1796 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1796 in science
and technology
involved some significant events.
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
involved some significant events.
Astronomy
- Pierre-Simon LaplacePierre-Simon LaplacePierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace was a French mathematician and astronomer whose work was pivotal to the development of mathematical astronomy and statistics. He summarized and extended the work of his predecessors in his five volume Mécanique Céleste...
publishes 'Exposition du système du monde, his work on astronomy (mainly celestial mechanics) following NewtonIsaac NewtonSir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
and LagrangeJoseph Louis LagrangeJoseph-Louis Lagrange , born Giuseppe Lodovico Lagrangia, was a mathematician and astronomer, who was born in Turin, Piedmont, lived part of his life in Prussia and part in France, making significant contributions to all fields of analysis, to number theory, and to classical and celestial mechanics...
. He develops an analytical theory of tides, deduces the mass of the moon, improves calculation of cosmic orbits, and predicts that Saturn's rings will be found to rotate. Most notably, he propounds the modern nebular hypothesis, independently outlined by KantImmanuel KantImmanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
.
Mathematics
- This is a productive year for the German mathematician Carl Friedrich GaussCarl Friedrich GaussJohann Carl Friedrich Gauss was a German mathematician and scientist who contributed significantly to many fields, including number theory, statistics, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, geophysics, electrostatics, astronomy and optics.Sometimes referred to as the Princeps mathematicorum...
(b. 17771777 in scienceThe year 1777 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Mathematics:* Leonhard Euler introduces the symbol i to represent the square root of -1.-Births:* February 12 - Bernard Courtois, chemist...
) and his work in number theoryNumber theoryNumber theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers. Number theorists study prime numbers as well...
:- March 30 - He obtains conditions for the constructibility by ruler and compass of regular polygonPolygonIn geometry a polygon is a flat shape consisting of straight lines that are joined to form a closed chain orcircuit.A polygon is traditionally a plane figure that is bounded by a closed path, composed of a finite sequence of straight line segments...
s, including the heptadecagonHeptadecagonIn geometry, a heptadecagon is a seventeen-sided polygon.-Heptadecagon construction:The regular heptadecagon is a constructible polygon, as was shown by Carl Friedrich Gauss in 1796 at the age of 19....
. - April 8 - He becomes the first to prove the quadratic reciprocityQuadratic reciprocityIn number theory, the law of quadratic reciprocity is a theorem about modular arithmetic which gives conditions for the solvability of quadratic equations modulo prime numbers...
law, enabling determination of the solvability of any quadratic equationQuadratic equationIn mathematics, a quadratic equation is a univariate polynomial equation of the second degree. A general quadratic equation can be written in the formax^2+bx+c=0,\,...
in modular arithmeticModular arithmeticIn mathematics, modular arithmetic is a system of arithmetic for integers, where numbers "wrap around" after they reach a certain value—the modulus....
. - May 31 - He puts forward his prime number theoremPrime number theoremIn number theory, the prime number theorem describes the asymptotic distribution of the prime numbers. The prime number theorem gives a general description of how the primes are distributed amongst the positive integers....
on the distribution of prime numberPrime numberA prime number is a natural number greater than 1 that has no positive divisors other than 1 and itself. A natural number greater than 1 that is not a prime number is called a composite number. For example 5 is prime, as only 1 and 5 divide it, whereas 6 is composite, since it has the divisors 2...
s among the integers. - July 10 - He discovers that every positive integer is representable as a sum of at most three triangular numbers, noting in his diary "HeurekaEureka (word)"Eureka" is an interjection used to celebrate a discovery, a transliteration of a word attributed to Archimedes.-Etymology:The word comes from ancient Greek εὕρηκα heúrēka "I have found ", which is the 1st person singular perfect indicative active of the verb heuriskō "I find"...
! num = Δ + Δ + Δ." - October 1 - He publishes a result on the number of solutions of polynomialPolynomialIn mathematics, a polynomial is an expression of finite length constructed from variables and constants, using only the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and non-negative integer exponents...
s with coefficientCoefficientIn mathematics, a coefficient is a multiplicative factor in some term of an expression ; it is usually a number, but in any case does not involve any variables of the expression...
s in finite fieldFinite fieldIn abstract algebra, a finite field or Galois field is a field that contains a finite number of elements. Finite fields are important in number theory, algebraic geometry, Galois theory, cryptography, and coding theory...
s.
- March 30 - He obtains conditions for the constructibility by ruler and compass of regular polygon
Medicine
- May 14 - Edward JennerEdward JennerEdward Anthony Jenner was an English scientist who studied his natural surroundings in Berkeley, Gloucestershire...
administers the first smallpoxSmallpoxSmallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
vaccinationVaccinationVaccination is the administration of antigenic material to stimulate the immune system of an individual to develop adaptive immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens...
. - Franz Joseph GallFranz Joseph GallFranz Joseph Gall was a neuroanatomist, physiologist, and pioneer in the study of the localization of mental functions in the brain.- Life :...
develops his theory of 'cranioscopyCranioscopyCranioscopy is a term created by Franz Joseph Gall , a German neuroanatomist and physiologist who was a pioneer in the study of the localization of mental functions in the brain, to name his technique to infer brain localization of function on the basis of the external anatomy of the skull or...
