Category: Physics

The next experiment in the Top Eleven is probably the most famous failed experiment of all time. Who: Albert Michelson (1852-1931) and Edward Morley (1838-1923), American physicists. When: Their first results were reported in 1887. What: The famous Michelson-Morley experiment, which tried and failed to detect the motion of the Earth through the “luminiferous aether.”… Continue reading Top Eleven: Michelson and Morley

Next up in the Top Eleven is a man who is largely responsible for the fact that we have electricity to run the computer you’re using to read this. Who: Michael Faraday (1791-1867) a poor and self-educated British scientist who rose to become one of the greatest physicists of the 19th Century. When: Around 1831.… Continue reading Top Eleven: Michael Faraday

Next up in the Top Eleven is an experiment whose basic technique is still in use today. Who: Henry Cavendish (1731-1810), a British scientist who made a number of discoveries in physics and chemistry, but received credit for very few of them. When: 1797. What: Cavendish’s modern claim to fame is the torsion pendulum experiment,… Continue reading Top Eleven: Henry Cavendish

Third in the Top Eleven is Sir Isaac Newton, who squeaks in with two nominations for two different experiments. Who: Isaac Newton (1642-1727), famous English physicist, mathematician, alchemist, Master of the Mint, and Neal Stephenson character. When: Newton was secretive and reluctant to publish anything, so it’s sort of hard to assign dates. I’m going… Continue reading Top Eleven: Isaac Newton

The second in the Top Eleven is the first quantitative measurement of the speed of light, by Ole Christensen Roemer (whose last name ought to contain an o-with-a-slash-through-it, that I’ve rendered as an “oe”). Who: Ole Roemer (1644-1710), a Danish astronomer. When: The crucial observations were made around 1675. What: Roemer made careful observations of… Continue reading Top Eleven: Ole Roemer

The first and oldest of the experiments in the Top Eleven is actually a two-fer: Galileo Galilei is nominated both for the discovery of the moons of Jupiter, and for his experiments on the motion of falling objects. Who: Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), the great Italian physicist, astronomer, and general Renaissance man. When: He’s known to… Continue reading Top Eleven: Galileo Galilei

Evil elves have apparently snuck into the house in the middle of the night, and stuffed my sinuses with cotton and motor oil (the dog is sitting here muttering “I told you there were evil elves out there but did you listen? ‘Stop barking at nothing,’ you said…” Or maybe that’s the drugs.). This sort… Continue reading Great Experiments: Top Eleven