Einstein or Newton?

[Mott the Hoople]

Perhaps, but they weren't in the poll, as well as not known by the populous as a whole.

I know. That depresses me. Most of the public is scientifically illiterate. I bet most Americans couldn't name 5 influential scientist, let alone 5 influential American scientist. Franklin and Edison maybe.

Some of the most influential American scientist are;

Gibbs
Pauling
Feinman
Watson
Bardeen
Kilby (He's probably America's most influential scientist that was not an academic)

I should include Tessla. He spent most of his adult life in the US but was born, raised and educated in Serbia. He did become an American Citizen and like Kilby was not an academic. Many consider Tesla in the same category as Einstein, Newton, Bohr and Darwin.

 

[FUCK THE POLICE]

Gibbs - don't know who he is
Pauling
Feinman - don't know who he is
Watson
Bardeen - don't know who he is
Kilby - don't know who he is


Hey, that's 2 out of 5. Pretty good eh?

I should include Tessla. He spent most of his adult life in the US but was born, raised and educated in Serbia. He did become an American Citizen and like Kilby was not an academic. Many consider Tesla in the same category as Einstein, Newton, Bohr and Darwin.

Tesla was a crank.

 

[WinterBorn]

Gibbs - don't know who he is
Pauling
Feinman - don't know who he is
Watson
Bardeen - don't know who he is
Kilby - don't know who he is


Hey, that's 2 out of 5. Pretty good eh?



Tesla was a crank.

Since both of the people listed relied heavily on mathematics for their work, they owe much of their success to early greats in that field. Pythagorus would be one of the greats, as would Euclid. Descartes is one of the greats in modern mathematics as well.

Nikola Tesla is one of the most brilliant men of the modern era. He might have been a little nuts, but thats not surprising. Edison gets credit for giving us electricity, but Tesla is the true genius behind that.

But between the two choices given, I will go with Newton.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Gibbs - don't know who he is

He was a physicist who contributed greatly to the field of theromodynamics. the symbol for free energy "Delta G" is in his honor as Gibbs defined free energy as a mathematical expression.

Feinman - don't know who he is

You should. Feinman helped develop the field of Quantam Electrodynamics. He was the youngest scientist on the Manhattan Project. His famous "Feinman Diagrams" are used by physicist to describe in schematic form the behavior of quantum particles. Feinman was also a great science popularizer and teacher. Was a Nobel Laurete.

Bardeen - don't know who he is

He discovered the transistor and pioneered superconductivity. He won two nobel prizes in physics

Kilby - don't know who he is

He discovered the solids state circuit

Hey, that's 2 out of 5. Pretty good eh?

Not really but it is better than the average American who would have gotten none.

Tesla was a crank.

Pun intended?

 

[Mott the Hoople]

BTW, Watermark, I misspelled Feynmans name. He was an extremely charismatic man and a bit of an eccentric (he used write papers for publication at a go-go bar near Cal Polytech.). Here's video of him from youtube.

 

[Cypress]

I know. That depresses me. Most of the public is scientifically illiterate. I bet most Americans couldn't name 5 influential scientist, let alone 5 influential American scientist. Franklin and Edison maybe.

Some of the most influential American scientist are;

Gibbs
Pauling
Feinman
Watson
Bardeen
Kilby (He's probably America's most influential scientist that was not an academic)

I should include Tessla. He spent most of his adult life in the US but was born, raised and educated in Serbia. He did become an American Citizen and like Kilby was not an academic. Many consider Tesla in the same category as Einstein, Newton, Bohr and Darwin.

While no expert on Tesla, I always considered him an inventor, primarily of consumer products or products that served commerce. I really don't think he's put in the same category as history's great scientists. Great inventor, yes.

Hey man, if we're going to start pulling names out of a hat (Bardeen? Never heard of him), you gotta give it up to Marie Curie. The only person to ever win a Nobel in both physics and chemistry. A lady who not only contributed to a complete paradigm-shift and re-thinking of the foundations of physics, but did it all during a period when women were routinely ignored or laughed out of the scientific professions.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

While no expert on Tesla, I always considered him an inventor, primarily of consumer products or products that served commerce. I really don't think he's put in the same category as history's great scientists. Great inventor, yes.

Hey man, if we're going to start pulling names out of a hat (Bardeen? Never heard of him), you gotta give it up to Marie Curie. The only person to ever win a Nobel in both physics and chemistry. A lady who not only contributed to a complete paradigm-shift and re-thinking of the foundations of physics, but did it all during a period when women were routinely ignored or laughed out of the scientific professions.

Uhh...I wasn't pulling names out of a hat per se but you illustrate my point about us Americans lack of literacy in science. John Bardeen is certainly one of the greatest scientist this nation has ever produced but most Americans have never heard of him even though his work impacts all our daily lives. I should point out here that Bardeen won two Nobel Prizes, both in physics and Linus Pauling won the nobel prize in both chemistry and peace, so that places them in comparable company to Ms. Curie. I'm a huge fan of Pauling's work. It was so broad in scope and he had a level of productivity at the highest levels that few of even the greatest geniuses can match. He was publishing his works into his 90's.

