Monday, April 19, 2010

Meandering in discoveries . . .

Today is the birthday of Glenn Theodore Seaborg (April 19, 1912 – February 25, 1999), physicist. He led the research team that discovered plutonium in 1940 and in 1941 isolated Uranium-233. In 1951, Glenn T. Seaborg and Edwin McMillan shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on transuranium elements.

"There is a beauty in discovery. There is mathematics in music, a kinship of science and poetry in the description of nature, and exquisite form in a molecule. Attempts to place different disciplines in different camps are revealed as artificial in the face of the unity of knowledge. All literate men are sustained by the philosopher, the historian, the political analyst, the economist, the scientist, the poet, the artisan and the musician." - Glenn T. Seaborg

"The modern technological world appears overwhelming to many people. It drives some to pessimism and despair. It makes others doubt the future of mankind unless we retreat to simpler lives and even to the ways of our ancestors. What these people fail to realize is that we cannot go back to those ways and those days. Furthermore, for all our difficulties, life today is far better for more people and the possibilities for the future can be brighter than ever if we develop not only new knowledge, but a greater faith and confidence in the human mind and spirit." - Glenn T. Seaborg

Trivia bits: Element 106, seaborgium (1974), was named in his honour. Glenn T. Seaborg received so many awards and honors that at one time the Guinness Book of World Records listed him as the person with the longest entry in Who's Who in America.

Seaborg image source (1)

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