Eggplant.place

236d

Happy birthday to #physicist Harriet Brooks (1876 - 1933) who discovered atomic recoil, Radon & recognized radioactive elements could undergo chains of transmutations into a series of new elements. #nuclear #physics⁠
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She was Rutherford’s 1st grad student at McGill. After publishing her results in 1899 she completed her MSc in 1901 on “Damping of Electrical Oscillations,” before embarking on #radioactivity research.⁠ 🧵
⁠ #linocut #printmaking #sciart #womenInSTEM #histsci

My 9.25" x 12.5" linocut portrait of physicist Harriet Brooks (1876 - 1933) in a gradient of turquoise to green, shows her and her discovery of atomic recoil in gold (Radon gives off an alpha particle and daughter nucleus goes in opposite direction). A series of diagrams at the bottom shows how the Rutherford research group understood chains of radioactive active transmutations at the time.

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202d

#OnThisDay, 5 Aug 1888, Bertha Benz drove from Mannheim to Pforzheim: the first journey of 100+km in a car by *anyone*.

She'd got tired of her husband tinkering with his prototype so took it on the road with her sons. And without him.

Along the way, she made running repairs to the engine and realised there would need to be refueling stations.

#WomenInSTEM #EuropeanHistory #WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #Histodons

studio photo of Bertha Benz. She is a white woman with dark hair.

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The Mk3 Benz Patent-Motorwagen - the first practical motor car. It's like a pram with an engine on it.

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197d

Lise Meitner: The Forgotten Mother of Nuclear Fission

Of the 15 elements on the periodic table that honor scientists, only one and a half are named after women.

Science is the story of discoveries but sometimes credit isn’t given when it is due. How many women discoverers can you name?

By Eva Kellner B.A.Sc

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/student-contributors-history-general-science/lise-meitner-forgotten-mother-nuclear-fission

Nuclear fission at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=nuclear+fission

#womeninstem

Lise Meitner (1946)

Smithsonian Institution - Flickr: Lise Meitner (1878-1968), lecturing at Catholic University, Washington, D.C., 1946.

Lise Meitner is seen in the midst of delivering a lecture. Her posture appears engaged and deliberate—she may be gesturing, holding notes, or pointing toward unseen lecture materials. She is dressed in period-appropriate attire, likely a blouse and dark jacket, conveying a professional and composed appearance.

In 1938, Austrian-born physicist Lise Meitner (1878-1968) fled Germany and eventually became a Swedish citizen. After World War II, Meitner received many awards, including being named "Woman of the Year" at the National Press Club in 1946. She was a Visiting Professor of Physics at Catholic University during Spring 1946. In a press release associated with her arrival, Dr. Meitner emphasized that her goal was "wholly educational": "I have no intention to suggest how atomic energy should be controlled, beyond expressing my sincere hope that no occasion will again arise where it will be utilized in war. A lasting peace is more desirable than the creation of weapons which might lead to the extermination of mankind."

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lise_Meitner#/media/Datei:Lise_Meitner_(1878-1968),_lecturing_at_Catholic_University,_Washington,_D.C.,_1946.jpg

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196d

Maria Mitchell: America’s First Woman Astronomer and Mentor to Women in Science

As Vassar College’s first astronomy professor, Maria Mitchell advanced opportunities for women in science and mentored a generation of students using one of the country’s finest observatories.

By Deb Warner

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/smithsonian-american-womens-history-museum/2025/08/08/maria-mitchell-americas-first-woman-astronomer-and-mentor-to-women-in-science/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=editorial&lctg=93133550

Maria Mitchell at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/3377

#Astronomy #womenInStem

$Postcard showing a woman sitting on the observing chair in front of a large refracting telescope. The accompanying text reads, “Prof. Maria Mitchell in the Observatory at Vassar College. June 1878.” The back is divided, with space for the address on the right and space for a message on the left. It is marked “Printed in Germany for Henry S. Wyer, Nantucket, Mass., U.S.A. No. 582” and indicates that a 1¢ stamp is required for domestic use and a 2¢ stamp for foreign use. Maria Mitchell (1818-1889) was America’s first woman astronomer, America’s first woman scientist of note, and the first professor of astronomy at Vassar College. Henry Sherman Wyer (1847-1920) was a photographer from Nantucket who published many of the earliest postcards of that island community. He was also active in the Nantucket Historical Society and the Maria Mitchell Association. While the photograph on this postcard was taken in 1878, the postcard was published between March 1, 1907, (when postcards with a divided back were first permitted in the U.S.) and 1917 (when the domestic postage for a postcard was raised to 2¢). https://www.si.edu/object/postcard:nmah_1372087$

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