1955 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1955 in science
and technology
included many events, some of which are listed below.
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 ;...
included many events, some of which are listed below.
Astronomy
- January 8 - Penumbral lunar eclipseJanuary 1955 lunar eclipseA penumbral lunar eclipse took place on January 8, 1955....
. - June 20 - Total solar eclipseSolar eclipse of June 20, 1955A total solar eclipse occurred on June 20, 1955. With a maximum duration of 7 minutes 8 seconds, this is the longest solar eclipse of saros series 136, as well as the longest total solar eclipse since the 11th century...
of 7 min 8 sec duration, the longest between the 11th and 22nd centuries, visible in Southeast AsiaSoutheast AsiaSoutheast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. During the entire Second Millennium, only seven such eclipses exceed seven minutes of totality. - June 5 - Penumbral lunar eclipseJune 1955 lunar eclipseA penumbral lunar eclipse took place on June 5, 1955....
. - November 29 - Partial lunar eclipseNovember 1955 lunar eclipseA partial lunar eclipse took place on November 29, 1955....
. - December 14 - Annular solar eclipseSolar eclipse of December 14, 1955An annular solar eclipse occurred on December 14, 1955. -References:...
.
Chemistry
- February 19 - MendeleviumMendeleviumMendelevium is a synthetic element with the symbol Md and the atomic number 101. A metallic radioactive transuranic element in the actinide series, mendelevium is usually synthesized by bombarding einsteinium with alpha particles. It was named after Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev, who created the...
(atomic numberAtomic numberIn chemistry and physics, the atomic number is the number of protons found in the nucleus of an atom and therefore identical to the charge number of the nucleus. It is conventionally represented by the symbol Z. The atomic number uniquely identifies a chemical element...
101) is first synthesized by Albert GhiorsoAlbert GhiorsoAlbert Ghiorso was an American nuclear scientist and co-discoverer of a record 12 chemical elements on the periodic table. His research career spanned five decades, from the early 1940s to the late 1990s.-Early life:...
, Glenn T. SeaborgGlenn T. SeaborgGlenn Theodore Seaborg was an American scientist who won the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for "discoveries in the chemistry of the transuranium elements", contributed to the discovery and isolation of ten elements, and developed the actinide concept, which led to the current arrangement of the...
, Gregory R. Choppin, Bernard G. Harvey, and Stanley G. Thompson (team leader) at the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
Computer science
- October 2 (11:45 p.m.) - The ENIACENIACENIAC was the first general-purpose electronic computer. It was a Turing-complete digital computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems....
computer is deactivated at Aberdeen Proving GroundAberdeen Proving GroundAberdeen Proving Ground is a United States Army facility located near Aberdeen, Maryland, . Part of the facility is a census-designated place , which had a population of 3,116 at the 2000 census.- History :...
, MarylandMarylandMaryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, having been in continuous operation since 19471947 in scienceThe year 1947 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Anthropology:* August 7 - Thor Heyerdahl's balsa-wood raft, the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day, 4300-mile journey across the Pacific Ocean, demonstrating that...
. - Maurice Wilkes publishes a description of microprogramming in Electrical EngineeringIEEE SpectrumIEEE Spectrum is a magazine edited by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The IEEE's description of it is:IEEE Spectrum began publishing in January 1964 as a successor to Electrical Engineering...
. - RANDRANDRAND Corporation is a nonprofit global policy think tank first formed to offer research and analysis to the United States armed forces by Douglas Aircraft Company. It is currently financed by the U.S. government and private endowment, corporations including the healthcare industry, universities...
publishes A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal DeviatesA Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal DeviatesA Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates is a 1955 book by the RAND Corporation. The book, consisting primarily of a random number table, was an important 20th century work in the field of statistics and random numbers...
.
