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Timeline of scientific experiments
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<h2 id="5th-century-bc">5th century BC</h2> <ul><li>430 BC - <a href="/facts/Empedocles/C6sl6Lz6">Empedocles</a> proves that air is a material substance by submerging a <a href="/facts/Water_clock/GCgGB46l">clepsydra</a> into the ocean.</li></ul> <h2 id="2nd-century-bc">2nd century BC</h2> <ul><li>240 BC - <a href="/facts/Archimedes/sIeMhSVF">Archimedes</a> devised a <a href="/facts/Archimedes%27_principle/L4AsK5Jj">principle</a> which he later used to solve the riddle of the suspect crown.</li> <li>230 BC – <a href="/facts/Eratosthenes/ay7Pyfsa">Eratosthenes</a> measures the Earth's circumference and diameter.</li></ul> <h2 id="10th-century">10th century</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Abu_Bakr_al-Razi/PC32Rzes">Abu Bakr al-Razi</a> (Rhazes) introduces <a href="/facts/Scientific_control/FXHfQwHx">controlled experiment</a> into the field of <a href="/facts/Islamic_medicine/svhFmaDr">medicine</a> and carried out the first medical experiment in order to find the most hygienic place to build a <a href="/facts/Bimaristan/mrGBYRA1">hospital</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="11th-century">11th century</h2> <ul><li>1020 – <a href="/facts/Avicenna/EYKG4Vez">Avicenna</a> (Ibn Sina) introduces experimentation and <a href="/facts/Quantification_(science)/5YoKbeTW">quantification</a> into the study of <a href="/facts/Islamic_medicine/svhFmaDr">medicine</a> and <a href="/facts/Physiology/fh25y2pQ">physiology</a>, including the introduction of <a href="/facts/Biomedical_research/lSVBFxDJ">experimental medicine</a> and <a href="/facts/Clinical_trials/q8LMr832">clinical trials</a>, in <i><a href="/facts/The_Canon_of_Medicine/54g1wRX7">The Canon of Medicine</a></i>.</li> <li>1021 – <a href="/facts/Ibn_al-Haytham/Q5H9hm4J">Ibn al-Haytham</a> (Alhacen) pioneers the experimental <a href="/facts/Scientific_method/182j8RWE">scientific method</a> and <a href="/facts/Experimental_physics/2Ile53Iq">experimental physics</a> in his <i><a href="/facts/Book_of_Optics/SmYrlPcg">Book of Optics</a></i>, where he devises the first <a href="/facts/Islamic_science/ajn0zRSc">scientific</a> experiments on <a href="/facts/Optics/p0vq4S1T">optics</a>, including the first use of the <a href="/facts/Camera_obscura/0xEbeJKd">camera obscura</a> to prove that light travels in straight lines and the first experimental proof that <a href="/facts/Visual_perception/g7Tfaq2l">visual perception</a> is caused by light rays travelling to the eyes, which also marks the beginning of <a href="/facts/Experimental_psychology/sFaxwsJo">experimental psychology</a> and <a href="/facts/Psychophysics/yDPmvvGf">psychophysics</a>.</li> <li>1030 – <a href="/facts/Al-Biruni/4XbTzrYl">Al-Biruni</a> conducts the first elaborate experiments related to <a href="/facts/Islamic_astronomy/hw8HxDHz">astronomical</a> phenomena and introduces the experimental method into <a href="/facts/Physics_in_the_medieval_Islamic_world/VbUCtwNK">mechanics</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="12th-century">12th century</h2> <ul><li>1121 – <a href="/facts/Al-Khazini/Ytpd5UK2">Al-Khazini</a> makes extensive use of the experimental method to prove his theories on <a href="/facts/Physics_in_the_medieval_Islamic_world/VbUCtwNK">mechanics</a> in <i>The Book of the Balance of Wisdom</i>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Ibn_Zuhr/Q7G9la0B">Ibn Zuhr</a> (Avenzoar) is the first physician to carry out human postmortem <a href="/facts/Dissection/7Tbbx3rr">dissections</a> and <a href="/facts/Autopsies/GzSXuCH2">autopsies</a>. He proves that the <a href="/facts/List_of_skin_diseases/U58kszg2">skin