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1991 in science
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<h2 id="astronomy-and-space-exploration">Astronomy and space exploration</h2> <ul><li>May 18 – <a href="/facts/Helen_Sharman/PRGhGuco">Helen Sharman</a> becomes the first <a href="/facts/British_people/xn7cqlzV">British person</a> in space, flying with the <a href="/facts/Soyuz_TM-12/1f6Vka2h">Soyuz TM-12</a> mission.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a></li> <li>October 29 – The <a href="/facts/Galileo_probe/H57agAgz"><i>Galileo</i> probe</a> becomes the first spacecraft to visit an asteroid (<a href="/facts/951_Gaspra/ulKG0jyS">951 Gaspra</a>).</li> <li><a href="/facts/Steven_Balbus/oPL9VLa8">Steven Balbus</a> and <a href="/facts/John_F._Hawley/jtHUamt5">John F. Hawley</a> publish their insights on <a href="/facts/Magnetorotational_instability/eLqKRLS7">magnetorotational instability</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a></li> <li>Asteroid <a href="/facts/List_of_minor_planets%3a_6001%25E2%2580%25937000/NqLkQFy3">6859</a> <a href="/facts/Meanings_of_minor_planet_names%3a_6001-7000/atc86UUn">Datemasamune</a> is discovered by <a href="/facts/Masahiro_Koishikawa/YFBYGmzQ">Masahiro Koishikawa</a>.</li> <li>Asteroid <a href="/facts/List_of_minor_planets%3a_11001%25E2%2580%259312000/tpwsnkqX">11514</a> <a href="/facts/Meanings_of_minor_planet_names%3a_11001%25E2%2580%259312000/Ws66M4TX">Tsunenaga</a> is discovered by <a href="/facts/Masahiro_Koishikawa/YFBYGmzQ">Masahiro Koishikawa</a>.</li> <li>There are four <a href="/facts/Lunar_eclipse/cGSjtf1A">lunar eclipses</a>: three penumbral on <a href="/facts/January_1991_lunar_eclipse/neD1jI4x">January 30</a>, <a href="/facts/July_1991_lunar_eclipse/wB2wt3HM">July 26</a>, and <a href="/facts/June_1991_lunar_eclipse/wdRIUPse">June 27</a>, and one minor partial lunar eclipse on <a href="/facts/December_1991_lunar_eclipse/lW8pIYTf">December 21</a>.</li> <li>There are two <a href="/facts/Solar_eclipse/2XsCFG1a">solar eclipses</a>: one annular eclipse on <a href="/facts/Solar_eclipse_of_January_15%2c_1991/7nMo50Bm">January 15</a>, and a very long total eclipse on <a href="/facts/Solar_eclipse_of_July_11%2c_1991/cGPAPLcU">July 11</a> (lasting 6 minutes and 53 seconds).</li></ul> <h2 id="chemistry">Chemistry</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Carbon_nanotube/atuDPPaG">Carbon nanotubes</a> discovered in the insoluble material of arc-burned graphite rods by <a href="/facts/Sumio_Iijima/2I6DQJ32">Sumio Iijima</a> of <a href="/facts/NEC/YnlUsMBA">NEC</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="computer-science">Computer science</h2> <ul><li>February 26 – <a href="/facts/Tim_Berners-Lee/JRv21mt9">Tim Berners-Lee</a> introduces <a href="/facts/WorldWideWeb/FlgLKla7">WorldWideWeb</a> (the first <a href="/facts/Web_browser/2pfyymLs">web browser</a>), and a <a href="/facts/WYSIWYG/aGmcHWpX">WYSIWYG</a> <a href="/facts/HTML_editor/Tf82QUku">HTML editor</a>.</li> <li>May 14 – <a href="/facts/Nicola_Pellow/r1kpvN6K">Nicola Pellow</a>, an intern working under the direction of Berners-Lee, introduces <a href="/facts/Line_Mode_Browser/ALepEBYw">Line Mode Browser</a>, the first cross-platform web browser.</li> <li>June 5 – <a href="/facts/Phil_Zimmermann/L36wnTv4">Phil Zimmermann</a> posts the first <a href="/facts/Pretty_Good_Privacy/4BELG9BW">Pretty Good Privacy</a> (PGP) <a href="/facts/Data_encryption/16q29Fdv">data encryption</a> <a href="/facts/Computer_program/e38jH9N9">program</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></li> <li>June 23 – The <a href="/facts/Video_game/vmTdNASJ">video game</a> <i><a href="/facts/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_(1991_video_game)/fbBzznzr">Sonic the Hedgehog</a></i> is first released, propelling the <a href="/facts/Sega_Genesis/7GuPYDhM">Sega Genesis</a> <a href="/facts/History_of_video_game_consoles_(fourth_generation)/cB4oJnpS">16-bit console</a> into mass popularity.</li> <li>August 6 – The first <a href="/facts/Website/SAsjJnca">website</a> goes online at <a href="/facts/CERN/y1gwRchm">CERN</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a></li> <li>The <a href="/facts/Trojan_Room_coffee_pot/TgwosqDz">Trojan Room coffee pot</a> at the <a href="/facts/Computer_Laboratory%2c_University_of_Cambridge/Dd9unFtw">Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge</a>, England, inspires the first <a href="/facts/Webcam/1vTYrHWw">webcam</a>.