Genetics
- December 22 - Cytogeneticist Joe Hin TjioJoe Hin TjioJoe Hin Tjio , was a cytogeneticist renowned as the first person to recognize the normal number of human chromosomes. This epochal event occurred on December 22, 1955 at the Institute of Genetics of the University of Lund in Sweden, where Tjio was a visiting scientist.-Early life:Tjio was born to...
working with Albert LevanAlbert LevanAlbert Levan was a Swedish botanist and geneticist.Albert Levan is best known today for co-authoring the report in 1956 that humans had forty-six chromosomes...
at Lund UniversityLund UniversityLund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
demonstrates that there are forty-six human chromosomes.
Mathematics
- In the classification of finite simple groupsClassification of finite simple groupsIn mathematics, the classification of the finite simple groups is a theorem stating that every finite simple group belongs to one of four categories described below. These groups can be seen as the basic building blocks of all finite groups, in much the same way as the prime numbers are the basic...
, the Brauer–Fowler theorem is published and Claude ChevalleyClaude ChevalleyClaude Chevalley was a French mathematician who made important contributions to number theory, algebraic geometry, class field theory, finite group theory, and the theory of algebraic groups...
introduces Chevalley groups.
Medicine
- December 24 - Henry K. BeecherHenry K. BeecherHenry Knowles Beecher was an important figure in the history of anesthesiology and medicine, receiving awards and honors during his career. His 1966 article on unethical practices in medical experimentation within the New England Journal of Medicine was instrumental in the implementation of...
publishes a paper indicating the powerful effect of placeboPlaceboA placebo is a simulated or otherwise medically ineffectual treatment for a disease or other medical condition intended to deceive the recipient...
s on patient outcomes. - Outbreak of "Royal Free disease" or "benign myalgic encephalomyelitis", strongly resembling what will later be known as chronic fatigue syndromeChronic fatigue syndromeChronic fatigue syndrome is the most common name used to designate a significantly debilitating medical disorder or group of disorders generally defined by persistent fatigue accompanied by other specific symptoms for a minimum of six months, not due to ongoing exertion, not substantially...
, among staff at the Royal Free HospitalRoyal Free HospitalThe Royal Free Hospital is a major teaching hospital in Hampstead, London, England and part of the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust....
in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Physics
- Existence of the antiprotonAntiprotonThe antiproton is the antiparticle of the proton. Antiprotons are stable, but they are typically short-lived since any collision with a proton will cause both particles to be annihilated in a burst of energy....
is experimentally confirmed by University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, physicistPhysicistA physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
s Emilio Segrè and Owen ChamberlainOwen ChamberlainOwen Chamberlain was an American physicist, and Nobel laureate in physics for his discovery, with collaborator Emilio Segrè, of antiprotons, a sub-atomic antiparticle.-Biography:...
. - University of LiverpoolUniversity of LiverpoolThe University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
cyclotronCyclotronIn technology, a cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator. In physics, the cyclotron frequency or gyrofrequency is the frequency of a charged particle moving perpendicularly to the direction of a uniform magnetic field, i.e. a magnetic field of constant magnitude and direction...
begins operation.
Technology
- The first accurate atomic clockAtomic clockAn atomic clock is a clock that uses an electronic transition frequency in the microwave, optical, or ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum of atoms as a frequency standard for its timekeeping element...
, a caesium standardCaesium standardA caesium standard or caesium atomic clock is a primary frequency standard in which electronic transitions between the two hyperfine ground states of caesium-133 atoms are used to control the output frequency. They are one of the most accurate types of atomic clock...
based on a certain transition of the caesium-133 atom, is built by Louis EssenLouis EssenLouis Essen FRS O.B.E. was an English physicist whose most notable achievements were in the precise measurement of time and the determination of the speed of light...
with J.V.L. Parry at the National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom). - Strömsund BridgeStrömsund BridgeThe Strömsund Bridge is a cable-stayed road bridge, bringing road E45 over Ströms vattudal, in Strömsund, Jämtland, Sweden.The bridge is 332 m long, with a 182 m long span...
in SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
completed, the first significant cable-stayed bridge of the modern era.
