SciHi Blog

astronomy
Galileo Galilei and his Telescope

Galileo Galilei and his Telescope

Harald Sack
Galileo Galilei showing the Doge of Venice how to use the telescope,Fresco at Villa Andrea Ponti, Varese, 1858 On August 25, 1609, Galileo Galilei publicly demonstrated his newly built telescope for the first time to Venetian lawmakers. Besides its astronomical value Galileo’s telescope was also a profitable sideline for him selling telescopes to merchants who found them useful both at sea and as items of trade. Galileo published his initial telescopic astronomical…
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art
The Mona Lisa is Missing….!

The Mona Lisa is Missing….!

Harald Sack
Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (ca. 1503-1505) On August 21, 1911 during intensive repair and renovation work the Louvre Museum realized that Leonardo Da Vinci’s most famous painting, the Mona Lisa, was stolen. I guess, the Mona Lisa must be the most famous painting in the world. The painting’s title Mona Lisa stems from a description by Giorgio Vasari, who wrote biographies of famous contemporary Renaissance men: “Leonardo undertook to paint, for…
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physics
Robert Fulton and the Steamship Company

Robert Fulton and the Steamship Company

Harald Sack
From the invention of a new power source or engine up to a vehicle that applies this power source to move forward sometimes is only a small step. But, to become a commercial success, this step might take even decades. Just think of the oldest type of engine powered by steam. Although the principle of the steam engine was already described by ancient Greek mathematician Heron of Alexandria, it took almost 17…
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mathematics
David Hilbert’s 23 Problems

David Hilbert’s 23 Problems

Harald Sack
On August 8, 1900 David Hilbert, probably the greatest mathematician of his age,  gave a speech at the Paris conference of the International Congress of Mathematicians, at the Sorbonne, where he presented 10 mathematical Problems (out of a list of 23), all unsolved at the time, and several of them were very influential for 20th century mathematics. “Who of us would not be glad to lift the veil behind which the future…
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literature
J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenon

J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenon

Harald Sack
J. K. Rowling reading Harry Potter at the White House in 2010@Daniel Ogren, CC-BY-2.0 It is the best selling book series ever in history. A fantastic story stretching over seven books of a boy, growing up in between the two worlds of ordinary people – the muggles – and the wizards and witches. It’s about the old story of fighting of good against evil. And as the books sold over 400 million…
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computer science
It’s a computer! – The fabulous Commodore Amiga

It’s a computer! – The fabulous Commodore Amiga

Harald Sack
In 1985 Commodore revolutionized the home computer market by introducing the high end Commodore Amiga with a graphic power that was unheard of by that time in this market segment. Based on the Motorola 68000 microprocessor series the Amiga was most successful as a home computer, with a wide range of games and creative software, although early Commodore advertisements attempted to cast the computer as an all-purpose business machine. In addition, it was  also…
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archeology
Cracking the Code – Champollion and the Rosetta Stone

Cracking the Code – Champollion and the Rosetta Stone

Harald Sack
On July 15, 1799 in the Egyptian village of Rosetta  Pierre-François Bouchard, Captain of the French expedition army on Napoleon‘s Egyptian Campaign discovered an unimpressive black stone with some written inscriptions on it. But this black stone, later referred to as the Rosetta Stone, should become the central key to deciphering the long lost secret of the Egyptian hieroglyphics. By the end of the 6th century AD, by the time of the fall…
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physics
A Wire to Connect the World – Stephen Gray’s Discovery

A Wire to Connect the World – Stephen Gray’s Discovery

Harald Sack
Today for us it’s pretty normal that electricity can be transmitted on a wire, because it’s part of our daily life. But, in the early 18th century, when the English nature-scientist Stephen Gray was able to show that electricity really can be transmitted on a string of copper, it was an unheard-of revelation. Stephen Gray was born in Canterbury, Kent, the son of the dyer Mathias Gray, baptized on December 26, 1666 and…
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history
The Case of the Last Condemned Witch – Anna Göldi

The Case of the Last Condemned Witch – Anna Göldi

Harald Sack
Recreated Portrait of Anna Göldi by Patrick Lo Giudice(via http://www.walter-hauser.ch/) On June 13th 1782, the maidservant Anna Göldi from the tiny Swiss canton Glarus was executed by the sword as being one of the very last women in Europe condemned for witchcraft. Concerning her case also for the very first time the term ‘judicial murder’ has been coined. Anna Göldi came from a poor background and for seventeen years, she worked as…
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