disease</a> <a href="/facts/Scabies/QCPVVhQ0">scabies</a> is caused by a <a href="/facts/Parasite/HWPcgky7">parasite</a>, a discovery which upsets the <a href="/facts/Hippocratic/lXUElFQD">Hippocratic</a> and <a href="/facts/Galen/9gDqPdwl">Galenic</a> theory of <a href="/facts/Humorism/4wdds36X">humorism</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="13th-century">13th century</h2> <ul><li>1200 – <a href="/facts/Abd_al-Latif_al-Baghdadi/JX2eeD99">Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi</a> observes and <a href="/facts/Physical_examination/qzI0BK5P">examines</a> a large number of <a href="/facts/Skeleton/FXc9Y2lF">skeletons</a>, and he discovered that <a href="/facts/Galen/9gDqPdwl">Galen</a> was incorrect regarding the formation of the bones of the lower <a href="/facts/Jaw/6a11Csjh">jaw</a> and <a href="/facts/Sacrum/CTFnjSm0">sacrum</a>.</li> <li>1242 – <a href="/facts/Ibn_al-Nafis/GqQ9UG4d">Ibn al-Nafis</a> carries out <a href="/facts/Autopsies/GzSXuCH2">autopsies</a> which leads him to the discovery of <a href="/facts/Pulmonary_circulation/mBM1zMzc">pulmonary circulation</a> and the <a href="/facts/Circulatory_system/WXwudzzc">circulatory system</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Kam%C4%81l_al-D%C4%ABn_al-F%C4%81ris%C4%AB/9LwRukwQ">Kamāl al-Dīn al-Fārisī</a> provides the first correct explanation of the <a href="/facts/Rainbow/rBvLyu3u">rainbow</a> phenomenon and uses the experimental method to prove his theory.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Albertus_Magnus/12FJVrX9">Albertus Magnus</a> documents that <a href="/facts/Nitric_acid/UDbwGp6s">nitric acid</a> can dissolve <a href="/facts/Silver/xXe41BGg">silver</a> and the resulting <a href="/facts/Silver_nitrate/U5w4A3DN">silver nitrate</a> solution will blacken skin.</li></ul> <h2 id="16th-century">16th century</h2> <ul><li>1572 – <a href="/facts/Tycho_Brahe/HroPxnCq">Tycho Brahe</a> observes the <a href="/facts/1572_supernova/rqXu6mPL">1572 supernova</a>, evidence against the <a href="/facts/Aristotelian_physics/1EpHTb2Q">Aristotelian notion</a> of an immutable heavenly sphere.</li></ul> <h2 id="17th-century">17th century</h2> <ul><li>1609 – <a href="/facts/Galileo_Galilei/98VT2z3v">Galileo Galilei</a> observes <a href="/facts/Galilean_moons/aN6tLUFc">moons of Jupiter</a> in support of the <a href="/facts/Heliocentric_model/4hoCMs7P">heliocentric model</a>.</li> <li>1638 – <a href="/facts/Galileo_Galilei/98VT2z3v">Galileo Galilei</a> uses rolling balls to disprove the <a href="/facts/Aristotelian_physics/1EpHTb2Q">Aristotelian theory</a> of <a href="/facts/Motion_(physics)/dCnP7MlB">motion</a>.</li> <li>1665 – <a href="/facts/Robert_Hooke/T5sEElp5">Robert Hooke</a>, using a <a href="/facts/Microscope/ldJp0CI3">microscope</a>, observes <a href="/facts/Cell_(biology)/bLM9UQvy">cells</a>.</li> <li>1672 – <a href="/facts/Isaac_Newton/4L7gTncN">Isaac Newton</a> publishes the results of his <a href="/facts/Prism_(optics)/eodBFF70">Prism</a> experiments, demonstrating the existence in white <a href="/facts/Light/jeofpMn4">light</a> of a mixture of distinct coloured <a href="/facts/Ray_(optics)/PgUEC7Sm">rays</a>.</li> <li>1676 – <a href="/facts/Ole_R%C3%B8mer/1lqXzA7F">Ole Rømer</a> measures the <a href="/facts/Speed_of_light/sKSQwdNx">speed of light</a> for the first time.</li> <li>1687 – <a href="/facts/Isaac_Newton/4L7gTncN">Isaac Newton</a> publishes the <a href="/facts/Thought_experiment/GXlr0lz9">thought experiment</a> <i><a href="/facts/Newton%27s_cannonball/DpUVDTeU">Newton's cannonball</a></i>, hypothesizes that the <a href="/facts/Force/533Q1uzq">force</a> of <a href="/facts/Gravity/bqAN7DdQ">gravity</a> is universal and is the key force for <a href="/facts/Planetary_motion/nD2TPySG">planetary motion</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="18th-century">18th century</h2> <ul><li>1747 – <a href="/facts/James_Lind/MHR0RTV8">James Lind</a>: Conducts one of the earliest European <a href="/facts/Clinical_trial/q8LMr832">clinical trials</a>, showing that <a href="/facts/Scurvy/VEpTjUWM">scurvy</a> was cured by consuming fresh oranges and lemons, but not other tested acids or drinks.