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McCrea - Oppenheimer
Olbers - Oppenheimer
Olbers, Heinrich Wilhelm Matthaus. (1758-1840)
This German astronomer and mathematician worked as a doctor. He was born
near Bremen, the son of a minister. He was educated locally, but went
to the University of Gottingen in 1777 to study medicine, where he also
attended lectures in mathematics and astronomy. In 1779 he used his observations
of a comet to discover its orbit. In 1781 he graduated and returned to
Bremen where he practiced medicine until his retirement in 1823. While
working as a doctor he built his own observatory on the upper floor of
his house.
In 1796 Olbers discovered a comet and calculated its orbit using his own
method. His technique was soon used throughout the world, and established
Olbers as well-known figure in astronomy. He was the first astronomer
to rediscover Ceres, in 1802, after it was lost track of by the original
discoverer. While tracking Ceres, Olbers discovered a second minor planet,
Pallas, and later that year he found another, Vesta. He discovered four
more comets, and calculated the orbits of another eighteen. He published
the mystery of why the sky is dark at night, which later became called
Olbers' Paradox.
Oppenheimer, (Julius) Robert. (1904-1967)
Robert Oppenheimer was an American physicist, born in New York. He worked
on the quantum theory in the 1920s and 1930s. Oppenheimer was opposed
to the development of the hydrogen bomb, and as a result his political
loyalty was questioned by the United States. He lost his security clearance
and could no longer work on secret projects. Despite this, Oppenheimer
was the director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton from
1947 to 1966.
Oppenheimer also contributed to developing a theoretical understanding
of degenerate matter. While working with his students, Oppenheimer improved
Landau's calculations of neutron cores, and showed that there is an upper
mass limit above which no stable neutron star can exist. He also gave
the first clear description of astrophysics from the mathematical approach
to black holes. Oppenheimer is best known for his part in the production
of the atomic bomb. He was the first director of the Los Alamos National
Laboratories, where the atomic bomb was developed.
Page 1: McCrea
Page 2: Messier - Michell
Page 3: Michelson - Milne
Page 4: Minkowski - Morgan
Page 5: Newton
Page 6: Novikov
Page 7: Olbers - Oppenheimer
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