Important dates in Physics: Circa 3000 B.C. Babylonians measure time

Circa 500 B.C. Pythagoras develops a prototype periodic table with four

elements: earth, air, fire, and water and proves his fundamental theorem of

geometry

Circa 350 B.C. Aristotle writes the first physics textbook

Circa 250 B.C. Euclid develops plane geometry -----------------------------------

Circa 100 B.C. Ptolemaic theory assumes that the Earth is the fixed center of

the universe

Circa 1200 Al-Hazen (Arabia) formulates the basic elements of optics

Circa 1500 Copernicus. De Revolutionibus Orbis Terranum presents a new view of the

Solar System

Circa 1502 da Vinci formulates basic elements of physics, chemistry,

astronomy, and geology -----------------------------------------------------

1609 Galileo confirms Copernicus. theory

Kepler formulates laws of planetary motion

1632 Galileo’s Systems of the World is condemned by the inquisition

1658 Huygens develops wave theory of light

1687 Newton publishes Principia Mathematica

1736 Euler formulates analytical mechanics

1738 Bernoulli formulates molecular theory of gases

1750 Franklin draws atmospheric electricity to a conductor-----------------

1808 Dalton establishes atomic theory

1811 Avogadro develops kinetic theory of gases

1812 Laplace devises probability theory -----------

1819 Oersted discovers electromagnetism

1826 Ohm’s law for electrical conductors is developed-------------------

1831 Faraday produces magnetically induced electrical current --------

1832 Henry discovers electrical self-induction

1838 Bessel measures the distance to a fixed star----

1845 Faraday formulates electromagnetic wave theory of light ---------

1847 Thompson (Lord Kelvin) defines absolute temperature

1850 Foucault measures the speed of light in air and in water

1856 Helmholtz writes Physiological Optics

1859 Bunsen and Kirchhoff establish the field of spectroscopy

1868 Angstrom maps the solar spectrum

1869 Mendeleev, Meyer, and Newlands find that properties of elements are

periodic functions of atomic masses----------------------------------------------

1873 Maxwell’s Theory of Electromagnetic Radiation is presented------

1877 Lord Rayleigh publishes Treatise on Sound

1879 Edison invents incandescent electric lamp

1887 Michelson–Morley experiment invalidates either theory

Balmer and Rydberg discover laws of spectral series

1888 Hertz generates and detects electromagnetic waves

1895 Roentgen discovers X-rays------------------------------------------

Lorentz formulates theory of the electron

1896 Becquerel discovers radioactivity

X-ray images used in court as evidence

1897 Thompson discovers the electron

1898 Curies isolate polonium and radium------------------------

1899 Rutherford discovers alpha and beta radiation emitted from uranium

1900 Villard discovers gamma rays

Thompson proposes .plum pudding. atomic model

Planck suggests that radiation is produced in discrete quantities

American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) is founded

1901 First report of death due to X-ray exposure

First Nobel Prize in physics awarded to Roentgen

Marconi generates radio waves that are detected across the Atlantic Ocean

1903 Becquerel and Curies receive the Nobel Prize for their study on radioactivity

Tsiolkovsky introduces the concept of space travel

1905 Einstein formulates Special Theory of Relativity

Einstein formulates the explanation of the photoelectric effect

1906 Bergonnie and Tribondeau formulate basics of radiobiology

1907 Boltwood estimates the Earth.s age to be 2 · 109 yr, far greater than previous estimates

1908–1913 Hertzsprung and Russel correlate the energy emitted from a star to its temperature

1909 Millikan oil drop experiment yields a precise value of electronic charge

1910 Soddy establishes the existence of isotopes

1911 Rutherford discovers the atomic nucleus

Wilson develops cloud chamber

1912 von Laue demonstrates interference of X-rays

Hess discovers cosmic rays

1913 Coolidge applies for X-ray tube patent

Bohr advances the theory of the hydrogen atom

Einstein completes the General Theory of Relativity

1914 Franck–Hertz experiment demonstrates discreet atomic energy levels in collisions with

electrons

Goddard initiates experimental rocketry

1915 British R€oentgen Society adopts X-ray protection recommendations

1916 Millikan measures Planck.s constant

1917 Rutherford produces first artificial nuclear transmutation

Mount Wilson telescope begins operations

1918 Noether.s Theorem establishes a relationship between symmetries and conservation

laws that was crucial to the later development of quantum gauge field theory and string

theory

1919 Aston detects isotopes

Proton discovered by Rutherford

Prediction ofGeneral Theory of Relativity regarding the gravitational deflection of light