</li> <li>1774 – <a href="/facts/Charles_Mason/XNXmN29l">Charles Mason</a>: Conducts an experiment near the Scottish mountain of Schiehallion that attempts to measure the mean density of the Earth for the first time. Known as the <a href="/facts/Schiehallion_experiment/bfRhkYgX">Schiehallion experiment</a>.</li> <li>1796 – <a href="/facts/Edward_Jenner/sXRNEXef">Edward Jenner</a>: tests the first <a href="/facts/Vaccine/QcXzLug2">vaccine</a>.</li> <li>1798 – <a href="/facts/Henry_Cavendish/UsIDwP3F">Henry Cavendish</a>: <a href="/facts/Torsion_bar_experiment/18j8qa8d">Torsion bar experiment</a> to measure Newton's <a href="/facts/Gravitational_constant/GdQ8tcBD">gravitational constant</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="19th-century">19th century</h2> <ul><li>1801 – <a href="/facts/Thomas_Young_(scientist)/X4RtR47L">Thomas Young</a>: <a href="/facts/Young%27s_interference_experiment/BTsD8RCC">double-slit experiment</a> demonstrates the <a href="/facts/Wave_theory_of_light/jeofpMn4">wave nature of light</a>.</li> <li>1820 – <a href="/facts/Hans_Christian_%C3%98rsted/qjmmHgIy">Hans Christian Ørsted</a> discovers the connection between <a href="/facts/Electricity/hNC8D65W">electricity</a> and <a href="/facts/Magnetism/eo75vApl">magnetism</a>.</li> <li>1843 – <a href="/facts/James_Prescott_Joule/uzfj0eSG">James Prescott Joule</a> measures the equivalence between mechanical work and heat, resulting in the law of <a href="/facts/Conservation_of_energy/12CdN4Ik">conservation of energy</a>.</li> <li>1845 – <a href="/facts/Christian_Doppler/RoyG6Qsn">Christian Doppler</a> demonstrates the <a href="/facts/Doppler_shift/bzrK1BKf">Doppler shift</a>.</li> <li>1851 – <a href="/facts/L%C3%A9on_Foucault/xG7tEDjk">Léon Foucault</a> uses <a href="/facts/Foucault_pendulum/IdB9XaGt">Foucault pendulum</a> to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth.</li> <li>1859 – <a href="/facts/Charles_Darwin/uwDLGItY">Charles Darwin</a> publishes <a href="/facts/The_Origin_of_Species/zTMxkKVY">The Origin of Species</a> showing that evolution occurs by natural selection.</li> <li>1861 – <a href="/facts/Louis_Pasteur/lboGfpy0">Louis Pasteur</a> disproves the theory of <a href="/facts/Spontaneous_generation/bUVSjNam">spontaneous generation</a>.</li> <li>1863 – <a href="/facts/Gregor_Mendel/4UpILWAz">Gregor Mendel</a>'s <a href="/facts/Pea/hlndxpId">pea</a> plant experiments (<a href="/facts/Mendelian_inheritance/v2038wkl">Mendel's laws of inheritance</a>).</li> <li>1887 – <a href="/facts/Heinrich_Hertz/sbL2MSpM">Heinrich Hertz</a> discovers the <a href="/facts/Photoelectric_effect/gIDcdm5U">photoelectric effect</a>.</li> <li>1887 – Michelson and Morley: <a href="/facts/Michelson%E2%80%93Morley_experiment/yyrNEgA4">Michelson–Morley experiment</a>, showing that the <a href="/facts/Speed_of_light/sKSQwdNx">speed of light</a> is invariant.</li> <li>1896 – <a href="/facts/Henri_Becquerel/wN7DSsVL">Henri Becquerel</a> discovers <a href="/facts/Radioactivity/Ya6FVjt4">radioactivity</a>.</li> <li>1897 – <a href="/facts/J._J._Thomson/Y4jyndJF">J. J. Thomson</a> discovers the <a href="/facts/Electron/L0KBo5cW">electron</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="20th-century">20th century</h2> <ul><li>1909 – <a href="/facts/Robert_Millikan/rrWMCh2y">Robert Millikan</a>: <a href="/facts/Oil-drop_experiment/C2BBYkKh">oil-drop experiment</a> which suggests that <a href="/facts/Electric_charge/xxsBfmlB">electric charge</a> occurs as <i><a href="/facts/Quantum/4x5QTxGB">quanta</a></i> (the <a href="/facts/Electron/L0KBo5cW">electron</a>).