</li> <li>October - <a href="/facts/Apple_Inc./oTJYta3k">Apple</a> releases the <a href="/facts/PowerBook/UnXIR6Jg">PowerBook</a> <a href="/facts/Laptop_computer/3EFwTAb2">laptop computer</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="conservation">Conservation</h2> <ul><li>October 1 – The <a href="/facts/New_Zealand/4mpSlJdg">New Zealand</a> <a href="/facts/Resource_Management_Act_1991/5b3SUM7n">Resource Management Act 1991</a> comes into effect.</li></ul> <h2 id="geophysics">Geophysics</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Alan_Hildebrand/jvlczXB5">Alan Hildebrand</a> and others provide support for the <a href="/facts/Alvarez_hypothesis/ojlNS1Ik">Alvarez hypothesis</a> for the <a href="/facts/Cretaceous%25E2%2580%2593Paleogene_extinction_event/HNyDuEcx">Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event</a> by proposing the <a href="/facts/Chicxulub_crater/qVqCqm81">Chicxulub crater</a> in the <a href="/facts/Yucat%25C3%25A1n_Peninsula/xGAcABhC">Yucatán Peninsula</a> of <a href="/facts/Mexico/IT5bwhdh">Mexico</a> as the <a href="/facts/Impact_crater/nWntooh4">impact site</a> for a large <a href="/facts/Asteroid/g7Ulr1VB">asteroid</a> 66 million years ago.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a></li> <li>The <a href="/facts/Ames_crater/zfx6oaPF">Ames crater</a> <a href="/facts/Impact_structure/wdJg5NIN">impact structure</a> is identified in <a href="/facts/Major_County%2c_Oklahoma/2MuScQRB">Major County, Oklahoma</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="mathematics">Mathematics</h2> <ul><li>July – English physicist <a href="/facts/Philip_Candelas/Bmw1e86e">Philip Candelas</a> and colleagues show that <a href="/facts/Mirror_symmetry_(string_theory)/QDY8BD55">mirror symmetry</a> could be used to solve problems in <a href="/facts/Enumerative_geometry/NSq0g3bY">enumerative geometry</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Qiudong_Wang/69PYqbpb">Qiudong Wang</a> produces a global solution to the <a href="/facts/N-body_problem/5goGsW5x"><i>n</i>-body problem</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="physics">Physics</h2> <ul><li>January 1 – <a href="/facts/Finland/G5Ak6T91">Finland</a> joins <a href="/facts/CERN/y1gwRchm">CERN</a>.</li> <li>July 1 – <a href="/facts/Poland/eXJ7fd0D">Poland</a> joins <a href="/facts/CERN/y1gwRchm">CERN</a>.</li> <li>October 15 – the "<a href="/facts/Oh-My-God_particle/cmwAfH6U">Oh-My-God particle</a>", the first <a href="/facts/Ultra-high-energy_cosmic_ray/DqeCybD9">ultra-high-energy cosmic ray</a> measured at an energy of 3×1020 <a href="/facts/Electronvolt/YMT1fqX9">eV</a> (40,000,000 times that of the highest energy protons that have been produced in a particle accelerator), is observed at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Utah/0lhlnv7c">University of Utah</a> <a href="/facts/High_Resolution_Fly%2527s_Eye_Cosmic_Ray_Detector/NaPxj8Vp">HiRes</a> observatory in <a href="/facts/Dugway_Proving_Ground/YUn3v33a">Dugway Proving Ground</a>, <a href="/facts/Utah/te7zUyBX">Utah</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="physiology-and-medicine">Physiology and medicine</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Takotsubo_cardiomyopathy/hlYVnzNC">Takotsubo cardiomyopathy</a> first studied.</li></ul> <h2 id="technology">Technology</h2> <ul><li>July 1 – World's first <a href="/facts/GSM/Sw8QYaLE">GSM</a> telephone call made in Finland.</li></ul> <h2 id="publications">Publications</h2> <ul><li>The first open-access scientific online archive, <a href="/facts/ArXiv/H6EtgnBe">arXiv</a>, is begun as a preprint service for physicists, initiated by <a href="/facts/Paul_Ginsparg/NkKqTtCN">Paul Ginsparg</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="awards">Awards</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize/3z1Y3oFL">Nobel Prizes</a> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physics/o6w1nCbr">Physics</a> – <a href="/facts/Pierre-Gilles_de_Gennes/WW0RsM9p">Pierre-Gilles de Gennes</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Chemistry/8Nb8Ajjy">Chemistry</a> – <a href="/facts/Richard_R._Ernst/g5tcEBMq">Richard