Scientific Discoveries

Explanation: E=mc² is the special relativity equation published by Einstein in 1905. It means that energy (E) equals mass (m) multiplied by the speed of light squared (c²).

Explanation: Stephen Hawking (1942-2018), diagnosed with ALS at age 21, revolutionized astrophysics with 'Hawking radiation': black holes emit radiation and eventually evaporate. Author of the bestseller 'A Brief History of Time' (1988).

Explanation: Antoine Lavoisier revolutionized chemistry by identifying oxygen's role in combustion and formulating the law of conservation of mass: "Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed."

Explanation: Archimedes of Syracuse reportedly discovered in his bath that any body immersed in a fluid experiences a vertical force equal to the weight of the displaced fluid. This principle helped verify the purity of King Hiero II's crown.

Explanation: Antoni van Leeuwenhoek built his own microscopes and was the first to observe microorganisms, which he called "animalcules." His descriptions of bacteria, sperm cells, and red blood cells founded microbiology.

Explanation: Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin by accident in 1928 when he observed that a mold was killing bacteria in a forgotten Petri dish, opening the era of antibiotics and saving millions of lives.

Explanation: Rutherford discovered the atomic nucleus through his gold foil experiment, proving that atoms are mostly empty space.

Explanation: Albert Einstein published special relativity in 1905 and general relativity in 1915. These theories revolutionized our understanding of space, time, and gravity.

Explanation: Watson and Crick discovered the double helix structure of DNA, with crucial help from Rosalind Franklin's work.

Explanation: Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity by accident while studying the phosphorescence of uranium salts, paving the way for Marie Curie's work.

Explanation: Isaac Newton formulated the law of universal gravitation in 1687, explaining the attraction between all bodies with mass.

Explanation: Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species" in 1859, presenting his theory of evolution by natural selection, one of biology's most revolutionary ideas.

Explanation: Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays by accident while experimenting with cathode ray tubes. He received the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901.

Explanation: The Higgs boson explains why particles have mass. Its discovery at CERN confirmed the standard model of particle physics.

Explanation: Louis Pasteur developed the rabies vaccine and successfully tested it on Joseph Meister in 1885, saving the life of a child bitten by a rabid dog.

Explanation: Hubble discovered that the universe is expanding by observing that galaxies are moving away from each other, the foundation of Big Bang theory.

Explanation: Gregor Mendel, a monk and botanist, discovered the fundamental laws of heredity by crossing pea plants between 1856 and 1863.

Explanation: Marie Curie discovered polonium and radium in 1898. She is the only woman to have received two Nobel Prizes in two different disciplines.

Explanation: Galileo confirmed through his telescope observations (1610) Copernicus's heliocentric model, proving that the Earth orbits the Sun.

Explanation: CRISPR-Cas9, developed in 2012, allows DNA to be modified with unprecedented precision. Its creators received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020.