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250 BCE
Archimedes' Principle
I figured I'd start before the 'Era of Science" with Archimedes' principle. This principle states that the amount of water displaced when an object is fully or partially submerged is equal to the object's weight. This is a method of weighing that is commonly used, even in our classrooms! it is a cheaper alternative to more expensive scales which is great as education is underfunded! -
1514
Heliocentricity
Heliocentricity, simply put, is the theory (which has been proven) that our solar system revolves around the sun, and not the Earth you silly goose! this theory had actually been explored before, by Ptolemy. That being said, he mostly discussed the 'trails' (orbits) of our solar systems planets that can be viewed from earth. Fun fact! i was taught that Galileo discovered this and that he was put in timeout by the church for it! turns out it was only because he believed the theory. -
Inertia
Speaking of Galileo, this timeline wouldn't be complete without him! He discovered the laws of Inertia and how it works. Inertia is the objects resistance to a change in velocity or direction of motion. He later discovered that the Laws of Motion apply to all Inertial Frames. My Freshman year we studied this by rolling around with a shopping cart and then filling it with books and trying again. -
Newtons Laws of Motion
Newtons laws of motion state that, one, an object will move on one direct path unless acted on by an outside force. Two, the acceleration of an object is related to the forced acting on it in combinations with its weight. Three, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. These laws are fundamental to nearly everything as everything is reacting with these 'forces' whether its gravity or something else. -
Conservation of Matter
Antoine Lavoisier discovered the law of conservation of matter, which states that the mass of reactants is equal to the mass of products. This is such an important discovery as it allows us to balance equations properly so we have less chance of error. With less room for error we are able to progress much quicker you know! -
Atomic Theory of Matter
This theory states that matter is made up of Atoms that aren't visible to the naked eye. This theory further developed our understanding of the elements and their makeup. This also allowed us to figure out how and what to combine in order to create new properties. This also furthered our knowledge of magnetism, through the use of protons, electrons and neutrons. -
Kinetic Energy
Kinetic energy is the energy an object has due to its motion. Its typically thought to be the "work" or force that makes objects move in the first place. So basically we now have another name for those 'forces' i mentioned earlier! -
the Doppler Effect
The Doppler Effect is a phenomenon where the wavelengths change in frequency as the source and the observer move closer/ further away from each other. This phenomenon, named after Christian Doppler, has helped us further develop our understand the way sound and light travels through different distances. -
Statistical Mechanics
This theory states that macroscopic observations, like temperature, are directly connected to microscopic restrictions that are averaged. This theory is uses probability to determine the molecular motions and states in a multi-molecular system and average them. Interesting stuff! -
The Electron
This fancy little guy was mentioned earlier, Well now hes been discovered! And what was discovered about him, you ask? well, this tiny speck has a negative charge that balances out with the positive charge of the proton while in the atom. Electrons are handy to know about as they also dictate what elements can bond with other elements based on their shells. Thank J.J. Thomson for this discovery!