R. Ernst</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physiology_or_Medicine/rlnpJX84">Medicine</a> – <a href="/facts/Erwin_Neher/3l9cwbhj">Erwin Neher</a>, <a href="/facts/Bert_Sakmann/z1t79Uxl">Bert Sakmann</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/facts/Turing_Award/HbEEp0GF">Turing Award</a> – <a href="/facts/Robin_Milner/oMfdsRwK">Robin Milner</a></li></ul> <h2 id="births">Births</h2> <ul><li>February 28 – <a href="/facts/Sheree_Atcheson/DmpTGjJc">Sheree Atcheson</a>, Sri Lankan-Irish computer scientist</li></ul> <h2 id="deaths">Deaths</h2> <ul><li>January 30 – <a href="/facts/John_Bardeen/kbj763Fh">John Bardeen</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1908_in_science/zY4oD4uc">1908</a>), <a href="/facts/Americans/srd9GJ5U">American</a> physicist, co-inventor of the <a href="/facts/Transistor/Bmr8zwL0">transistor</a> and twice winner of the <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physics/o6w1nCbr">Nobel Prize in Physics</a>.</li> <li>February 6 – <a href="/facts/Salvador_Luria/v9z5Cbkg">Salvador Luria</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1912_in_science/ro3op4mA">1912</a>), Italian-born <a href="/facts/Biologist/yJJGXyKR">biologist</a>, co-winner of the <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physiology_or_Medicine/rlnpJX84">Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine</a>.</li> <li>February 23 – Sir <a href="/facts/Charles_Illingworth/vt6XzjPY">Charles Illingworth</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1899_in_science/eeGQg6tL">1899</a>), <a href="/facts/British_people/xn7cqlzV">British</a> <a href="/facts/Surgeon/Hm0R9t6n">surgeon</a>.</li> <li>March 1 – <a href="/facts/Edwin_H._Land/NH0g5T7o">Edwin H. Land</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1909_in_science/9XtDzVts">1909</a>), American inventor of the <a href="/facts/Land_Camera/t35jIjTd">Land Camera</a>.</li> <li>June 2 – <a href="/facts/Mary_Loveless/aCBzaYFd">Mary Loveless</a> (b. 1899), American <a href="/facts/Immunologist/vylm0L8e">immunologist</a>.</li> <li>June 5 – <a href="/facts/Min_Chueh_Chang/hItWBlBf">Min Chueh Chang</a> (b. 1908), <a href="/facts/Chinese_American/mjGFo4om">Chinese American</a> <a href="/facts/Embryologist/4mvpSkhC">embryologist</a>.</li> <li>July 4 – <a href="/facts/Victor_Chang/NYLNbWhV">Victor Chang</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1936_in_science/1gmpcGC3">1936</a>), Australian <a href="/facts/Cardiac_surgeon/I3dIcapo">cardiac surgeon</a>, murdered.</li> <li>August 23 – <a href="/facts/Florence_B._Seibert/S3zkebYK">Florence B. Seibert</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1897_in_science/1IcNGmU5">1897</a>), American <a href="/facts/Biochemist/gAWNAY5v">biochemist</a>.</li> <li>December 2 – <a href="/facts/Anne_Beloff-Chain/Ha28G5JY">Anne Beloff-Chain</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1921_in_science/jqlgdekP">1921</a>), British biochemist.</li></ul> <ul> <li>1990s portal</li><li>Science portal</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"1991: Sharman becomes first Briton in space". BBC News. 1991-05-18. Archived from the original on 2008-03-07. Retrieved 2008-02-01. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/18/newsid_2380000/2380649.stm" target="_blank">http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/18/newsid_2380000/2380649.stm</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Balbus, Steven A.; Hawley, John F. (1991). "A powerful local shear instability in weakly magnetized disks". The Astrophysical Journal. 376: 214–233. Bibcode:1991ApJ...376..214B. doi:10.1086/170270. <a href="/wiki/The_Astrophysical_Journal" target="_blank">/wiki/The_Astrophysical_Journal</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Iijima, Sumio (7 November 1991). "Helical microtubules of graphitic carbon". Nature. 354 (6348): 56–58. Bibcode:1991Natur.354...56I. doi:10.1038/354056a0. S2CID 4302490. <a href="/wiki/Nature_(journal)" target="_blank">/wiki/Nature_(journal)</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Monthioux, Marc; Kuznetsov, Vladimir L. (2006). "Who should be given the credit for the discovery of carbon nanotubes?" (PDF). Carbon. 44 (9): 1621. Bibcode:2006Carbo..44.1621M. doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2006.03.019. Retrieved 2012-02-03. <a href="http://www.cemes.fr/fichpdf/GuestEditorial.