Physics Time-Line to 1799

Nicolaus Copernicus

-585: Thales of Miletus, prediction of an eclipse
-580: Thales of Miletus, birth of scientific thought
-580: Thales of Miletus, water as the basic element
-580: Thales of Miletus, magnets and attraction to rubbed amber
-560: Thales of Miletus, first cosmologies
-550: Anaximenes, flat Earth
-525: Pythagoras, understanding the world and mathematics
-520: Anaximander, Earth surface is curved (cylinder)
-515: Parmenides, paradoxes of change and motion
-500: Pythagoreans, Earth is a sphere
-480: Oenopides, finds angle of Earth's tilt to ecliptic
-480: Protagoras, reality comes from the senses
-480: Heraclitus, fire as primary substance
-480: Heraclitus, change is the essence of being
-475: Parmenides, Earth is a sphere
-470: Anaxagoras, materials are made of "seeds" (atoms)
-470: Anaxagoras, sun, moon and stars are made of same material as Earth
-470: Anaxagoras, sun as a hot glowing rock
-460: Eudoxus, Celestial spheres
-460: Empedocles, Four elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water
-455: Philolaus, Earth Rotates
-450: Zeno, paradoxes of discrete or continuous space and time
-445: Leucippus, indivisble atoms
-425: Democritus, Atomic theory
-390: Plato, theory of knowledge
-390: Plato, ether as a fifth element
-385: Democritus, Milky Way is composed of many stars
-370: Aristotle, Free falling bodies accelerate but heavier bodies fall faster
-360: Heracleides, Venus and Mercury orbit the sun
-352: Chinese, recorded observation of a supernova
-350: Heracleides, Rotation of the Earth
-340: Aristotle, Earth is a sphere
-340: Aristotle, Space is continuous and always filled with matter
-335: Kiddinu, precession of equinoxes
-335: Strato, experiments with falling bodies and levers
-330: Aristotle, physics and metaphysics
-330: Aristotle, geocentric cosmology
-325: Pytheas, tides are caused by moon
-306: Epicurus, support for atomic theory
-295: Euclid, elements of mathematics
-265: Zou Yan, five elements: water, metal, wood, fire and earth
-260: Aristarchus of Samos, ratio of Earth-Sun distance to Earth-Moon distance from angle at half moon
-260: Aristarchus of Samos, distance and size of moon from Earth's shadow during lunar eclipse
-260: Aristarchus of Samos, heliocentric cosmology
-250: Chinese, free bodies move at constant velocity
-240: Archimedes, Principle of levers and compound pulley
-240: Archimedes, Archimedes' principle of hydrostatics
-235: Eratosthenes, Measurement of Earth's circumference
-190: Seleucus, further support for heliocentric theory
-170: Chinese, record of sun spots
-150: Hipparchus, precession of the equinoxes
-130: Hipparchus, size of moon from parallax of eclipse
83: Chinese, loadstone compass
100: Bhaskara, diameter of the Sun
100: Hero of Alexandria, expansion of air with heat
100: Hero of Alexandria, laws of light reflection
130: Ptolemy, geocentric cosmology of epicycles
180: Egypt, alchemy
550: Johannas Philoponus, impetus keeps a body moving
721: Abu Hayyan, preparation of chemicals such as nitric acid
890: Al-Razi, atomic of matter and space
890: Al-Razi, andromeda galaxy
1000: Ali Al-hazen, reflection, refraction and lenses
1000: Ali Al-hazen, pinhole camera to demonstrate that light travels in straight lines to the eye
1054: China and Arabia Supernova of Crab Nebula recorded
1121: Al-khazini gravity acts towards centre of Earth
1155: Bhaskara first description of a perpetual motion machine
1225: Jordanus Nemorarius, mechanics of lever and composition of motion
1250: Albertus Magnus, isolation of arsenic
1260: Roger Bacon, empiricism
1267: Roger Bacon, magnifying lens
1269: Pierre de Maricourt, experiments with magnets and compass
1304: Theodoric of Freibourg, experiments to investigate rainbows
1320: William of Occam, Occam's Razor
1355: Jean Buridan, physics of impetus
1440: Nicolas Cusanus, Earth is in motion
1440: Nicolas Cusanus, infinite universe
1450: Johann Gutenberg, first printing press in Europe
