James Chadwick and the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues Today in History – February 27, 1932 – Chadwick publishes his discovery of the neutron. Until 1932, the atom was known to consist of a positively charged nucleus surrounded by enough negatively charged electrons to make the atom electrically neutral. Most of the atom was [...]

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Today in History – February 25, 1837 – Thomas Davenport patents the electric motor and electric railway. Thomas Davenport, an American blacksmith, first invented the DC electrical motor in 1834 and used it to make a small model of electrical railway in 1835. He patented a device for “Improvements in propelling machinery by magnetism and [...]

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Today in History – February 23, 1893 – Rudolf Diesel patents the diesel engine in Germany. Rudolf Diesel’s goal was to improve on the efficiency of the gasoline-engine that used the Otto cycle. His new concept for the engine was to compress the air in the cylinder adiabatically. Once this high level of compression causes [...]

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Today in History – February 22, 1876 – Johns Hopkins opens as first research university in America. At his inauguration, Johns Hopkins first president, Daniel Coit Gilman asked: What are we aiming at? The encouragement of research … and the advancement of individual scholars, who by their excellence will advance the sciences they pursue, and [...]

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Today in History – February 21, 1994 -  Whirlpool begins production of refrigerators without freon. In the 1930s, refrigerators began to use freon as a refrigerant. However, the use of freon became an environmental concern once it was identified as a ozone-depleting chemical. Fortunately, household appliance manufacturers have since switched to a different refrigerant, HFC-134a, [...]

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