Incomplete Timeline of Important People and Events from the History of Science and Technology

Guttenberg Invents the Printing Press

Dec 2, 1440

Copernicus' Model

Dec 2, 1512

Puts the Sun in the center of the Universe. Not entirely true, but he was onto something. Also called the "heliocentric model."

Giordano Bruno predicts Universe is infinite.

Jan 1, 1583

Is burned at the stake in 1600.

Boyle's Law

Dec 2, 1662

Describes relationship between pressure and volume.
P1 x V1 = P2 x V2

Newton's Laws

Jul 5, 1687

I. Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.
II. The relationship between an object's mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma. Force equals mass times acceleration.
III. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Carolus Linnaeus - System of Taxonomy

Jan 1, 1753

Invented formal system of nomenclature.
Named and classified nearly 12,000 different species of plants in his lifetime.

James Hutton determines the Age of the Earth

Dec 2, 1795

Considered the father of modern geology.
Viewed Earth as a machine that follows natural laws.
Determined that the Earth is ancient - millions of years old instead of the biblical age.

Amedea Avagadro first measures the weight of a gas

Dec 2, 1811

Avagadro's Number:
6.023 x 10^23 = # of atoms in one mole

Michael Faraday discovers electromagnetic induction

Dec 2, 1831

Uses math to describe some properties of electromagnetism.

Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity

Jan 1, 1904

E=mc^2

Higgs-Boson Particle discovered at CERN

Jul 4, 2012

A quantum particle that helps explain why things have mass. Short Video