1472: Johannes Regiomontanus, observation of Halley's comet
1480: Leonardo de Vinci, description of parachute
1480: Leonardo de Vinci, compares reflection of light to reflection of sound waves
1490: Leonardo de Vinci, capillary action
1492: Leonardo de Vinci, foresees flying machines
1494: Leonardo de Vinci, foresees pendulum clock
1514: Nicolaus Copernicus, writes about heliocentric theory but does not yet publish
1515: Leonardo Da Vinci, progress in mechanics, aerodynamics and hydraulics
1537: Niccolo Tartaglia, trajectory of a bullet
1551: Girolamo Cardano, studies of falling bodies
1553: Giambattista Benedetti, proposed equality of fall rates
1543: Nicolaus Copernicus, heliocentric theory published
1546: Gerardus Mercator, Magnetic pole of Earth
1572: Tycho Brahe, witnesses a supernova and cites it as evidence that the heavens are not changeless
1574: Tycho Brahe, Observes that a comet is beyond the moon
1576: Tycho Brahe, constructs a planetary observatory
1576: Thomas Digges, illustration of an infinite universe surrounding a Copernican solar system
1577: Tycho Brahe, observes that a comet passes through the orbits of other planets
1581: Galileo Galilei, constancy of period of pendulum
1581: Robert Norman, dip of compass shows that Earth is a magnet
1584: Giordano Bruno, suggests that stars are suns with other Earth's in orbit
1585: Giovanni Benedetti, impetus theory is better than Aristotle's physics
1585: Simon Stevin, law of equilibrium
1586: Simon Stevin, pressure in column of liquid
1586: Simon Stevin, verification of equality of fall rates
1589: Galileo Galilei, showed that objects fall at the same rate independent of mass
1592: Galileo Galilei, suggests that physical laws of the heavens are the same as those on Earth
1592: Galileo Galilei, primitive thermometer
1593: Johannes Kepler, related planets to platonic solids
1596: David Fabricius, observes a variable star, (Mira Ceta)
1600: Galileo Galilei, study of sound and vibrating strings
1600: William Gilbert, static electricity and magnetism
1604: Johannes Kepler, mirrors, lenses and vision
1604: Galileo Galilei, distance for falling object increases as square of time
1608: Hans Lippershey, optical telescope
1609: Lippershey and Janssen, the compound microscope
1609: Johannes Kepler, 1st and 2nd laws of planetary motion
1609: Thomas Harriot, maps moon using a telescope
1609: Johannes Kepler, notion of energy
1609: Galileo Galilei, builds a telescope
1610: Galileo Galilei, observes the phases of Venus
1610: Galileo Galilei, observes moons of Jupiter
1610: Galileo Galilei, observes craters on the moon
1610: Galileo Galilei, observes stars in the Milky Way
1610: Galileo Galilei, observes structures around Saturn
1611: Fabricius, Galileo, Harriot, Scheiner, sunspots
1611: Marco de Dominis, explanation of rainbows
1611: Johannes Kepler, principles of the astronomical telescope
1612: Simon Marius, Andromeda galaxy
1612: Galileo Galilei, hydrostatics
1613: Galileo Galilei, principle of inertia
1615: S. de Caus, forces and work
1618: Francesco Grimaldi, interference and diffraction of light
1619: Johannes Kepler, 3rd law of planetary motion
1619: Johannes Kepler, explains why a comets tail points away from the Sun
1619: Rene Descartes, vision of rationalism
1620: Francis Bacon, the empirical scientific method
1620: Francis Bacon, heat is motion
1620: Jan Baptista van Helmont, introduces the word "gas"
1621: Willebrod Snell, the sine law of refraction
1624: Galileo Galilei, theory of tides
1626: Godfried Wendilin, verification of Kepler's laws for moons of Jupiter
1630: Cabaeus, attraction and repulsion of electric charges
1631: Pierre Gassendi, observes a transit of Mercury
1632: Galileo Galilei, Galilean relativity
1632: Galileo Galilei, Support for Copernicus' heliocentric theory
1632: John Ray, water thermometer
1636: G. Pers de Roberval, gravitational forces are mutual attraction
1636: Marin Mersenne, speed of sound
1637: Rene Descartes, inertia, mechanistic physics
