By Jonny Lupsha, Wondrium Staff Writer Rosalind Franklin is one of many scientists credited with early DNA research. Her work in X-ray photography was key to unlocking the structure of DNA. Nevertheless, her contributions are often overlooked. Rosalind Franklin used X-ray photography to determine that the structure of DNA had a helical conformation, which later led scientists to discover the double-helix structure of DNA. Photo by MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology/ Modified/ Wikimedia Commons/ (CC BY-SA 4.0) Dr. Rosalind Franklin was born in 1920 in London. At the age of 25, she had earned a ..read more

By Don Lincoln, Fermilab When the idea of atoms is introduced, it somehow seems mandatory to mention Democritus, often called the author of atomism. It is unclear if an atomic theory of matter actually originated with him, or with his lesser known teacher, Leucippus. At some level, it really doesn’t matter all that much. Either way, this story unfolded about 400 BC, give or take. The idea of atomism began when Leucippus noted that an oak tree might die and decay back into dirt. (Image: Luca Giordano/Public domain)Leucippus The idea of atomism began when Leucippus noted that an oak tr ..read more

By Chad Orzel, Union College  Albert Einstein is unquestionably the most iconic scientist in modern times. He pretty much sets the image most people have for what a physicist looks like: a white man with a mustache, wild white hair, a German accent, and an otherworldly air. His name conjures up images of some of the most brain-bending theories in the history of science. Read on to know more. Albert Einstein played an important role in understanding the theory of quantum. (Image: ktsdesign/Shutterstock)Einstein’s Theories Einstein is best known for his theories of relativity, which tr ..read more

By Chad Orzel, Union College  Through the late 1800s, a lot of really smart people tried to explain the light we see from hot objects, but all of them failed. The guy who finally succeeded, in 1900, was Max Planck. But to do it, he had to resort to a weird trick, and in the process, he kicked off what became the quantum revolution. Max Planck’s trick helped us understand the light emitted by hot objects. (Image: Bhutajata/Public domain)Max Planck’s Quantum Hypothesis Planck introduced an idea, now called the quantum hypothesis, about the way that light gets emitted. He said that each freq ..read more

By Chad Orzel, Union College  The key idea to get the blackbody spectrum comes from thermodynamics, and is called equipartition. Equipartition simply refers to an equal division of energy. We take the energy contained in a hot object and divide it equally among all the possible wavelengths of light that the object could emit. When we add them all up, we should get the blackbody spectrum. A blackbody absorbs light with different frequencies. (Image: petrroudny43/Shutterstock)Blackbody Spectrum No matter what the temperature of an object is, the shape of the spectrum is always the same. How ..read more

By Ron B. Davis Jr., Georgetown University Why is there a periodic table at all? What is it that makes some materials elements—and most not? And what is it about the elements that make some of their properties so predictable and ordered that they can be organized in this way? The answer to these questions comes down to atoms, the fundamental units of matter. Atoms were once considered to be indivisible units of elements. (Image: EDU WATANABE/Shutterstock) Compelling Evidence for the Existence of Atoms John Dalton offered the most compelling evidence for atoms yet in the early 1800s. His argume ..read more

By Ron B. Davis Jr., Georgetown University In recent times, the discovery and naming of elements have proven to be a contentious process. National and personal pride are often on the line. And there are many false steps along the way. In an attempt to harmonize the way that scientists talk and write about the elements, a new international organization called IUPAC was formed in 1919. IUPAC recommended five sources for naming different elements. (Image: dizain/Shutterstock) Classification of the Elements in Ancient Times The ancient Greek philosopher Empedocles is generally credited with being ..read more

By Ron B. Davis Jr., Georgetown University Let’s look at when humans first began to discover and understand each element of the periodic table. The periodic table is much more than just a reference tool for chemists. If one looks closely at the table’s evolution, one will find that the names, symbols, positions of elements, and even the shape of the table itself have all changed in various ways. The modern periodic table is different from what it was a century ago. (Image: Ranoris/Shutterstock) Discovery of Elements During our prehistory, humans probably knew of at least three elements: copper ..read more

By Robert M. Hazen, Ph.D., George Mason University Even as scientists were confirming the existence of the atoms, they discovered another layer of complexity below atoms. Atoms are made of still smaller particles. Studies of electricity suggested there needed to be something that you could transfer, that carried charge. It was the work of J.J. Thomson, Ernest Rutherford among others that led to advancements in our knowledge of atomic structure. As scientific experiments progressed, the models of atomic structure also evolved. (Image: N.Vinoth Narasingam/Shutterstock)Vacuum Tube Techn ..read more

By Robert M. Hazen, Ph.D., George Mason University As scientific advances were made in the 19th and 20th centuries, the evidence for the presence of atoms began to grow stronger. Some of these ideas were born from investigations in radioactivity, Einstein’s mathematical analysis of Brownian motion and even imaging technology. Let us look at how all of these developments converged to prove the existence of atoms. Among other experiments, radiation was one of the phenomena that proved the atomic theory. (Image: Zita/Shutterstock)Radioactivity One of the first modern scientific concepts ..read more