Physics & Chemistry
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This English physicist studied the biological effects of radiation, and the SI unit of absorbed dose carries his surname.
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This German physicist formulated a law relating current, voltage, and resistance in a circuit; the SI unit of resistance carries his name.
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This Swedish medical physicist pioneered the study of radiation dosimetry, and the SI unit for biological radiation dose honors him.
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This German physicist was first to demonstrate electromagnetic waves exist; frequency is now measured in units bearing his name.
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This Irish physicist described the drag force on small spheres moving through a fluid; a CGS unit of kinematic viscosity is named for him.
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This Swedish physicist pioneered the field of spectroscopy; a unit of length equal to one ten-billionth of a meter is named for him.
ANGSTROMThis German industrialist founded a company still making electronics today; the SI unit of electrical conductance honors him.
SIEMENSThis Scottish-born inventor, famous for a communications device, has a logarithmic unit for comparing power ratios named after him.
BELLThis self-taught English scientist discovered electromagnetic induction and has the SI unit of capacitance named in his honor.
FARADAYThis English physicist, who described the laws of motion and universal gravitation, gave his name to the SI unit of force.
NEWTONThis American engineer detected radio waves from the Milky Way in 1932, founding radio astronomy; a flux-density unit honors him.
JANSKYThis Polish-French scientist won Nobel Prizes in two sciences; an old, now-replaced radioactivity unit honors her and her husband.
CURIEThis Austrian physicist devised an early unit for measuring the radioactivity of air and water, once used mainly in central Europe.
MACHEThis German polymath, a friend of Immanuel Kant, made major contributions to photometry; a unit of luminance is named for him.
LAMBERTThis Swedish astronomer devised the centigrade scale, originally set with water boiling at zero and freezing at 100.
CELSIUSThis Italian astronomer, often called the father of observational astronomy, has a small acceleration unit named for him.
GALILEOThis German physicist discovered a penetrating new form of radiation in 1895; a unit of radiation exposure is named for him.
ROENTGENThis Dutch physical chemist studied molecular structure and polarity; a unit of electric dipole moment is named for him.
DEBYEThis Danish physicist showed electric current creates a magnetic field, linking two forces once thought separate; a CGS unit honors him.
OERSTEDThis Austrian physicist studied shock waves and perception; speeds relative to sound's speed are given as numbers named for him.
MACH_ _ _ _ _ _ Fahrenheit invented the mercury thermometer and gave his surname to a temperature scale still standard in the United States.
DANIELThis American astronomer and aviation pioneer has a unit of solar energy intensity named for him, once used in meteorology.
LANGLEYThis English physicist, third holder of a hereditary barony, discovered argon and has a unit of acoustic impedance named for him.
RAYLEIGHThis French physicist and mathematician, a pioneer of electromagnetism, has the SI unit of electric current named after him.
AMPEREThis German physicist, a co-inventor of an early electromagnetic telegraph, has the SI unit of magnetic flux named for him.
WEBERThis English chemist developed the first modern atomic theory, and the unified atomic mass unit is often called by his surname instead.
DALTONThis American physicist discovered self-inductance and has the SI unit of electrical inductance named after him.
HENRYThis Hungarian physicist built a torsion balance to measure subtle variations in gravity; a unit of gravitational gradient is named for him.
EOTVOSThis Italian physicist invented the first electric battery in 1800; the SI unit of electric potential honors his surname.
VOLTAThis Scottish physicist unified electricity, magnetism, and light into one theory; a CGS unit of magnetic flux is named for him.
MAXWELLThis unit of pressure, equal to 1/760 of a standard atmosphere, is named for the Italian who invented the mercury barometer.
TORRThis French physicist formulated the law of electrostatic attraction and repulsion; the SI unit of electric charge also bears his name.
COULOMBThis Belfast-born physicist, elevated to the peerage as a baron, lends his title to the SI unit of thermodynamic temperature.
KELVINThis French entomologist devised an old scale where water freezes at zero degrees and boils at eighty, once common across Europe.
REAUMURThis Serbian-American inventor pioneered alternating-current electrical systems, and the SI unit of magnetic flux density is named for him.
TESLAThis Scottish engineer's improvements to the steam engine were so significant that the SI unit of power was named for him.
WATTThis German physicist and spectroscopist has an old CGS unit of wavenumber, used in studying light spectra, named for him.
KAYSERThis American physicist founded architectural acoustics after studying a Harvard lecture hall; a sound-absorption unit is named for him.
SABINEThis CGS unit of dynamic viscosity honors a French physician who studied how blood flows through narrow blood vessels.
POISEThis Scottish mathematician introduced logarithms to Europe; a unit for expressing ratios on a logarithmic scale is named in his honor.
NAPIERThis English physicist established the mechanical equivalent of heat, and the SI unit of energy bears his surname.
JOULEThis French mathematician and philosopher, known for a famous wager about God's existence, has the SI unit of pressure named for him.
PASCALThis French physicist discovered radioactivity in uranium salts in 1896; the SI unit measuring radioactive decay is named for him.
BECQUERELThis English physicist discovered the electron in 1897; a unit of mass-to-charge ratio used in mass spectrometry is named for him.
THOMSONThis Scottish engineer, a founder of the science of thermodynamics, devised an absolute temperature scale based on the Fahrenheit degree.
RANKINEThis German mathematician, once called the 'Prince of Mathematicians,' also studied magnetism; a CGS flux-density unit carries his name.
GAUSSThis English physician and physicist wrote a foundational 1600 treatise on magnetism; a unit of magnetomotive force is named for him.
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