1637: Rene Descartes, refraction, rainbow and clouds
1638: Galileo Galilei, motion and friction
1639: Jeremiah Horrocks, observes a transit of Venus
1640: Evangelista Torricelli, theory of hydrodynamics
1641: Ferdinand II, sealed thermometer
1642: Blaise Pascal, mechanical calculator
1644: Evangelista Torricelli, mercury barometer and artificial vacuum
1645: Ismael Boulliau, inverse square law for central force acting on planets
1648: Blaise Pascal, explains barometer as a result of atmospheric pressure
1650: Otto von Guericke, demonstration of the power of vacuum using two large hemispheres and 8 horses
1654: Ferdinand II, sealed thermometer
1656: Christiaan Huygens, rings and moons of Saturn
1657: Christiaan Huygens, pendulum clock
1657: Pierre Fermat, Fermat's principle in optics
1659: Christiaan Huygens, surface features on Mars
1660: Otto von Guericke, electrostatic machine
1660: Robert Boyle, sound will not travel in a vacuum
1661: Robert Boyle, corpuscular theory of matter
1661: Robert Boyle, chemical elements, acids and alkalis
1662: Robert Boyle, Boyle's law for ideal gases relating volume to pressure
1663: Blaise Pascal, isotropy of pressure
1663: James Gregory, describes a reflecting telescope
1663: Huygens, Wallace and Wren, laws of elastic collisions
1664: Robert Hooke, the great red spot of Jupiter
1664: Rene Descartes, published support for Copernican theory

Isaac Newton

1665: Isaac Newton, studies the principles of mechanics and gravity, mass and force
1665: Giovanni Cassini, rotation periods of Jupiter, Mars and Venus
1665: Francesco Grimaldi, his wave theory of light is published
1665: Hooke, Huygens, colours of oil film explained by wave theory of light and interference
1665: Robert Hooke, studies with a microscope
1665: Robert Boyle, air is necessary for candles to burn
1666: Robert Boyle, fluid experiments
1666: Isaac Newton, studies spectrum of light
1666: Isaac Newton, begins work on laws of mechanics and gravitation
1667: Jean Picard, observes anomalies in star positions which are later explained as aberration
1668: John Wallis, conservation of momentum
1668: Isaac Newton, reflecting telescope
1669: Erasmus Bartholin, describes double refraction caused by polarisation effects of Iceland feldspar
1669: Hennig Brand, element phosphorus
1669: Gottfreid Leibniz, first concepts of action
1670: Robert Boyle, produces hydrogen by reacting metals with acid
1671: Giovanni Cassini, accurate measurement of distance to Mars and scale of solar system
1672: Jean Richer, the period of a pendulum varies with latitude
1672: Isaac Newton, variation of pendulum is due to equatorial bulge
1673: Ignace Pardies, wave explanation for refraction of light
1673: Christiaan Huygens, laws of centripetal force
1674: Robert Hooke, attempt to explain planetary motion as a balance of centfifugal force and gravitational attraction
1675: Giovanni Cassini, Saturns has separated rings which must be composed of small objects
1675: Isaac Newton, delivers his theory of light
1676: Olaus Roemer, measured the speed of light by observing Jupiter's moons
1676: Robert Hooke, law of elasticity and springs
1676: Edme Mariotte, pressure is inversely proportional to volume (Boyle's law) and height of atmosphere
1678: Robert Hooke, inverse square law of gravity
1678: Christiaan Huygens, writes about wave theory of light
1679: Christiaan Huygens, polarisation of light
1680: Isaac Newton, demonstrates that inverse square law implies eliptical orbits
1684: Isaac Newton, inverse square law and mass dependence of gravity
1684: Gottfreid Leibniz, differential calculus
1687: Isaac Newton, publishes laws of motion and gravitation
1687: Isaac Newton, publishes analysis of sound propagation
1688: P. Varignon, addition of forces
1690: Christiaan Huygens, principle of Huygens, secondary waves
1690: John Locke, knowledge comes only from experience and sensations
1692: Richard Bentley, why do stars not fall together under gravitation?
