evidence for the much-discussed theory of atom-sized molecules. After 1905, Einstein continued to work on all of these topics, but he increasingly seemed to focus on the special theory of relativity, and attempts to extend it to phenomena involving acceleration (ibid). In 1907 he proposed that if mass were equivalent to energy, then the principle of equivalence required that gravitational mass would interact with the apart mass of electromagnetic radiation, which includes light. By 1911, Einstein was able to make preliminary predictions about how a ray of light from a distant star, passing near the Sun, would appear to be attracted, or bent slightly, in the direction of the Suns mass. (ibid). About 1912, Einstein began work on his general theory of relativity, obtained from Herman Minkowskis 1907 mathematical elaboration of Einsteins special theory of relativity. He published his definitive form of the theory in late 1915. This theory has been verified numerous times in the past sixty years.

His early studies, at the Univ. of Pisa, were in medicine, but he was soon drawn to mathematics and physics. It is said that at the age of 19, in the cathedral of Pisa, he timed the oscillations of a swinging lamp by means of his pulse beats and found the time for each swing to be the same, no matter what the amplitude of the oscillation, thus discovering the isochronal nature of the pendulum, which he verified by experiment. Galileo soon became known through his invention of a hydrostatic balance and his treatise on the center of gravity of solid bodies. While professor (158992) at the Univ. of Pisa, he initiated his experiments concerning the laws of bodies in motion, which brought results so contradictory to the accepted teachings of Aristotle that strong antagonism was aroused. He found that bodies do not fall with velocities proportional to their weights, but he did not arrive at the correct conclusion (that the velocity is proportional to time and independent of both weight and density) until perhaps 20 years later. The famous story in which Galileo is said to have dropped weights from the Leaning Tower of Pisa is apocryphal. The actual experiment was performed by Simon Stevin several years before Galileo's work. However, Galileo did find that the path of a projectile is a parabola, and he is credited with conclusions foreshadowing Newton's laws of motion.

Sir Isaac Newton had many contributions to physics. Laws of Motion were some of his main contributions. He discovered these laws in 1687. Without the laws Newton discovered we would not be as far as we are today in modern physics. Newtons first law states that an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. This force could be anything from friction to wind resistance. Without these unbalanced forces any object would remain at a constant velocity if a force was applied. Isaac Newtons second law of motion states that the greater the mass the greater amount of force needed to accelerate the object. Acceleration happens when a force is applied to an object. We use this law everyday without knowing it. For example if I push a ten pound medicine ball it requires a greater

force than pushing a marble. The mathematic equation for this law is force equals mass times acceleration. Newtons third law of motion is for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means when there is a force applied there is an opposing force equally as strong. So when you push any object that object pushes back. This is Newtons third law of motion. Newton discovered gravity when he saw an apple fall from a tree. According to his second law there had to be a force to make the apple go down. He decided to call this gravity. Then he thought what if the apple tree was twice as tall? Then gravity would reach up there too. That is how Sir Isaac newton discovered gravity. So in conclusion Newton created the laws of motion and discovered gravity. These were very important to the advancement of physics. However these were just a few of his many contributions.

Scottish mathematician and physicist who contributed to many branches of physics. He was known for his self-confidence, and as an undergraduate at Cambridge he thought himself the sure "Senior Wrangler" (the name given to the student who scored highest on the Cambridge mathematical Tripos exam). After taking the exam he asked his servant, "Oh, just run down to the Senate House, will you, and see who is Second Wrangler." The servant returned and informed him, "You, sir!" (Campbell and Higgens, p. 98, 1984). Another example of his hubris is provided by his 1895 statement "heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible" (Australian Institute of Physics), followed by his 1896 statement, "I have not the smallest molecule of faith in aerial navigation other than ballooning...I would not care to be a member of the Aeronautical Society." Kelvin is also known for an address to an assemblage of physicists at the British Association for the advancement of Science in 1900 in which he stated, "There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement." A similar statement is attributed to the American physicist Albert Michelson. Kelvin argued that the key issue in the interpretation of the Second Law of Thermodynamics was the explanation of irreversible processes. He noted that if entropy always increased, the universe would eventually reach a state of uniform temperature and maximum entropy from which it would not be possible to extract any work. He called this the Heat Death of the Universe. With Rankine he proposed a

thermodynamical theory based on the primacy of the energy concept, on which he believed all physics should be based. He said the two laws of thermodynamics expressed the indestructibility and dissipation of energy. He also tried to demonstrate that the equipartition theorem was invalid. Thomson also calculated the age of the earth from its cooling rate and concluded that it was too short to fit with Lyell's theory of gradual geological change or Charles Darwin's theory of the evolution of animals though natural selection. He used the field concept to explain electromagnetic interactions. He speculated that electromagnetic forces were propagated as linear and rotational strains in an elastic solid, producing "vortex atoms" which generated the field. He proposed that these atoms consisted of tiny knotted strings, and the type of knot determined the type of atom. This led Tait to study the properties of knots. Kelvin's theory said ether behaved like an elastic solid when light waves propagated through it. He equated ether with the cellular structure of minute gyrostats. With Tait, Kelvin published Treatise on Natural Philosophy (1867), which was important for establishing energy within the structure of the theory of mechanics.

Aristotle divided the theoretical sciences into three groups:physics, mathematics, and theology. Physics as he understood it was equivalent to what would now be called natural philosophy, or the study of nature (physis); in this sense it encompasses not only the modern field of physics but also biology, chemistry, geology, psychology, and even meteorology. Metaphysics, however, is notably absent from Aristotles classification; indeed, he never uses the word, which first appears in the posthumous catalog of his writings as a name for the works listed after the Physics. He does, however, recognize the branch of philosophy now called metaphysics: he calls it first philosophy and defines it as the discipline that studies being as being.

http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/people/galileo-contributions-to-physics.html http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/212_spring2005.web.dir/Kelsie_Engen/Early_Life_Page2.htm http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Kelvin.html http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/34560/Aristotle/33172/Physics-and-metaphysics

Introduction ............... i Acknowlewdgement ........... ii Albert Einstien................... 1 Galileo Galilei ................................. 2 Issac Newton ....................................... 3 Lord Kelvin ................................................. 4 Aristole.............................................................................. 5 Bibliography .......................................................................................6 Teacher's Compliment / Comments................................................................ 7