', a forerunner of phrenologyPhrenologyPhrenology is a pseudoscience primarily focused on measurements of the human skull, based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or modules...
.
Paleontology
- April - Georges CuvierGeorges CuvierGeorges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
reads his paper Mémoires sur les espèces d'éléphants vivants et fossiles at the opening of the Institut National in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, demonstrating that species had become extinct.
Technology
- Completion of the first cast ironCast ironCast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
aqueductAqueductAn aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
s, on the English canalsCanals of the United KingdomThe canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a colourful history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role for recreational boating...
- February - Holmes Aqueduct on the Derby CanalDerby CanalThe Derby Canal ran from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Swarkestone to Derby and Little Eaton, and to the Erewash Canal at Sandiacre, Derbyshire, England. The canal gained its Act of Parliament in 1793 and was fully completed in 1796...
, designed by Benjamin OutramBenjamin OutramBenjamin Outram was an English civil engineer, surveyor and industrialist. He was a pioneer in the building of canals and tramways.-Personal life:...
(demolished 1971). - March - Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct on the Shrewsbury CanalShrewsbury CanalThe Shrewsbury Canal was a canal in Shropshire, England. Authorised in 1793, the main line from Trench to Shrewsbury was fully open by 1797, but it remained isolated from the rest of the canal network until 1835, when the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal built the Newport Branch from...
, designed by Thomas TelfordThomas TelfordThomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
(extant).
- February - Holmes Aqueduct on the Derby Canal
- August 9 - Opening to traffic of the Wearmouth Bridge in EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, designed by Thomas PaineThomas PaineThomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
in cast iron. The second in this material built after that at IronbridgeIronbridgeIronbridge is a settlement on the River Severn, at the heart of the Ironbridge Gorge, in Shropshire, England. It lies in the civil parish of The Gorge, in the borough of Telford and Wrekin...
, but over twice as long, its span of 237 feet (72 m) makes it the world's longest single-span vehicular bridge extant at this date. - Printing by lithographyLithographyLithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
is invented by Aloys Senefelder.
Births
- February 10 - Henry De la BecheHenry De la BecheSir Henry Thomas De la Beche FRS was an English geologist and palaeontologist who helped pioneer early geological survey methods.-Biography:...
, geologist (d. 18551855 in scienceThe year 1855 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Events:* Opening of Eidgenössische Polytechnische Schule in Zurich, Switzerland.-Biology:...
) - February 22 - Adolphe QueteletAdolphe QueteletLambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet was a Belgian astronomer, mathematician, statistician and sociologist. He founded and directed the Brussels Observatory and was influential in introducing statistical methods to the social sciences...
, mathematician and astronomer (d. 18741874 in scienceThe year 1874 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Astronomy:* December 9 - A transit of Venus across the Sun is observed in Muddapur, India, by an astronomical expedition led by Pietro Tacchini.-Chemistry:...
) - June 1 - Nicolas CarnotNicolas Léonard Sadi CarnotNicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot was a French military engineer who, in his 1824 Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire, gave the first successful theoretical account of heat engines, now known as the Carnot cycle, thereby laying the foundations of the second law of thermodynamics...
, mathematician (d. 18321832 in scienceThe year 1832 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Biology:* Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire begins publication of Histoire générale et particulière des anomalies de l’organisation chez l’homme et les animaux, a key text on teratology.-Exploration:* April 21 -...
) - August 21 - James LickJames LickJames Lick was an American carpenter, piano builder, land baron, and patron of the sciences. At the time of his death, he was the wealthiest man in California, and left the majority of his estate to social and scientific causes.-Early years:James Lick was born in Stumpstown Pennsylvania on August...
, philanthropist who endowed the Lick ObservatoryLick ObservatoryThe Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory, owned and operated by the University of California. It is situated on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, USA...
(d. 18761876 in scienceThe year 1876 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Biology:* Robert Koch demonstrates that Bacillus anthracis is the source of of anthrax, the first bacterium conclusively shown to cause disease.-Medicine:...
) - September 19 - Richard HarlanRichard HarlanRichard Harlan was an American naturalist, zoologist, physicist and paleontologist....
, zoologist (d. 18431843 in scienceThe year 1843 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Astronomy:* February 5–April 19 - "Great March Comet" observed....
)
Deaths
- May 1 - Alexandre Guy PingréAlexandre Guy PingréAlexandre Guy Pingré was a French astronomer, priest, and naval geographer.He was born in Paris, France, and was educated at Senlis, where he became professor of theology in 1735. At an early age he had developed an interest in astronomy, and in 1749 he was appointed professor of astronomy at the...
, French astronomer and naval geographer (b. 17111711 in scienceThe year 1711 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Biology:* Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli shows that coral is an animal rather than a plant as previously thought.-Mathematics:... - December 11 - Johann Daniel TitiusJohann Daniel TitiusJohann Daniel Titius was a German astronomer and a professor at Wittenberg.Titius was born in Konitz , Royal Prussia, and died in Wittenberg...
, GermanGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
astronomerAstronomerAn astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
(b. 17291729 in scienceThe year 1729 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* January 9 & 16 - James Bradley, in a letter written to Edmond Halley and read before the Royal Society, describes his discovery of aberration of starlight.* August 1 - Fr...
)