1702: Francis Hauksbee, rarified air glows during electrical discharge
1704: Isaac Newton, publishes corpuscular theory of light and colour
1705: Edmund Halley, noticed that three previous comets are the same and predicts its return in 1758
1709: Gabriel Fahrenheit, alcohol thermometer
1710: George Berkeley, idealist philosophy against materialist
1714: Gottfreid Leibniz, energy conservation
1714: Gottfreid Leibniz, rejection of absolute space and time
1714: Gabriel Fahrenheit, mercury thermometer
1718: Edmund Halley, measures proper motion of stars
1720: Edmund Halley, early form of Olbers' paradox
1721: George Berkeley, space exists because of matter in it
1724: Gabriel Fahrenheit, supercooling of water
1727: Stephen Hales, makes oxygen
1728: James Bradley, speed of light and stellar aberration
1729: Stephen Gray, conduction of electricity
1731: Rene Reaumur, alcohol/water thermometer
1733: Charles Du Fay, recognises distinction between positive and negative electric charge
1735: Antonio de Ulloa, element platinum
1736: Leonhard Euler, differential equations in mechanics
1738: Daniel Bernoulli, kinetic theory of gas
1738: Daniel Bernoulli, hydrodynamics
1739: Georg Brandt, element cobalt
1740: Pierre Bouguer, gravitational anomalies
1742: Anders Celsius, reverse centigrade temperature scale
1743: Jean Christin, Celsius temperature scale
1743: Jean d'Alembert, energy in Newtonian mechanics
1744: Pierre de Maupertuis, principle of least action
1744: Jean d'Alembert, theory of fluid dynamics
1744: Leonhard Euler, Euler-Lagrange equations
1744: Mikhail Lomonosov, heat is a form of motion
1745: von Kleist, van Musschenbroek, Leyden jar for electric charge storage
1746: Andreas Marggraf, rediscovery of element zinc
1746: Leonhard Euler, wave theory of light refraction and dispersion
1747: d'Alembert, Euler, solution of equations for vibrating string
1748: Mikhail Lomonosov, conservation of mass and energy
1749: Thomas Melvill, early spectrscopy and yellow line of sodium in salt
1750: Benjamin Franklin, theory of electricity and lightning
1750: John Michell, magnetic induction
1750: John Michell, inverse square law for magnetic fields
1750: Thomas Wright, Milky Way could be due to slab like distribution of stars
1751: Benjamin Franklin, electricity can magnetise needles
1751: Frederik Cronstedt, element nickel
1752: Jean d'Alembert, viscosity
1754: Joseph Black, discovery of carbon dioxide showing that there are gases other than air
1755: Immanuel Kant, theory that the universe formed from a spinning nebula in an infinite hierarchy
1756: William Cullen, evaporation causes cooling
1756: Mikhail Lomonosov, supports wave theory of light
1761: Joseph Black, discovery and measurements of latent and specific heats
1761: John Harrison, portable chronometer
1765: Leonhard Euler, rigid body motions
1766: Joseph Priestley, inverse square law for electric charge
1766: Henry Cavendish, hydrogen is an element
1771: Luigi Galvani, electricity in animals
1772: Carl Scheele, saw air as two gases one of which encouraged combustion
1772: Daniel Rutherford, nitrogen
1772: Antoine Lavoisier, conservation of mass in chemical reactions
1772: Joseph Lagrange, theory of Lagrange points
1774: Priestley, Scheele, element oxygen
1774: Nevil Maskelyne, gravitational deflection of plumb line by a mountain
1774: Carl Scheele, element chlorine
1774: Johann Gahn, element manganese
1775: Alessandro Volta, electrical condenser
1776: Pierre-Simon Laplace, deterministic causality
1777: Antoine Lavoisier, composition of air and burning as a chemical reaction
1779: Charles Augustin de Coulomb, Coulomb's law of friction
1781: Immanuel Kant, Critique of pure reason
1781: William Herschel, discovery of Uranus
1781: Carl Scheele, element molybdenum in ore
1781: Charles Messier, catalogue of nebulae
1781: Heinrich Olbers, Uranus is a planet, not a comet
1782: Jacob Hjelm, isolation of element molybdenum
1782: Franz von Reichstein, element tellurium in ores
1782: William Herschel, catalog of double stars
1782: William Herschel, sun's motion through space
1783: John Michell, Newtonian black hole
1783: Fausto and Juan Jos� de Elhuyar, element tungsten
1783: Rene Hauy, nature of crystals
1784: Henry Cavendish, water is a compound of oxygen and hydrogen
1784: Pierre Laplace, electrostatic potential
1785: Charles Augustin de Coulomb, electric force proportional to product of charges and inverse square of distance
1786: Antoine Lavoisier, distinction between elements and compounds
1787: Antoine Lavoisier, system for naming chemicals
1787: Jacques-Alexander Charles, law of gas expansion with temperature
1788: Joseph Lagrange, Lagrangian mechanics
1788: John Hunter, Diffusion of heat
1789: Antoine Lavoisier, Conservation of mass in chemical reactions
1789: Martin Klaproth, elements zirconium and uranium in compounds
1790: Definition of metric system in France
1790: Adair Crawford, element strontium in compounds
1791: William Gregor, element titanium in compounds
1794: Johann Gadolin, element yttrium in compounds
1794: Pierre Laplace, analysis of Newtonian black hole
1796: Alessandro Volta, chemical batteries and voltage
1797: Henry Cavendish, measured the gravitational constant with a torsion balance
1797: Nicholas Vauquelin, element berylium idnetified in gem stones
1797: Nicholas Vauquelin, element chromium
1798: Benjamin Thompson, heat generated equals work done
1798: M. Klaproth, isolation of element tellurium
1798: Humphry Davy, Transmission of heat through vacuum
1798: Benjamin Rumford, experimental relation between work done and heat generated
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