is confirmed

1920 ARRS establishes a standing committee for radiation protection

1921 British X-ray and Radium Protection Committee presents its first radiation protection

rules

Kaluza publishes his ideas about unifying gravity with electromagnetism by adding an

extra dimension of space

1922 First US radium-related dial painter death

Compton effect reported

General Theory of Relativity predicts an expanding universe

1923 Szamatolski links dial painter injuries to radium

Hubble measures the distance to the Andromeda Galaxy

1924 Uhlenbeck and Goudsmit identify electron spin of _h/2

de Broglie formulates particle wavelength–momentum relationship

1925 Pauli exclusion principle formulated

Heisenberg publishes paper on quantum mechanics

Mutscheller puts forth tolerance dose for X-rays

Eddington formulates a relationship between a star’s mass and its energy output

Schroedinger formulates wave mechanics

1926 Dirac develops the basis for quantum electrodynamics

1927 Heisenberg develops the uncertainty principle

Mueller discovers that ionizing radiation produces genetic mutations

Davisson and Germer demonstrate that matter has wave properties

Lemaître formulates the big bang theory

1928 International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) formed

Dirac develops relativistic wave equation for the electron, which established the

theoretical basis for antiparticles

1929 Advisory Committee on X-Ray and Radium Protection (ACXRP) is formed in the

United States. This was a precursor of the National Council on Radiation

Hubble establishes the expansion of the universe

1930 Bethe advances quantum-mechanical stopping-power theory

1931 Pauli proposes the neutrino to explain the conservation of energy in beta decay

Lawrence and Livingston construct the first cyclotron

1932 Anderson discovers the positron

Chadwick reports the discovery of the neutron

Chandrasekhar calculates stellar collapse to the white dwarf, neutron star, or black hole

states

1933 Slizard postulates the nuclear chain reaction

Zwicky suggests the existence of dark matter

1934 Curie and Joliot produce artificial radioisotopes

Fermi formulates a theory of beta decay

1935 Yukawa predicts the existence of mesons, responsible for the short-range nuclear

interaction

1936 Bragg–Gray principle is formulated

1937 First use of a radioisotope (32P) in therapy

Muons detected in cosmic radiation

1938 Hahn, Meitner, Strassmann, and Fermi study nuclear fission

Bethe explains stellar energy production in terms of fusion

1939 Meitner and Frisch formulate a fission model

1940 Kerst operates the first betatron

1941 Plutonium discovered by Seaborg.s research team

1942 Manhattan Engineer District created to develop an atomic weapon

CP-1 uranium/graphite pile achieves first controlled nuclear chain reaction

1942–1945 V-2 Rocket is tested and used in warfare

1943 Oak Ridge.s X-10 Clinton Pile achieves criticality

1944 Hanford.s B Reactor achieves criticality

1945 First nuclear detonation at Trinity Site

Nuclear weapons detonated at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan

First Los Alamos criticality accident

1946 Second Los Alamos criticality accident

Atomic Energy Act creates the Atomic Energy Commission

1947 The Atomic BombCasualty Commission (ABCC) is established by theUSAcademy

of Sciences to initiate long-term studies of A-bomb survivors in Hiroshima and

Nagasaki

Pion discovered

First strange particle (kaon) discovered

1948 Transistor invented by Shockley, Bardeen, and Brittain

Feynman, Schwinger, and Tomonaga introduce renormalization to eliminate

divergence issues in the quantum gauge field theory of electrodynamics

1949 Soviet Union detonates nuclear weapon

1951 First cobalt teletherapy treatment

First reactor to produce electricity by design (EBR-1)

1952 First thermonuclear (fusion) detonation

Radiation Research Society formed

Townes formulates the laser concept

1953 President Eisenhower announces Atoms for Peace program

1954 Atomic Energy Act signed

First power reactor achieves criticality (Obninsk)

USS Nautilus (first nuclear-powered submarine) launched

Society of Nuclear Medicine founded

1955 Fermi and Slizard patent CP-1 pile

Decision to form Health Physics Society (US)

Arco, ID, becomes the first city to be powered by nuclear power

First United Nations Conference on peaceful uses of atomic energy

United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR)

established

Antiproton discovered

1956 First Biological Effects of Atomic Radiation report published

Lee and Yang discover non-conservation of parity in beta decay

Neutrino detected

Health Physics Society founded

1957 UK Windscale accident leads to the release of radioactive material to the environment

First US commercial power reactor at Shippingport, PA, achieves criticali

US Congressional Joint Committee on Atomic Energy initiates hearings on radiation

hazards with an initial review of weapons test fallout

First orbiting spacecraft (Sputnik) is launched by the Soviet Union

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) founded under the United Nations

