1940 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1940 in science
and technology
involved some significant events, 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 ;...
involved some significant events, listed below.
Biochemistry
- August 24 - Howard Florey and a team including Ernst Chain, Arthur Duncan Gardner, Norman HeatleyNorman HeatleyNorman George Heatley was a member of the team of Oxford University scientists who developed penicillin.He was born in Woodbridge, Suffolk, and as a boy was an enthusiastic sailor of a small boat on the River Deben; an experience which gave him a lifelong love of sailing...
, M. Jennings, J. Orr-Ewing and G. Sanders at the Sir William Dunn School of PathologySir William Dunn School of PathologyThe Sir William Dunn School of Pathology is a Department within the University of Oxford . Its research programme includes the cellular and molecular biology of pathogens, the immune response, cancer and cardiovascular disease...
, University of OxfordUniversity of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, publish their laboratory results showing the in vivoIn vivoIn vivo is experimentation using a whole, living organism as opposed to a partial or dead organism, or an in vitro controlled environment. Animal testing and clinical trials are two forms of in vivo research...
bactericidal action of penicillinPenicillinPenicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They include penicillin G, procaine penicillin, benzathine penicillin, and penicillin V....
. They have also purified the drug.
Biology
- February 2 - The first transposonTransposonTransposable elements are sequences of DNA that can move or transpose themselves to new positions within the genome of a single cell. The mechanism of transposition can be either "copy and paste" or "cut and paste". Transposition can create phenotypically significant mutations and alter the cell's...
s are discovered in maizeMaizeMaize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
(Zea mays, aka corn) by Barbara McClintockBarbara McClintockBarbara McClintock , the 1983 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, was an American scientist and one of the world's most distinguished cytogeneticists. McClintock received her PhD in botany from Cornell University in 1927, where she was a leader in the development of maize cytogenetics...
.
Chemistry
- February 27 - The radioactive isotopeIsotopeIsotopes are variants of atoms of a particular chemical element, which have differing numbers of neutrons. Atoms of a particular element by definition must contain the same number of protons but may have a distinct number of neutrons which differs from atom to atom, without changing the designation...
carbon-14Carbon-14Carbon-14, 14C, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with a nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and colleagues , to date archaeological, geological, and hydrogeological...
is discovered by Martin KamenMartin KamenMartin David Kamen , a physicist inside the Manhattan project. Together with Sam Ruben, he co-discovered the isotope carbon-14 on February 27, 1940, at the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Berkeley....
and Sam RubenSam RubenSamuel Ruben , the son of Herschel and Frieda Penn Rubenstein – the name was officially shortened to Ruben in 1930...
. - AstatineAstatineAstatine is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol At and atomic number 85. It occurs on the Earth only as the result of decay of heavier elements, and decays away rapidly, so much less is known about this element than its upper neighbors in the periodic table...
synthesized by Corson, MacKenzie, and Segre. - NeptuniumNeptuniumNeptunium is a chemical element with the symbol Np and atomic number 93. A radioactive metal, neptunium is the first transuranic element and belongs to the actinide series. Its most stable isotope, 237Np, is a by-product of nuclear reactors and plutonium production and it can be used as a...
, the first transuranicTransuranium elementIn chemistry, transuranium elements are the chemical elements with atomic numbers greater than 92...
element, synthesized by McMillan and Abelson. - Robert McCanceRobert McCanceRobert McCance was Professor of Experimental Medicine, Cambridge University.Born in Ulster, he was educated at St. Bees School, before wartime service in the Royal Naval Air Service, piloting an observation aircraft from a warship. After the war he began a scientific career.With colleague H...
and Elsie WiddowsonElsie WiddowsonDr Elsie Widdowson FRS , was a British scientist responsible for overseeing the government mandated addition of vitamins to food and war-time rationing in Britain during World War II....
publish the standard text The Chemical Composition of Foods.
Computer science
- January 8 - In the history of computing hardwareHistory of computing hardwareThe history of computing hardware is the record of the ongoing effort to make computer hardware faster, cheaper, and capable of storing more data....
