I always get a warm, fuzzy feeling when Google recognizes physicists in their Google doodle.
Today is Hans Christian Oersted’s birthday, and this famous physicist has been shown the love:
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Danish natural philosopher Oersted was one of the first physicists to link electricity and magnetism. His work paved the way for James Clerk Maxwell’s revolutionary four equations that perfectly mathematically-modeled electromagnetism.
Don Herbert, military hero, educator, and scientist, died today at the age of 89. He was more commonly known to his fans as “Mr. Wizard.”
While those younger than about 25 may only know of another famous science educator, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Don Herbert was certainly the model of modern television science education. Herbert’s shows specialized in demonstrating short experiments ending in unexpected and (sometimes, but not always) flashy results. The lab assistants were real kids with a genuine interest in science. The experiments generally used equipment readily available at home, and Herbert asked his viewers to try as many experiments as possible at home so they could experience science for themselves. (With parental supervision, of course.)
While I’m personally unfamiliar with the earlier iterations of the Mr. Wizard shows Watch Mr. Wizard (1951-1965, 1971-1972), I watched a great deal of Mr. Wizard’s World on Nickelodeon during its run from 1983-1990. While I was always interested in science, I watched every episode of Mr. Wizard’s World I could absorb. To this day I can still picture some experiments I first saw on the show: crushing a can with water, exploding a hydrogen balloon, keeping surface tension intact using lycopodium powder, and using a starter pistol and walkie-talkies to determine the speed of sound.
The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), an organization in which I am a member, granted Herbert the Robert A. Millikan award for “notable and creative contributions to the teaching of physics” in 1991. This is essentially the group’s “lifetime achievement award” and there are few teachers more deserving of it than Don Herbert. Certainly no small fraction of scientists and engineers who came of age during the runs of Watch Mr. Wizard or Mr. Wizard’s World owe their fascination with science to Don Herbert.
Dutch physicist Gerard ‘t Hooft has an asteroid named after him. Naming the 1999 Nobel laureate’s asteroid, 9491 Thooft, required special consideration from the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The IAU rules prohibit apostrophes in asteroid names, so Dr. ‘t Hooft’s namesake asteroid was recorded in the ledger as Thooft.
Dr. ‘t Hooft has actually gone through the trouble of writing a constitution and by-laws for the future inhabitants of 9491 Thooft. They’re wonderful!
Why move to 9491 Thooft? Well, tax forms are guaranteed to be no longer than one page. Citizens of 9491 Thooft are strongly encouraged to seek unification with the citizenry of nearby minor planets (though not at the expense of 9491 Thooft’s cultural and linguistic heritage). Finally, the academic nature of 9491 Thooft is ensured by competence-based admission to all of the local universities and mandatory 24-hour libraries and university buildings.
Future immigrants to and guests visiting 9491 Thooft must remember that weapons are not allowed on 9491 Thooft. Those who are caught littering are required to clean up the area to the satisfaction of the local authorities.
And finally, the apostrophe is banned completely. If your name is O’Connor or Brind’Amour, then during your stay on 9491 Thooft, you will be known as Oconnor or Brindamour.
I’m up for a trip, though I’ll have to be sure to disable the apostrophe key from my keyboard before traveling.