Explosion at underground high-level waste reprocessing storage tank at theMayak

Chemical Complex (USSR) released 7.5 · 1010MBq

1958 Discovery of van Allen radiation belts

First United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation

Report (UNSCEAR) addresses a study of exposure sources and biological hazards

1959 Nuclear merchant ship, Savannah, launched

Federal Radiation Council established

ICRP recommends limitation of genetically significant dose

Dyson sphere concept introduced

1960 First successful laser

American Association of Physicists in Medicine formed

American Board of Health Physics begins certification

First Biological Effects of Atomic Radiation Report issued by the US National

Academy of Sciences

1960–1961 First two reports from the Federal Radiation Council provide radiation protection

guides that introduce the concept of biological risks/benefits of radiation dose

1960–present A diverse group of theories (e.g., string theory, M theory, quantum gravity,

D-branes, various gauge theories, superstring theories, supersymmetry, and theory of

everything) are proposed to unify the four fundamental interactions. To date, none have

been verified

1961 First nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (USS Enterprise) commissioned

SL-1 reactor of US Army undergoes a prompt criticality accident at the Idaho

National Engineering Laboratory that results in the death of three workers

Federal Radiation Regulations adopted in United States in Title 10, Code of

Federal Regulations, Part 20

1962 Differences are noted between the electron neutrino and the muon neutrino

1963 Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed

1964 International Radiation Protection Association formed

Quark model introduced by Gell-Mann and Zweig

US satellite disintegrates over Madagascar and releases 6.3 · 108MBq of plutonium

into the atmosphere

Kardashev civilization type scale introduced

1965 First nuclear reactor in space

Temporary Dosimetry System 1965 (T65D) developed for A-bomb survivors

1966 Fermi 1 Atomic Power Plant undergoes a partial fuel melting event

1967 Salam, Weinberg, and Glashow propose theories that unify the weak and

electromagnetic interactions

1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty signed

1969 During the first manned moon landing, Apollo 12 deploys SNAP-27 nucleargenerator

Electron–proton scattering at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center reveals theexistence of

structures that are interpreted to be the up, down, and strange quarks/partons

Gofman and Tamplin at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory report that no

safe threshold exists for radiation dose

1972 Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR I) Report published using a linear model

for risk estimates

First computerized tomography scan performed

1974 The J/C particle is discovered, demonstrating the existence of the charm quark

A mechanism proposed to explain the energy emission by black holes

1975 Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission replaced by the binational Radiation Effects

Research Foundation (RERF) to continue studies of A-bomb survivors

Tau lepton discovered

The existence of dark matter is confirmed

1977 Protection, introduces the stochastic and non-stochastic effects and the dose equivalent

concept

Commercial fuel reprocessing deferred in the United States

The upsilon particle is discovered, demonstrating the existence of the bottom quark

Voyager 2 is launched and its electricity is generated from the decay heat of plutonium

1978 Penzias and Wilson awarded Nobel Prize for the discovery of 2.7 K microwave

radiation permeating space that is presumed to be a remnant of the big bang event that

occurred about 13 billion years ago

ICRP 30, Limits for Intakes of Radionuclides by Workers, published

Standard Model of Particle Physics is accepted as the vehicle for the unification of the

strong, weak, and electromagnetic interactions

1979 Three Mile Island Unit-2 accident occurs with minimal iodine release following a

small-break loss-of-coolant accident with partial core melt

Gluons are observed indirectly from three-jet events at the Deutsches Elektronen-

Synchrotron (DESY)

1980 Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation III Report that uses linear-quadratic models for

risk estimates published

Theory of hormesis proposed

1981 First dedicated synchrotron light source becomes operational at Daresbury Laboratory

(UK)

1983 Field quanta of the weak interaction are discovered at the European Laboratory for

Particle Physics (CERN)

