For questions about the location (in space and time) of scientific discoveries and their historical context.
Use this tag for questions about new scientific discoveries - in contrast to biographical questions, or how theories were developed.
Questions tagged [discoveries]
188 questions
33
votes
8 answers
What are some scientific breakthroughs that have been done during jail time?
I am looking for examples of scientific breakthroughs that have been made within the confines of a prison cell.
Franck Dernoncourt
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13
votes
5 answers
How did prisoners of war discover scientific breakthroughs while interned?
Reading the excellent thread What are some scientific breakthroughs that have been done during jail time?, it stands to reason to ask what are some scientific breakthroughs made by interned prisoners of war, when the author was confined in a POW…
user22
13
votes
7 answers
Apparently different objects discovered to be the same
To make it more formal, I am looking for striking historical examples of objects or concepts that were well known in a field and perceived as different, but later discovered to be the same. I am interested in how they happen and what impact they…
Conifold
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7
votes
1 answer
Why were hot-air balloons invented so late?
The first (documented) hot-air balloon was made in the late 18th century.
The materials necessary (wood to burn, sheets for balloon) were around for thousands of years.
Why didn't anyone think of this invention earlier?
5
votes
1 answer
When was it found that a function could be decomposed as a sum of even and odd functions?
I'm not sure if it's a good question but I was reading about the decomposition of any function, f(x), as a sum of even and odd functions; f(x) is not an even or odd function.
Is it possible to know when this fact (or, theorem?) was discovered and…
PG1995
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3
votes
1 answer
Invention of Principle of Inclusion-Exclusion
I know the principle of inclusion-exclusion and solved some problems related to this principle but I don't know how this principle was discovered?
Whenever I use this principle I was amazed thinking of how the concept of the principle of…
Shahed al mamun
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2
votes
1 answer
How does human design the first ruler?
How and when did we build the first ruler ?
I have an hard time figuring how to build something "straight" without having first a "straight" tool.
Sure you could just stretch a thread/wire and then cut a wood block to have something ressembling a…
Haiku
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1
vote
0 answers
Invention of the SI unit of plane angle:Radian
As I was reading on the topic plane angle then I came across a term radian.Hence I want to know how radians were discovered as well ?
user230507
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votes
1 answer
What were the precursor works to Copernicus Heliocentrism?
Was Heliocentrism something that exploded with Copernicus seemingly out of nowhere, or were there predecessors, and what were those predecessors?
I read somewhere that their might of been versions before Copernicus?
user4281
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