• Question: Who's your favourite scientist and why?

    Asked by nadiamiah to Ben, Clare, Ezzy, Mario, Sam on 16 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Sam Vinko

      Sam Vinko answered on 16 Mar 2012:

      It would have to be Richard Feynman. He did some very important work – helped understand the microscopic details of how light interacts with matter – which led to the most accurate physical theory we have to date. He also did a bunch of other things like wrote books and textbooks, and from the interviews seems like a fun guy to hang out with.

    • Photo: Ben Smart

      Ben Smart answered on 16 Mar 2012:

      I’d say Richard Feynman. He did some really amazing work, and he was a bit of a joker too. A very likeable character.

    • Photo: Elizabeth Pearson

      Elizabeth Pearson answered on 16 Mar 2012:

      A woman called Annie Jump Cannon. Partly because she has an amazing name but mostly because she was one of histories most prolific astronomers and no one has ever heard of her. In 4 years she found more stars than all the men in history (to that point) put togehter. she redefined the way we class stars (a system we still use today) and was generally an amazing woman.

      And personally Feynman always struck me as a bit of a nutter!

    • Photo: Clare Burrage

      Clare Burrage answered on 17 Mar 2012:

      That’s a really tough question because it changes all the time as I find out more about different scientists.
      Recently I’ve been reading about Nicolaus Copernicus, the man who first showed that the Sun was at the center of the solar system, not the Earth. This was a really revolutionary thing to say at the time because the Church told everyone that mankind (and the earth) had a special place at the center of things. He must have been incredibly brave to go against what every one around him believed, and to stand up and say ‘that’s not right and I have the proof’.

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