Imagine it’s the mid-19th century, and scientists are fascinated by how things move in fluids. This is where Sir George Gabriel Stokes, a brilliant British scientist, steps into the picture. In 1851, Stokes was pondering over the movement of tiny particles in fluids. He noticed that small things like pollen grains didn’t just zip through … Read more
The story of viscosity is quite fascinating and dates back to ancient civilizations, but it was not until the 19th century that significant strides were made in understanding this fluid property scientifically. The term “viscosity” comes from the Latin word “viscum,” which refers to the sticky sap of the mistletoe plant. This sap was used … Read more
Pascal’s Law states that when pressure is applied to a confined fluid, the pressure change occurs throughout the entire fluid equally and in all directions. This means that any external pressure on a fluid in a closed system will be felt equally at every point in that fluid. In the mid-17th century, a brilliant French … Read more
The concept of pressure was developed in the 17th century by scientists like Blaise Pascal and Evangelista Torricelli. They observed that fluids exert force over an area and related this to atmospheric phenomena. In 1643, Evangelista Torricelli, an Italian mathematician and physicist, conducted a groundbreaking experiment. He inverted a mercury-filled tube into a dish of … Read more
The concept of elasticity dates back to the early scientific explorations of materials. Robert Hooke, an English scientist, first expressed the idea in 1676 with Hooke’s Law, stating that the extension of a spring is in direct proportion to the load applied to it. Imagine living in a world where we didn’t understand why bridges … Read more
The study of stress and strain dates back to the early days of engineering and physics, where understanding the behavior of materials under different forces was crucial for building structures. The journey begins with the Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci, who sketched ideas for testing the strength of wires. Then came Galileo Galilei, who, in … Read more
The concept of elasticity has been around for centuries, but it was during the scientific revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries that significant progress was made. People have always been aware of elastic materials. For instance, the use of bows in archery demonstrated an understanding of how some materials can return to their original … Read more
The study of rotational motion, or the motion of objects spinning around an axis, has a rich history that dates back to ancient civilizations. However, the scientific understanding of this type of motion has evolved significantly over time. The concept of rotation was known to ancient cultures such as the Egyptians, who observed that applying … Read more
The concept of moment of inertia was first introduced by Leonhard Euler in 1765. It emerged from the study of rotational motion and the understanding of how mass contributes to resistance against changes in rotational speed. The story of the moment of inertia begins with the renowned Swiss mathematician and physicist Leonhard Euler. In 1765, … Read more
The concept of equilibrium is fundamental in physics and has been studied for centuries. It’s all about balance and the absence of net forces or motion. The earliest ideas of equilibrium can be traced back to the works of ancient Greek philosophers. They observed that objects tend to come to a rest state, a form … Read more