1736 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1736 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.
Botany
- Charles Marie de La CondamineCharles Marie de La CondamineCharles Marie de La Condamine was a French explorer, geographer, and mathematician. He spent ten years in present-day Ecuador measuring the length of a degree latitude at the equator and preparing the first map of the Amazon region based on astronomical observations.-Biography:Charles Marie de La...
, with François Fresneau Gataudière, makes the first scientific observations of rubberRubberNatural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
, in EcuadorEcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
.
Earth sciences
- June 19 - French Academy of SciencesFrench Academy of SciencesThe French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
expedition led by Pierre Louis MaupertuisPierre Louis MaupertuisPierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis was a French mathematician, philosopher and man of letters. He became the Director of the Académie des Sciences, and the first President of the Berlin Academy of Science, at the invitation of Frederick the Great....
, with Anders CelsiusAnders CelsiusAnders Celsius was a Swedish astronomer. He was professor of astronomy at Uppsala University from 1730 to 1744, but traveled from 1732 to 1735 visiting notable observatories in Germany, Italy and France. He founded the Uppsala Astronomical Observatory in 1741, and in 1742 he proposed the Celsius...
, begins work on measuring a meridian arcMeridian arcIn geodesy, a meridian arc measurement is a highly accurate determination of the distance between two points with the same longitude. Two or more such determinations at different locations then specify the shape of the reference ellipsoid which best approximates the shape of the geoid. This...
in the Torne ValleyTorne ValleyThe Torne Valley or Torne River Valley lies at the border of Sweden and Finland. In 2009 it became one of the Sub-regions of Finland. It is named after the Torne River flowing through the valley and into the Gulf of Bothnia...
of FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.
Mathematics
- June 8 - Leonhard EulerLeonhard EulerLeonhard Euler was a pioneering Swiss mathematician and physicist. He made important discoveries in fields as diverse as infinitesimal calculus and graph theory. He also introduced much of the modern mathematical terminology and notation, particularly for mathematical analysis, such as the notion...
writes to James Stirling describing the Euler–Maclaurin formula, providing a connection between integralIntegralIntegration is an important concept in mathematics and, together with its inverse, differentiation, is one of the two main operations in calculus...
s and calculusCalculusCalculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...
. - EulerLeonhard EulerLeonhard Euler was a pioneering Swiss mathematician and physicist. He made important discoveries in fields as diverse as infinitesimal calculus and graph theory. He also introduced much of the modern mathematical terminology and notation, particularly for mathematical analysis, such as the notion...
produces the first published proof of Fermat's "little theorem"Fermat's little theoremFermat's little theorem states that if p is a prime number, then for any integer a, a p − a will be evenly divisible by p...
. - Sir Isaac 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."...
's Method of FluxionsMethod of FluxionsMethod of Fluxions is a book by Isaac Newton. The book was completed in 1671, and published in 1736. Fluxions is Newton's term for differential calculus...
(1671), describing his method of differential calculusDifferential calculusIn mathematics, differential calculus is a subfield of calculus concerned with the study of the rates at which quantities change. It is one of the two traditional divisions of calculus, the other being integral calculus....
, is first published (posthumously) and Thomas BayesThomas BayesThomas Bayes was an English mathematician and Presbyterian minister, known for having formulated a specific case of the theorem that bears his name: Bayes' theorem...
publishes a defense of its logical foundations against the criticism of George BerkeleyGeorge BerkeleyGeorge Berkeley , also known as Bishop Berkeley , was an Irish philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immaterialism"...
(anonymously).
Births
- January 19 - James WattJames WattJames Watt, FRS, FRSE was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the Newcomen steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world.While working as an instrument maker at the...
, mathematicianMathematicianA mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and engineerEngineerAn engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
(d. 18191819 in scienceThe year 1819 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Exploration:* A British Arctic expedition under William Edward Parry comprising HMS Hecla and HMS Griper reaches longitude 112°51' W in the Northwest Passage, the furthest west which will be attained by any...
) - June 14 - Charles-Augustin de CoulombCharles-Augustin de CoulombCharles-Augustin de Coulomb was a French physicist. He is best known for developing Coulomb's law, the definition of the electrostatic force of attraction and repulsion. The [SI unit] of charge, the coulomb, was named after him....
, 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...
(d. 18061806 in scienceThe year 1806 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Botany:* Publication begins in London of the Flora Graeca collected by John Sibthorp.-Mathematics:* Jean-Robert Argand introduces the Argand diagram....
) - November 3 - Christiaan BruningsChristiaan BruningsChristiaan Brunings was a Dutch hydraulic engineer.-Early life:Brunings was the son of a preacher in Mannheim-Neckarau in Germany. After high school he attended the University of Heidelberg. He had to break off his studies for lack of money and found work in the vinegar works of his brother in...
, hydraulic engineer (d. 18051805 in scienceSignificant events in 1805 in science and technology are listed.-Biology:* Jean Henri Jaume Saint-Hilaire publishes Exposition des Familles naturelles et de la Germination des Plantes, contentant la description de 2337 genres et d'environ 4000 espèces, 112 planches dont les figures ont ete...
)
Deaths
- September 16 - Gabriel FahrenheitGabriel FahrenheitDaniel Gabriel Fahrenheit was a German physicist, engineer, and glass blower who is best known for inventing the alcohol thermometer and the mercury thermometer , and for developing a temperature scale now named after him.- Biography :Fahrenheit was born in 1686 in Danzig , the Polish-Lithuanian...
, 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...
and engineerEngineerAn engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
(b. 16861686 in scienceThe year 1686 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Biology:* John Ray begins publication of his Historia Plantarum, including the first biological definition of the term species; also his edition of Francis Willughby's Historia Piscum.-Geology:* Edmund Halley establishes the...
)