</li> <li>1911 – <a href="/facts/Ernest_Rutherford/hjjMEskl">Ernest Rutherford</a>'s <a href="/facts/Geiger%E2%80%93Marsden_experiment/cmgI1Ha9">gold foil experiment</a> determines that atoms are mostly empty space, and that the core of each <a href="/facts/Atom/FoQ4kGN5">atom</a>, which he named the atomic nucleus, is dense and positively charged<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a></li> <li>1911 – <a href="/facts/Heike_Kamerlingh_Onnes/bJk48dFD">Heike Kamerlingh Onnes</a>: <a href="/facts/Superconductivity/pqQAlSzJ">superconductivity</a>.</li> <li>1914 - <a href="/facts/James_Franck/SooVoCUz">James Franck</a> and <a href="/facts/Gustav_Ludwig_Hertz/uudggEgb">Gustav Ludwig Hertz</a> conduct the <a href="/facts/Franck%E2%80%93Hertz_experiment/I0RYd51S">Franck–Hertz experiment</a> demonstrating quantization of atomic ionization energy.</li> <li>1919 – <a href="/facts/Arthur_Eddington/b0jPBaSA">Arthur Eddington</a>: Our sun as <a href="/facts/Gravitational_lens/LmxzvLs8">gravitational lens</a>, a proof of the <a href="/facts/Theory_of_relativity/qGHj3eTC">theory of relativity</a>.</li> <li>1920 – <a href="/facts/Otto_Stern/9eP2K5rB">Otto Stern</a> and <a href="/facts/Walter_Gerlach/qEjsbn0c">Walter Gerlach</a> conduct the <a href="/facts/Stern%E2%80%93Gerlach_experiment/PCWPE56v">Stern–Gerlach experiment</a>, which demonstrates particle <a href="/facts/Spin_(physics)/4Jvp7e8P">spin</a>.</li> <li>1920 – <a href="/facts/John_B._Watson/fqy4Q5ng">John B. Watson</a> and <a href="/facts/Rosalie_Rayner/BqhVcNe9">Rosalie Rayner</a> conduct the <a href="/facts/Little_Albert_experiment/sLE5jc35">Little Albert experiment</a>.</li> <li>1928 – <a href="/facts/Griffith%27s_experiment/RwWbSCTD">Griffith's experiment</a> shows that living cells can be transformed via a <a href="/facts/Transforming_principle/RwWbSCTD">transforming principle</a>, later discovered to be <a href="/facts/DNA/nB89Iauz">DNA</a>.</li> <li>1934 – <a href="/facts/Enrico_Fermi/cmYcY15H">Enrico Fermi</a> splits the atom.</li> <li>1935 – <a href="/facts/Lady_tasting_tea/4NyxQtaA">Lady tasting tea</a> experiment by <a href="/facts/Ronald_A._Fisher/I2FVIpy9">Ronald A. Fisher</a>, foundational in <a href="/facts/Statistical_hypothesis_testing/yv9RPF6U">statistical hypothesis testing</a>.</li> <li>1940 – <a href="/facts/Karl_von_Frisch/kSwtGGqw">Karl von Frisch</a> decodes the "dance" <a href="/facts/Honeybee/GetXQWM0">honeybees</a> use to communicate the location of flowers.</li> <li>1944 – <a href="/facts/Barbara_McClintock/aupcEqKv">Barbara McClintock</a> breeds <a href="/facts/Maize/lJ6c5xMH">maize</a> plants for color, which leads to the discovery of <a href="/facts/Transposon/WbVMhuWR">jumping genes</a>.</li> <li>1947 – <a href="/facts/John_Bardeen/kbj763Fh">John Bardeen</a> and <a href="/facts/Walter_Brattain/zjTKLjpA">Walter Brattain</a> fabricate the first working <a href="/facts/Transistor/Bmr8zwL0">transistor</a>.</li> <li>1951 – <a href="/facts/Solomon_Asch/6vSFRXyy">Solomon Asch</a> shows how group pressure can persuade an individual to conform to an obviously wrong opinion.</li> <li>1952 – <a href="/facts/Alfred_Hershey/lAEvkfBe">Alfred Hershey</a> & <a href="/facts/Martha_Chase/DxNpGKp8">Martha Chase</a>: <a href="/facts/Hershey%E2%80%93Chase_experiment/kJJpIHIE">Hershey–Chase experiment</a> proves that <a href="/facts/DNA/nB89Iauz">DNA</a> is the hereditary material .