Keplerův spis Astronomia nova představuje jedno z nejvýznamnějších astronomických děl všech dob. Obsahuje odvození vztahů, jimž dnes říkáme první a druhý Keplerův zákon pohybu planet. Kepler zde uplatnil nový přístup k astronomii, fyzice a vesmíru vůbec, když vyšetřoval eliptickou dráhu, po níž se Mars pohybuje kolem Slunce. Vysvětlení pohybu Marsu pojal nejen geometricky, ale využil i fyzikální magnetickou hypotézu., Kepler's Astronomia nova is one of the most important astronomical texts ever written. It contains what are known today as Kepler's first two laws of planetary motion. Kepler created a new approach to astronomy, physics of the heavens, based upon an examination of the motion of Mars, which is moving around the Sun on an elliptical path. The interpretation of the motion of Mars was not based only on geometrical demonstrations but also on a physical magnetic hypothesis., Vladimír Štefl., and Obsahuje bibliografii
O neúspěšných kandidátech na Nobelovu cenu za fyziku (NCF) v letech 1901-1956 byl publikován článek v roce 2008 [1]. Zpřístupněním materiálů Nobelova archivu ve Stockholmu o NCF do roku 1965 lze tudíž referovat o kandidátech NCF z let 1951-1965, což je obsahem tohoto příspěvku., Six unsuccessful candidates, i. e., G. E. Uhlenbeck, S. A. Goudsmit, G. P. S. Occhialini, B. B. Rossi, B. F. Lyot and G. I. Taylor, nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physics from 1951 to 1965, are briefly introduced in this article. The number of nominations was chosen as a criterion of their selection. All the above mentioned researchers were outstanding physicist with numerous great scientific achievements. It clearly indicates, that also other factors than just a scientific excellence influence winning the Nobel Prize., Jiří Jindra., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The prehistory of clay mineralogy is highlighted from the beginnings in ancient Greece to the mineralogical works of Agricola, in particular his famous handbook of mineralogy, entitled De natura fossilium (1546). Starting with a few scattered hints in the works of Archaic and Classic Greek authors, including Aristotle, the first treatment of clays as a part of mineralogy is by Theophrastus. This basic tradition was further supplemented by Roman agricultural writers (Cato, Columella), Hellenistic authors (the ge ographer Strabo and the physicians Diosco rides and Galen), the Roman engineer-architect Vitruvius, and finally summarized in Pliny’s encyclopedia Naturalis historia, which has become the main source for later authors, including Agricola. It is shown to what extent Agricola’s work is just a great summary of this traditional knowledge and to what extent Agricola’s work must be considered as original. In pa rticular, Agricola’s attempt to a rational, combinatorical classification of "earths" is recalled, and aplausible explanation is given for his effort to include additional information on Central European clay depos its and argillaceous raw material occurre nces. However, it is shown that - in contrast to common belief - Agricola was not the first to include "earths" in a mineralogical system. This had been done almost one thousand years earlier by Isidore of Seville., Willi Pabst and Renata Kořánová., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
One hundred years ago Heike Kamerlingh Onnes arrived to one of the most important breakthroughs of 20th century physics - he discovered superconductivity. His finding as in many other cases in the history of science had been a result of use of a very new experimental technique. He used the cryogenic equipment in his Leiden's laboratory with the liquid helium cryocooler and measured electrical properties of metals near the absolute zero temperature. When cooled down to extremely low temperatures, near 4 Kelvin, very pure mercury suddenly lost its electrical resistance completely. Many major physicists of 20th century, experimentalists as well as theorists, devoted their life efforts to exploration of the mysterious properties of superconductors. Superconductivity has been shown to be one of the rare cases where quantum physics is observed on a macroscopic scale. Many chemical elements and thousands of compounds have been found to be superconducting. Fifty years after the discovery important practical applications such as strong magnets for laboratories and magnetic-resonance-imaging in hospitals came to the market. But more than seventy five years the superconducting materials had been functioning only at extreme cold, below 23 K (-250°C). In 1986 the "hightemperature superconductor's" era started with materials superconducting at -100°C. This paper surveys the history and the latest research into one of today's most fascinating physics and promising technologies., Peter Samuely., and Obsahuje bibliografii