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Facts about Jozsef Sandor Krenner

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Dr. Jozsef Krenner was a scientist from Hungary who’s mostly known for discovering several types of minerals.

Portrait of Jozsef Sandor Krenner

Facts about Jozsef Sandor Krenner:

A piece of Semseyite. The mineral was discovered by Jozsef Krenner.
Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0
  • Krenner was born on 3rd March 1839 in Buda(Now part of Budapest), Hungary.
  • He studied at universities in Vienna and Tubingen.
  • He obtained a PhD in 1865.
  • Krenner worked in the Hungarian National Museum as a mineral expert.
  • He was also as a lecturer at the Technical University of Budapest.
  • In 1888 he became a member of the Hungarian Academy of Science.
  • Krenner has over 37 publications in 3 different languages.
  • He is credited with discovering 15 new minerals, previously unknown to man. One of them is Krennite, which is named after Jozsef Krenner himself.
  • Krenner had exceptional drawing skills and was also very good at playing the violin.
  • As a 10 year old boy, he performed violin solos at the churches in his hometown.
  • He also did violin shows in the opera.
  • Jozsef Krenner died on 6th January 1920.
  • He’s buried at the Kerepesi Cemetry in Jozsefvaros, Budapest.

Facts on Wernher Von Braun: Inventor of the V-2 Rocket

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Wernher von Braun

Wernher Von Braun was born on March 23rd 1912 in Wrsitz(Back then, part of the German Empire, but now in Poland). Von Braun is mostly known for developing the V-2 Rocket for Germany in World War II and later on, the Saturn V Rocket System for the Americans, after being secretly shifted to the United States.

Facts about Dr. Werner Von Braun:

  • He studied engineering at Universities of Berlin and Zurich.
  • He also got a PhD in physics in 1934.
  • In 1936 he was appointed Technical Director of a Rocket Research Facility.
  • In just 2 years after his appointment, Von Braun developed a prototype rocket, capable of carrying a warhead for 11 miles. After getting support from Hitler he perfected the design. This improved version was called the V-2(vergeltungswaffe), meaning reprisal or retribution weapon.
  • Each V-2 rocket was capable of carrying warheads weighing 1000kg for 200 miles.
  • Germans launched over 3000 V-2 rockets on Allied Forces during World War II.
  • These V-2 attacks resulted in the deaths of over 9000 civilians and soldiers.
  • The V-2 rocket was the world’s first ballistic missile system.
  • In May 1945 Von Braun and his brother who was also a rocket scientist, surrendered to the American Forces.
  • He was brought to the United States and made an American citizen.
  • Braun was made Director of the U.S. Ballistic Missile Agency in Alabama.
  • In addition to developing the V-2 rockets Von Braun is also known for developing the Red Stone rocket, America’s first ballistic missile.
  • Braun also developed the first Untied States satellite which was launched from Cape Canaveral on 31st January 1958.
  • Besides this, he is also responsible for the Saturn V Rocket System. The Saturn V rocket was used in the Apollo missions.
  • The successful flight which resulted in the Moon Landing of July 1969, also used Saturn V rockets.
  • Dr. Von Braun was known as a ladies man. While studying in Berlin, he was often seen in the company of two girlfriends at once.
  • Braun also wrote a science fiction novel about humans going to Mars but his manuscript was rejected by at least 18 publishers.
  • Von Braun also worked with Walt Disney on the production of three educational films about space exploration.
  • Some people accused him of enforcing slave labor in V-2 rocket factories. However, Braun denied these allegations.
  • He said that he was aware of slave labor being used in the factories but he was helpless and couldn’t do anything about it.
  • Dr. Braun died of pancreatic cancer on June 16th 1977.
Dr. Von Braun holding a model of the V-2 rocket

Von Braun was a brilliant scientist who made some great accomplishments in science. He encouraged space exploration and himself had a passion to go on the Moon. Some people believe, Americans couldn’t have made it to the Moon if it wasn’t for Von Braun.

Facts About Phosphenes

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An artist’s depiction of a phosphene.
Author: Fiestoforo / (CC BY 3.0)

Have you ever seen “stars” after knocking your head, or even if you stood up too quickly? Those tiny points of light or other apparently visual sensations are known as “phosphenes”. Scientists are seeking to understand as much as they can about them, not least because such knowledge could help give a form of vision to blind people.

Here are a few facts about phosphenes:

  • A dictionary definition of a phosphene is: “A sensation of seeing light caused by pressure or electrical stimulation of the eye”.
  • The word comes from the Greek for “light” and “to show”. It can therefore be expressed as “light that shines forth”.
  • Even people who have been blind from birth can see them.
  • Phosphenes are generated by the visual cortex (at the rear of the brain) independently of stimulation from the optic nerve.
  • Phosphenes can be experienced by rubbing your closed eyes.
  • They can also be seen with the eyes open in a darkened room.
  • Other causes of phosphenes include electrical stimulation, strobe lights, substances such as LSD, and migraine headaches.
  • Phosphenes can be generated most readily when electrical pulses are applied at the same rate as brain waves (between 5 and 40 cycles per second).
  • Many different shapes and colors of phosphenes have been recorded, including impressions of spiders webs, bolts of lightning and geometric shapes.
  • Visions and hallucinations, as recorded from earliest times, may have phosphenes as likely explanations.
  • If phosphenes are regularly seen during eye movements, this can be a symptom of a detached retina.
  • Phosphenes may well have influenced the work of artists such as Miro, Dali and Kandinsky.
  • Children are able to see phosphenes more readily than adults. This ability tends to decline after adolescence.
  • It is believed that phosphenes are experienced by animals other than humans. Experiments with primates shows this almost certainly to be the case.
  • The first detailed scientific account of phosphenes was published in 1819 by Johannes Purkinje, a physiologist from Bohemia.
  • Research into phosphenes is looking at the links between visual stimulation and brain waves. There is a chance that linking a camera to the visual cortex could provide a means of allowing blind people to see.

The experience of phosphenes is widespread, can have many causes, and can take many forms. By studying the phenomenon in depth, scientists hope to learn more about how the brain works and to apply this knowledge to produce practical benefits.

Facts About Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge: Famous German Chemist

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Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge
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  • Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge was born on 8th February 1794.
  • He got his doctorate degree from the University of Berlin.
  • He taught at the University of Breslau till 1831 after which he started working in a chemical company.
  • Runge was an analytical chemist by profession.
  • He’s mostly know for discovering and separating caffeine from coffee beans . He did this in 1819.
  • He’s also known for discovering the pupil dilating effect of belladonna plant’s extract.
  • Runge also wrote two books describing the use of paper chromatography to separate chemicals.
  • Runge is also credited with discovering the first coal tar dye.
  • In addition to this he also devised a way to extract sugar from beet juice.
  • Runge was also one of the first scientists to isolate quinine, a drug used to treat diseases like malaria and babesiosis.
  • In 1852 Runge was fired from the company he worked in, by a disgruntled boss.
  • Runge died in extreme poverty at the age of 73 on March 25th 1867.