Physicists and astronomers

T

Thales of Miletus 624-547 BC
A Greek philosopher who believed that the Earth was flat and that it was covered by a great dome that carried the Sun stars and planets. Proposed that water was the original substance.

Thomson, J.J 1856-1940
Work on the electron. Invented the deflection tube to measure e/m.

Thomson, William Lord Kelvin 1824-1907
Theory of electrical oscillations in an LCR circuit. Developed the foundation of thermodynamics. Invented the quadrant electrometer.

Toricelli, Evangelista 1608-1647
A student of Galileo. Explained the action of the lift pump in terms of the atmospheric pressure.

Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin Eduardovich 1857-1935
Russian inventor and rocket expert. His most important work was concerned with the possibility of rocket flight.

Tycho Brahe 1546-1601
Danish nobleman and astronomer. Used his influence with King Frederick to have an observatory built in 1576 on the island of Uraniborg. It was the first real scientific institution of the modern world. He measured the positions of the planets over a period of twenty years. (see Kepler). Discovered a nova in Cassiopeia in 1572 and a comet in 1577.

Tyndall, John 1820-1893
Irish scientist. Born in Carlow, Ireland. Son of an Irish policeman. Discovered the scattering of light by small particles named after him. Conduction of heat by gases.