Nicolaus Copernicus's: Revolutionary the Mind

    On February 19, 1473, in Toruń, Poland, Nicolaus Copernicus—the man who dared to change the centre of the cosmos from Earth to the Sun—was born. Though his life was filled with many varied hobbies and endeavours outside of space exploration, his revolutionary work in astronomy permanently changed our knowledge of the universe.

    Copernicus was raised in a secure and intellectually stimulating atmosphere because his parents were merchants and clergy. Following his father's premature death, Lucas Watzenrode, his uncle, assumed responsibility for his upbringing and education. Prominent clergyman Watzenrode sent Copernicus to study at the University of Kraków in 1491 to make sure he had the greatest education possible. Here, Copernicus was introduced to the complexities of philosophy, astronomy, and mathematics, which stoked his interest in astronomical occurrences.

Copernicus.

    In order to further his education at the University of Bologna in Italy in 1496, Copernicus moved there and resided with the well-known astronomer Domenico Maria Novara. Copernicus's criticism of the geocentric model of the universe—which put Earth at its center—was greatly affected by this mentorship. He pursued further education at the University of Padua, where he studied law and medicine. Later, the University of Ferrara awarded him a doctorate in canon law.

    The widely accepted geocentric model promoted by Claudius Ptolemy was boldly replaced by Copernicus's heliocentric theory. For centuries the accepted wisdom in astronomy was the Ptolemaic system, with its intricate epicycles and deferents. In his more straightforward theory, Copernicus put the Sun at the centre of the cosmos, with Earth and the other planets revolving around it. In 1543, the year of his death, he released his ground-breaking treatise, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres), which laid forth his thesis.

    A heliocentric cosmos was not just a scientific theory; it was a significant departure from the previous worldview that was influenced by religious and scientific beliefs. Copernicus waited years to reveal his findings because he was worried about what might occur. When he did, many were curious about his views but also opposed to them. With the help of later scientists like Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei, the heliocentric theory took decades to become widely accepted.

    Although being mostly recognised for his contributions to astronomy, Copernicus was a true Renaissance man with a wide range of skills and passions. He oversaw the financial and administrative matters of the Frombork (formerly Frauenburg) cathedral chapter while serving as a canon. In addition to controlling the grain supply and keeping an eye on the finances, he also practiced medicine. His medical expertise was especially wanted during plague and other disease epidemics. In addition to his work in mathematics, Copernicus wrote a treatise on the value of money and the depreciation of currency. His understanding of the economy was predicted and reflects his wide-ranging intellectual interest.

Helio-Centric Model.

Astronomer and Artist: Copernicus was not only a skilled mathematician and scientist but also an amateur artist, producing illustrations of his astronomical theories in the form of drawings and diagrams.

Astronomical Tools: In order to make accurate observations of the sky, he built his own astronomical equipment, such as an armillary sphere and a triquetrum.

Delayed Fame: Copernicus's contributions took time to become well-known. His heliocentric concept was not fully understood until much later, thanks to the efforts of other astronomers and the invention of the telescope.

Deathbed Publication: It is reported that Copernicus saw the result of his life's labours before he passed away, as he was given a copy of his published De revolutionibus on his deathbed.

    The legacy of Nicolaus Copernicus is evidence of the value of curiosity and the courage to go against conventional wisdom. In addition to changing astronomy, his heliocentric theory cleared the path for the scientific revolution, which altered our understanding of the cosmos and our place in it. His biography serves as a reminder that genuine innovation often requires having the courage to see past conventional wisdom and journey into unknown spaces.

"To know that we know what we Know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, Chat is true knowledge." -N. Copernicus.

Particle Nature of light: Einstein's Explanation.

 Particle Nature of light: Einstein's Explanation.

Einstein extended Planck's quantum concept to explain the photoelectric effect in 1905. According to Einstein, the energy in light is not spread out over wavefronts but is concentrated in small packets or energy quanta. Therefore, light (or any other electromagnetic waves) of frequency v from any source can be considered as a stream of quanta and the energy of each light quantum is given by E=hv.
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He also proposed that a quantum of light has linear momentum and the magnitude of that linear momentum is p=h/c. The individual light quantum of definite energy and momentum can be associated with a particle. can behave as a particle and this is called photon. Therefore, photon is nothing but particle manifestation of light.

Light is made up of particles called Photons.

Characteristics of photons:

According to particle nature of light, photons are the basic constituents of any radiation and possess the following characteristic properties:

i) The photons of light of frequency v and wavelength & will have energy, given by E=hv= hc/λ

ii) The energy of a photon is determined by the frequency of the radiation and not by its intensity and the intensity has no relation with the energy of the individual photons in the beam.

iii) The photons travel with the speed of light and its momentum is given by hhv P=h/λ =hv/c

iv) Since photons are electrically neutral, they are unaffected by electric and magnetic fields.

v) When a photon interacts with matter (photon-electron collision), the total energy, total linear momentum and angular momentum are conserved. Since photon may be absorbed or a new photon may be produced in such interactions, the number of photons may not be conserved.... 

“Matter is Energy… Energy is Light…We are all Light Beings” —Albert Einstein.

  

Discovery of Radium:

Radium is one the of the few elements that constantly emit invisible radiations. Such elements are called radioactive elements and the radiations they emits are called "radioactive" rays.

Radium Metal

 There are three types of radioactive rays-alpha, beta and gamma. Radium, due to the emission of the radioactive rays, disintegrates and finally gets converted into lead. Half of this radioactive element gets converted into lead in 1622 years. 

This is called the 'half life' of the radioactive element. In the next 1622 years, half of the remaining substance decays into lead. This process continues indefinitely. The radioactive rays are so powerful that they can pass through different kinds of substances including the human body. These rays are very useful in the treatment of cancer. Do you know who discovered radium?

Marie Curie 

All the credit of the discovery of radium goes to a married couple, Pierre Curie and Marie Curie. The story of its discovery is very interesting.

In 1896 Henri Becquerel discovered the phenomenon of radioactivity. He found that the uranium emits a kind of invisible radiations which are even more powerful than the X-rays. Pierre Curie and Marie Curie, in 1898, also found that thorium also emits similar radiations. They also thought that pitchblende, which is the ore of uranium, must contain some other radioactive substance too. 

 They started refining pitchblende in order to obtain the new radioactive element. They had to work in a tin-shed because they could not afford a proper laboratory on account of limited means. Without caring for rains and storms, they worked day and night Finally, they succeeded in extracting 100 milligrams of radium from several tons of pitchblende. They found that this new element was much more powerful than uranium.

Pure radium is white in colour. It is quite heavy and thousands of times costlier than gold. The quantity of pure radium available in the world is very small. Radioactive rays are very harmful to the body. If handled carelessly its radioactive rays can wound the body. So be careful guys. 

"Nuclear Power Is One Hell Of A Way To Boil Water" - Albert Einstein.