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.cemes.fr/fichpdf/GuestEditorial.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Zimmermann, Philip (2001-06-05). "PGP Marks 10th Anniversary". Archived from the original on 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2012-01-28. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110514200112/http://www.philzimmermann.com/EN/news/PGP_10thAnniversary.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20110514200112/http://www.philzimmermann.com/EN/news/PGP_10thAnniversary.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Welcome to info.cern.ch, the website of the world's first-ever web server". CERN. Archived from the original on 27 May 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2008. <a href="http://info.cern.ch/" target="_blank">http://info.cern.ch/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"World Wide Web—Archive of world's first website". World Wide Web Consortium. Retrieved 25 May 2008. <a href="http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html" target="_blank">http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"World Wide Web—First mentioned on USENET". 6 August 1991. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2008. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080512015304/http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.hypertext/msg/06dad279804cb3ba?dmode=source&hl=en" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20080512015304/http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.hypertext/msg/06dad279804cb3ba?dmode=source&hl=en</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"The original post to alt.hypertalk describing the WorldWideWeb Project". Google Groups. 9 August 1991. Retrieved 25 May 2008. <a href="https://groups.google.com/group/comp.archives/browse_thread/thread/9fb079523583d42/37bb6783d03a3b0d?lnk=st&q=&rnum=2&hl=en#37bb6783d03a3b0d" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/group/comp.archives/browse_thread/thread/9fb079523583d42/37bb6783d03a3b0d?lnk=st&q=&rnum=2&hl=en#37bb6783d03a3b0d</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Pope, Kevin O.; et al. (9 May 1991). "Mexican site for K/T impact crater?". Nature. 351 (6322): 105. Bibcode:1991Natur.351..105P. doi:10.1038/351105a0. S2CID 36707836. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038%2F351105a0" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1038%2F351105a0</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Hildebrand, Alan R.; Penfield, Glen T.; Kring, David A.; Pilkington, Mark; Zanoguera, Antonio Camargo; Jacobsen, Stein B.; Boynton, William V. (September 1991). "Chicxulub Crater: a possible Cretaceous/Tertiary Boundary impact crater on the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico". Geology. 19 (9): 867–871. Bibcode:1991Geo....19..867H. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1991)019<0867:CCAPCT>2.3.CO;2. <a href="/wiki/Geology_(journal)" target="_blank">/wiki/Geology_(journal)</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Schulte, Peter; et al. (2010). "The Chicxulub Asteroid Impact and Mass Extinction at the Cretaceous- Paleogene Boundary" (PDF). Science. 327 (5970): 1214–1218. Bibcode:2010Sci...327.1214S. doi:10.1126/science.1177265. PMID 20203042. S2CID 2659741. <a href="http://doc.rero.ch/record/210367/files/PAL_E4389.pdf" target="_blank">http://doc.rero.ch/record/210367/files/PAL_E4389.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Candelas, Philip; de la Ossa, Xenia; Green, Paul; Parks, Linda (1991). "A pair of Calabi–Yau manifolds as an exactly soluble superconformal field theory". Nuclear Physics B. 359 (1): 21–74. Bibcode:1991NuPhB.359...21C. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(91)90292-6. <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_Physics_B" target="_blank">/wiki/Nuclear_Physics_B</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Wang, Qiudong (1991). "The global solution of the n-body problem". Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy. 50 (1): 73–88. Bibcode:1990CeMDA..50...73W. doi:10.1007/BF00048987. ISSN 0923-2958. S2CID 118132097. <a href="/wiki/Celestial_Mechanics_and_Dynamical_Astronomy" target="_blank">/wiki/Celestial_Mechanics_and_Dynamical_Astronomy</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>