, Bell LabsBell LabsBell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
' Complex Number Calculator, a relayRelayA relay is an electrically operated switch. Many relays use an electromagnet to operate a switching mechanism mechanically, but other operating principles are also used. Relays are used where it is necessary to control a circuit by a low-power signal , or where several circuits must be controlled...
-based calculator for complex numbers, is completed under the direction of George StibitzGeorge StibitzGeorge Robert Stibitz is internationally recognized as one of the fathers of the modern digital computer...
.
Physics
- January 5 - FM radio demonstrated to the FCCFederal Communications CommissionThe Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
for the first time. - Cavity Magnetron invented by John Randall and Harry BootHarry BootHenry Albert Howard "Harry" Boot was an English physicist who with Sir John Randall and James Sayers developed the cavity magnetron, which was one of the keys to the Allied victory in the Second World War.-Biography:...
.
Technology
- November 7 - The new Tacoma Narrows BridgeTacoma Narrows Bridge (1940)The 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge was the first incarnation of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, a suspension bridge in the U.S. state of Washington that spanned the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula. It opened to traffic on July 1, 1940, and dramatically collapsed...
collapses under wind pressure.
Births
- April 1 - Wangari Muta Mary Jo MaathaiWangari MaathaiWangari Muta Mary Jo Maathai was a Kenyan environmental and political activist. She was educated in the United States at Mount St. Scholastica and the University of Pittsburgh, as well as the University of Nairobi in Kenya...
(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 :...
), KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
n biologistBiologistA biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
and Nobel Peace PrizeNobel Peace PrizeThe Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
winner. - June 22 - Daniel Quillen (d. 2011), AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mathematicianMathematicianA mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
. - November 26 - Enrico BombieriEnrico BombieriEnrico Bombieri is a mathematician who has been working at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Bombieri's research in number theory, algebraic geometry, and mathematical analysis have earned him many international prizes --- a Fields Medal in 1974 and the Balzan Prize in 1980...
, ItalianItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
-born mathematician.
Deaths
- March 9 - Robert GuntherRobert GuntherRobert Theodore Gunther was a historian of science, zoologist, and founder of the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford....
(b. 18691869 in scienceThe year 1869 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Events:* November 4 - The first issue of scientific journal Nature is published in London, edited by Norman Lockyer.-Chemistry:...
), EnglishEnglish peopleThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
historian of science. - April 13 - Pierre Marie (b. 18531853 in scienceThe year 1853 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Biology:* March 17 - Claude Bernard presents his doctoral thesis describing the glycogenetic function of the liver....
), FrenchFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
neurologistNeurologistA neurologist is a physician who specializes in neurology, and is trained to investigate, or diagnose and treat neurological disorders.Neurology is the medical specialty related to the human nervous system. The nervous system encompasses the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. A specialist...
. - November 8 - Arthur Vierendeel (b. 18521852 in scienceThe year 1852 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Aeronautics:* September 24 - French engineer Henri Giffard makes the first airship trip, from Paris to Trappes.-Medicine:...
), BelgianBelgiansBelgians are people originating from the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal state in Western Europe.-Etymology:Belgians are a relatively "new" people...
civil engineerCivil engineerA civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
. - December 16 - Eugène DuboisEugène DuboisMarie Eugène François Thomas Dubois was a Dutch paleoanthropologist. He earned worldwide fame for his discovery of Pithecanthropus erectus , or 'Java Man'...
(b. 18581858 in scienceThe year 1858 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Archaeology:* In Luxor, Egypt, the Rhind papyrus is found ; it is sometimes called the Ahmes papyrus for the scribe who wrote it around 1650 BC.-Astronomy:* Donati's Comet, the first comet to be photographed, is...
), DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
paleoanthropologistPaleoanthropologyPaleoanthropology, which combines the disciplines of paleontology and physical anthropology, is the study of ancient humans as found in fossil hominid evidence such as petrifacted bones and footprints.-19th century:...
.