NuclearWaste Policy Act (US) establishes a research and development program for the

disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel

1986 Chernobyl Accident (Ukraine) occurs with a major release of fission products.

There are 31 fatalities from the event

Dosimetry System 1986 (DS86) developed by RERF for A-bomb survivors

1987 NuclearWaste Policy Amendments Act designates Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as the site

for the United States.s first geological repository for high-level radioactive waste

and spent nuclear fuel

Neutrinos and g-rays are detected from Supernova 1987A in the Large Magellanic

Cloud

1988 US National Academy of Sciences publishes the BEIR IV Report,Health Effects of

Radon and Other Internally Deposited Alpha Emitters-BEIR IV

Sources, Effects and Risks of Ionizing Radiation published by UNSCEAR

1989 The World Wide Web is launched as a networked information project at CERN

1990 The Hubble Space Telescope becomes operational

Human Genome Project begins

US National Academy of Sciences publishes the BEIR V Report,Health Effects of

Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation-BEIR V

1991 IAEA reports on health effects of the 1986 Chernobyl accident

ICRP Publication 60, 1990 Recommendations of the International Commission on

Radiological Protection, published

1993 The Tokamak reactor at Princeton University generates megawatts of power for 1 s

through thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen isotopes

1994 Protocols developed for joint US, Ukraine, Belarus 20-year study of child thyroid

disease following the 1986 Chernobyl accident

ICRP 66, Human Respiratory Tract Model for Radiological Protection, published

1995 Researchers use the Tevatron at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory to detect the

top quark, the sixth and last member of the quark family of fundamental particles proposed

by the Standard Model of Particle Physics

Galileo spacecraft explores Jupiter and its moons at close range

1996 The first Generation III fission reactor goes online (Japan)

1997 The Joint European Torus achieves a world record peak fusion power of 16MW for less

than a second

1999 US National Academy of Sciences BEIR VI Report, Health Effects of Exposure to

Radon-BEIR VI, published

Three Japanese workers receive 17, 10, and 3Gy from a criticality event in a fuel

fabrication facility at Tokai Mura (Japan)

2000 Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory (US) begins

operation

2001 NCRP Report No. 136, Evaluation of the Linear-Nonthreshold Dose-Response Model

for Ionizing Radiation, reviews the linear no-threshold model and recommends its continued

use in radiation protection

2002 Dosimetry System 2002 (DS02) developed by RERF for A-bomb survivors

2003 NASA launches two rovers to explore the Martian surface

2004 Westinghouse AP1000 Generation III fission reactor design is certified in the United

States by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

2005 Initial free-electron laser output from DESY

France selected as the host country for the International Thermonuclear

Experimental Reactor (ITER)

A D-D fusion reaction was achieved through the pyroelectric effect

D-D fusion achieved through sonoluminescence

2006 BEIR VII,Health Risks from Exposure to Low levels of Ionizing Radiation, BEIR VII

Phase 2,published

The 2006 International Astronomical Union assigned Pluto as a minor planet.

Ceres, Charon, and Xena were also assigned minor planet status in the 2006 Sol system

reclassification

The largest known supernova (Supernova 2006gy) occurs in the peculiar galaxy

NGC 1260. It was about two orders of magnitude larger than any previously known

supernova event

2007 ICRP Publication 103, The 2007 Recommendations of the International Commission on

Radiological Protection, published

2008 Large Hadron Collider (CERN) begins operations

2008–2015 International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) construction period

2009 Estimated start date for the Linac Coherent Laser Source (LCLS), an X-ray freeelectron

laser, at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

2010 China projects landing an unmanned vehicle on the surface of the Moon

Estimated start date for Japan.s SPring-8 Compact Self-Amplified Spontaneous

Emission X-ray free-electron laser

Scheduled shutdown of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.s Tevatron

Scheduled shutdown of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.s B Factory

Scheduled launch of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, an orbital gravitational

wave observatory

NASA.s scheduled launch of Juno Mission to orbit Jupiter

2012 Scheduled completion for an X-ray free-electron laser at DESY in Germany

2012–2019 Projected International Linear Collider Construction Period (optimistic

projection)

2015 First ITER plasma operations

New Horizons Spacecraft to approach the vicinity of Pluto and Charon

2015–2020 National Aeronautics and Space Administration.s (NASA.s) goal of returning

humans to the moon

2015–2025 Projected date for operation of first Generation IV fission reactor

2015–2036 ITER operations

2016 Scheduled launch of a nuclear-powered, ion-propelled spacecraft toward the Neptune

system by NASA

2024 China projects a manned landing on the Moon

2030 Projected start date for a demonstration fusion power plant

2036–2041 ITER decontamination operations

2050 Projected time frame for an unmanned mission to the Oort Cloud (10 000AU from

Earth) as a logical precursor to subsequent missions to Alpha Centauri andbeyond

Projected start date for a fusion power plant