The Great Beards of Physics
For many Physicists throughout the ages - their beards are as remarkable as their brains. Here are just a few - from left to right:
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630): His name is synonymous with astronomy - and is best known for the eponymous planetary laws of motion that he proposed. He was a key figure of the scientific revolution, and was one of the main influences on the great Isaac Newton.
James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879): Maxwell is responsible for formulating modern electromagnetic theory - which basically unites all of electricity, magnetism and optics. He realized that light, electricity and magnetism are all formulations of the same phenomenon. Maxwell’s scientific greatness is on par with Newton himself, but Mr. Electromagnetism’s facial hair far surpasses Newton’s.
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845-1923): He was the first to produce and detect electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range that we know today as X-Rays. He produced the first X-Ray image of a human ever taken - one of his wife’s hand that can be seen here.
Joseph Swan (1828-1914): Swan is most famous for being the first to create an incandescent light bulb - he even beat Edison to it. However, his bulbs were commercially impractical as they required large conductors to produce the necessary current.
Ludwig Boltzmann (1844-1906): Boltzmann is the man who is effectively responsible for creating Statistical Mechanics and Statistical Thermodynamics. He stated the Second Law of Thermodynamics in a statistical way, and made enormous contributions to Kinetic Theory during a time when many scientists still were skeptical to atoms. He also has what is probably the coolest grave ever.
Gersh Budker (1918-1977): This Russian Physicist is best known for his invention of electron cooling, which is a “process to shrink the size, divergence and energy spread of charged particle beams without removing particles from the beam.” However, his greatest contribution to science is obviously that incredible beard.
Inspired by this wonderful post.
“We’re filming a video for Gandhi today. All rise for the right honourable Christopher ‘Batty C’ Batten. in ‘is wig and red frock.”