</li> <li>1953 – <a href="/facts/Stanley_L._Miller/b87KWsSH">Stanley L. Miller</a> & <a href="/facts/Harold_C._Urey/j1bPXfDz">Harold C. Urey</a>: <a href="/facts/Miller%E2%80%93Urey_experiment/SYTLzGJu">Miller–Urey experiment</a> demonstrates that <a href="/facts/Organic_compound/gqCNaN45">organic compounds</a> can arise spontaneously from <a href="/facts/Inorganic_compound/TfFfzxSz">inorganic ones</a>.</li> <li>1955 – <a href="/facts/Clyde_L._Cowan/kdySD9zb">Clyde L. Cowan</a> and <a href="/facts/Frederick_Reines/sdWH4hNg">Frederick Reines</a> confirm the existence of the <a href="/facts/Neutrino/yGWVfSg2">neutrino</a> in the <a href="/facts/Neutrino_experiment/2XaJzDRC">neutrino experiment</a>.</li> <li>1958 – <a href="/facts/Meselson%E2%80%93Stahl_experiment/IU98afWx">Meselson–Stahl experiment</a> proves that <a href="/facts/DNA_replication/wrU6RuR3">DNA replication</a> is <a href="/facts/Semiconservative_replication/rJJAglA3">semiconservative</a>.</li> <li>1960 – <a href="/facts/B._F._Skinner/cexUumu1">B. F. Skinner</a>'s demonstrations of <a href="/facts/Operant_conditioning/8TqfQQGq">operant conditioning</a>.</li> <li>1961 – <a href="/facts/Crick,_Brenner_et_al._experiment/561c1zTM">Francis Crick, Sydney Brenner, Leslie Barnett and R.J. Watts-Tobin</a> prove the triplet nature of the genetic code.</li> <li>1961 – <a href="/facts/Nirenberg_and_Matthaei_experiment/YsS7Befh">Marshall W. Nirenberg and J. Heinrich Matthaei</a> deciphered the first codon of the genetic code.</li> <li>1964 – <a href="/facts/Nirenberg_and_Leder_experiment/0PdyVPty">Marshall W. Nirenberg and Philip Leder</a> deciphered the rest of the genetic code.</li> <li>1965 – <a href="/facts/Arno_Penzias/MEautAvP">Arno Penzias</a> and <a href="/facts/Robert_Woodrow_Wilson/CsmuvVqa">Robert Wilson</a> find <a href="/facts/Cosmic_microwave_background_radiation/ThB2HkLS">cosmic microwave background radiation</a>, evidence of the <a href="/facts/Big_Bang/I5T1vTnv">Big Bang</a>.</li> <li>1967 – <a href="/facts/Kerim_Kerimov/oxTN7K34">Kerim Kerimov</a> launches the <a href="/facts/Cosmos_186/9Dn4IBE3">Cosmos 186</a> and <a href="/facts/Cosmos_188/9Dn4IBE3">Cosmos 188</a> as experiments on automatic docking eventually leading to the development of <a href="/facts/Space_station/2HtaLbDH">space stations</a>.</li> <li>1970 – Allan and <a href="/facts/Beatrix_Gardner/cUYhvIJJ">Beatrix Gardner</a> teach <a href="/facts/American_Sign_Language/MGTCXaGb">American Sign Language</a> to the <a href="/facts/Common_chimpanzee/JXSpFsHy">chimpanzee</a> <a href="/facts/Washoe_(chimpanzee)/KmxY7sxr">Washoe</a>.</li> <li>1974 – <a href="/facts/Stanley_Milgram/F2dcafH0">Stanley Milgram</a> conducts the <a href="/facts/Milgram_experiment/c4HHnnKd">Milgram experiment</a> on obedience to authority.</li> <li>1995 – <a href="/facts/Eric_A._Cornell/HuEsJpXH">Eric A. Cornell</a> and <a href="/facts/Carl_E._Wieman/2qSR45cr">Carl E. Wieman</a> synthesize <a href="/facts/Bose%E2%80%93Einstein_condensate/76peCwfW">Bose–Einstein condensate</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/List_of_timelines/qcTLzHyD">List of timelines</a> of science and technology</li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_experiments/drf3sH6W">List of experiments</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Timeline_of_the_history_of_the_scientific_method/n9tVIrM8">Timeline of the history of the scientific method</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Timeline_of_scientific_discoveries/pYYaJJQU">Timeline of scientific discoveries</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Timeline_of_historic_inventions/Wsa2pNfV">Timeline of historic inventions</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Hewitt, Paul (2010). Conceptual Physics (11 ed.). Pearson. p. 567. ISBN 978-0-321-56809-0. <a href="978-0-321-56809-0" target="_blank">978-0-321-56809-0</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>