Publications
- Eugene GarfieldEugene GarfieldEugene "Gene" Garfield is an American scientist, one of the founders of bibliometrics and scientometrics. He received a PhD in Structural Linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1961. Dr. Garfield was the founder of the Institute for Scientific Information , which was located in...
proposes the concept of citation indexCitation indexA citation index is a kind of bibliographic database, an index of citations between publications, allowing the user to easily establish which later documents cite which earlier documents. The first citation indices were legal citators such as Shepard's Citations...
ing for scientific literature.
Awards
- Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
s- PhysicsNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
- Willis Eugene Lamb, - Polykarp KuschPolykarp KuschPolykarp Kusch was a German-American physicist. In 1955 he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics with Willis Eugene Lamb for his accurate determination that the magnetic moment of the electron was greater than its theoretical value, thus leading to reconsideration of—and... - ChemistryNobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
- Vincent du VigneaudVincent du VigneaudVincent du Vigneaud was an American biochemist. He won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1955 for the isolation, structural identification, and total synthesis of the cyclic peptide, oxytocin.-Biography:... - MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
- Axel Hugo Theodor Theorell
- Physics
Births
- February 24 - Steve JobsSteve JobsSteven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
(d. 20112011 in scienceThe year 2011 in science and technology involves many significant events and discoveries, some of which are listed below. 2011 was declared the International Year of Forests and Chemistry by the United Nations.- January :...
), computing entrepreneur. - June 8 - Tim Berners-LeeTim Berners-LeeSir Timothy John "Tim" Berners-Lee, , also known as "TimBL", is a British computer scientist, MIT professor and the inventor of the World Wide Web...
, creator of the world wide webWorld Wide WebThe World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
. - October 28 - Bill GatesBill GatesWilliam Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
, software designer and entrepreneur.
Deaths
- February 2 - Oswald AveryOswald AveryOswald Theodore Avery ForMemRS was a Canadian-born American physician and medical researcher. The major part of his career was spent at the Rockefeller University Hospital in New York City...
(b. 18771877 in scienceThe year 1877 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Events:* June 19 - Eadweard Muybridge successfully produces a fast-motion sequence of photographs showing a horse in movement, Sallie Gardner at a Gallop, using multiple cameras at Palo Alto, California,...
), bacteriologist. - March 11 - Sir Alexander FlemingAlexander FlemingSir Alexander Fleming was a Scottish biologist and pharmacologist. He wrote many articles on bacteriology, immunology, and chemotherapy...
(b. 18811881 in scienceThe year 1881 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Biology:* October - Charles Darwin publishes his last scientific book The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms.* L. S...
), winner of the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
. - April 10 - Pierre Teilhard de ChardinPierre Teilhard de ChardinPierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ was a French philosopher and Jesuit priest who trained as a paleontologist and geologist and took part in the discovery of both Piltdown Man and Peking Man. Teilhard conceived the idea of the Omega Point and developed Vladimir Vernadsky's concept of Noosphere...
, SJSociety of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
(b. 1881), paleontologist and philosopher. - April 18 - Albert EinsteinAlbert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
(b. 18791879 in scienceThe year 1879 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Biology:* Jean Henri Fabre publishes the first of his Souvenirs entomologiques....
), winner of the 1921 Nobel Prize in PhysicsNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
. - August 12 - James B. SumnerJames B. SumnerJames Batcheller Sumner was an American chemist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1946 with John Howard Northrop and Wendell Meredith Stanley.-Biography:...
(b. 18871887 in scienceThe year 1887 in science and technology involved many significant events, listed below.-Events:* March 7 - North Carolina State University is established as North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts....
), winner of the 1946 Nobel Prize in ChemistryNobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
. - December 13 - Antonio Egas Moniz (b. 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:...
), winner of the 1949 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.