BTW, I was listing influential "American" scientist. Though Marie Curie is certainly one of the all time greats. I'd put her in my top 10 list.

 

[uscitizen]

Steve Jobs, inventor of the Jesus Phone!

 

[charver]

Steve Jobs, inventor of the Jesus Phone!

He's trying to kill the French as well, which may increase his popularity exponentially across the entire English speaking world.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8223005.stm

 

[uscitizen]

He's trying to kill the French as well, which may increase his popularity exponentially across the entire English speaking world.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8223005.stm

See that is why the SS took people phones away that were in the restaurant with the first lady and children.

 

[cancel2 2022]

Newton has a clear cut edge in this poll. In terms of scientific influence (not popular influence) Einstein ranks 4th.

Clearly the three most influential scientist are the three geniuses who founded the three modern natural sciences, physics, chemistry and biology. So the top three most influential scientist are;

Isaac Newton - founder of modern physics.
Antoine Lavoisier - founder of modern chemistry
Charles Darwin - founder of modern biology

Then comes

Einstein - father of relatavistic theory
Plank - father of quantum theory
Bohr - advanced Plank's work on quantum theory and atomic structure (making him profoundly influential in both chemistry and physics)
Dimitri Mendelev - father of the periodic table
Gregor Mendel - father of genetics

Who is Plank, is he Max Planck's stupid cousin? Anyway what about Nikola Tesla, James Maxwell or Michael Faraday?

 

[FUCK THE POLICE]

Who is Plank, is he Max Planck's stupid cousin? Anyway what about Nikola Tesla, James Maxwell or Michael Faraday?

I really have no idea why you guys consider Tesla so great. He promoted the AC system and... can't really remember anything else important he did. He had the image of a mad scientist, that's all.

Faraday invented the dynamo, but that doesn't put him in league with Newton.

 

[WinterBorn]

I really have no idea why you guys consider Tesla so great. He promoted the AC system and... can't really remember anything else important he did. He had the image of a mad scientist, that's all.

Faraday invented the dynamo, but that doesn't put him in league with Newton.

He did more than invent the dynamo. His theories concerning the Faraday Cage is what is used today in many applications in the electrical power industry.

As far as Tesla, the AC system is not his only contribution. For one thing, he invented the radio, contributed heavily to the fields of robotics, remote controls, radar, and computer sciences.

He also pioneered the field of wireless power transmission.

 

[Cancel5]

He did more than invent the dynamo. His theories concerning the Faraday Cage is what is used today in many applications in the electrical power industry.

As far as Tesla, the AC system is not his only contribution. For one thing, he invented the radio, contributed heavily to the fields of robotics, remote controls, radar, and computer sciences.

He also pioneered the field of wireless power transmission.

This is fascinating. It is not a subject that I am as familiar with as those of you who have been having the conversation, but I am picking up a trivia point or two!

Thanks guys and gals

 

[cancel2 2022]

I really have no idea why you guys consider Tesla so great. He promoted the AC system and... can't really remember anything else important he did. He had the image of a mad scientist, that's all.

Faraday invented the dynamo, but that doesn't put him in league with Newton.

I suggest that you look at this entry in Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Tesla_patents

 

[Damocles]

I really have no idea why you guys consider Tesla so great. He promoted the AC system and... can't really remember anything else important he did. He had the image of a mad scientist, that's all.

Faraday invented the dynamo, but that doesn't put him in league with Newton.

That is because you are ignorant of Tesla.

 

[cancel2 2022]

He did more than invent the dynamo. His theories concerning the Faraday Cage is what is used today in many applications in the electrical power industry.

As far as Tesla, the AC system is not his only contribution. For one thing, he invented the radio, contributed heavily to the fields of robotics, remote controls, radar, and computer sciences.

He also pioneered the field of wireless power transmission.

Wireless power transmission is an idea which is only now being taken seriously.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6129460.stm

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Who is Plank, is he Max Planck's stupid cousin? Anyway what about Nikola Tesla, James Maxwell or Michael Faraday?

Sheesh, darned spelling Nazi's. There's a ton of great scientist I could have included Rutherford, Avagadro, Freemon Dyson, Asia Carrerra, etc.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

That is because you are ignorant of Tesla.

Agreed. Tesla was one of the giants we speak of.

 

[Cypress]

Uhh...I wasn't pulling names out of a hat per se but you illustrate my point about us Americans lack of literacy in science. John Bardeen is certainly one of the greatest scientist this nation has ever produced but most Americans have never heard of him even though his work impacts all our daily lives. I should point out here that Bardeen won two Nobel Prizes, both in physics and Linus Pauling won the nobel prize in both chemistry and peace, so that places them in comparable company to Ms. Curie. I'm a huge fan of Pauling's work. It was so broad in scope and he had a level of productivity at the highest levels that few of even the greatest geniuses can match. He was publishing his works into his 90's.

BTW, I was listing influential "American" scientist. Though Marie Curie is certainly one of the all time greats. I'd put her in my top 10 list.

Well, thanks for hipping me to this Bardeen dude. I wasn't dissing him, the dude sounds totally accomplished.


Tesla is still an engineer, not a scientist. A great engineer no doubt, but not a scientist.