Fun Trivia : Scientists & Inventors

Structure Sub-topic of: People Quizzes Other encyclopedia entries of interest: Adolphe Sax | Albert Einstein | Alexander Graham Bell | Arthur C Clarke | Buckminster Fuller | Carl Sagan | Chester Carlson | Darwin, Charles | Gregor Mendel | Henrietta Leavitt | Isaac Newton | Jesse Hedch | John Nash | Louis Pasteur | Nikola Tesla | Plato | Pythagoras | Richard Feynman | Stephen Jay Gould | Stephen W Hawking | Thomas Edison | Yuri Gagarin | Young, Thomas | Interesting Questions, Facts and Information There are a total of 40 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display. Special Topics History of Mathematics Scientific "Fathers" Who Invented That? Inventors Random Questions About Scientists History's Heroes 1 People of The Final Frontier The Great Astronomers A Few Well-Known Inventors Scientists Women Inventors Early Inventions Inventions of the Twentieth Century Famous Scientific Pioneers Who Am I ? - Scientists Inventions Early Astronomers Three Famous Scientists The Office "White-Out" More Aussie Inventions

Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information

Scientists & Inventors

Cai Lun, Chinese inventor of paper, used what material in his paper making process?

Interesting Facts about Famous Scientists


bamboo. Cai Lun was an official in the imperial court of the Han, and is credited with inventing paper around 105 A.D. He was not the actual inventor of paper, though...but rather improved the paper-making process greatly.



What scientist discovered that ether had anesthetic properties?

Interesting Facts about Famous Scientists


Paracelsus. Jackson wrote about ether as having possible surgical value, and Morton was the one who first put it into practice, but Paracelsus had first discovered the anesthetic properties of the substance several hundred years prior.



Which African American inventor deserves credit for his work with Edison on many of the latter's inventions?

Interesting Facts about Famous Scientists


Latimer. Lewis Latimer was an associate of Edison, and headed up the installation of street lighting in New York City.



One was the joint inventor of cordite (with Dewar), another discovered adrenaline, the last demonstrated that the quintic equation did not have an algebraic solution....what was their common last name?

Interesting Facts about Famous Scientists


Abel. There's something about the name 'Abel' that makes people very 'able'. (You may proceed to slam me for the bad pun!) The cordite inventor was Frederick, the discoverer of adrenaline John and the quintic equation guy was Niels.



Everyone associates the quote 'I think, therefore I am' with Descartes...but someone said it more than 1200 years earlier...who was it?

Interesting Facts about Famous Scientists


St. Augustine. St. Augustine was not a scientist, but rather a clergyman and philosopher of ancient Roman times. Descartes was indeed a scientist, and a plagiarizer it appears! (No, only kidding...Descartes said the same thing, but not in exactly the same way!) Thanks for playing the quiz...I hope you enjoyed it!



Einstein's quote....'I cannot believe that God plays dice with the universe'...was a reaction to whose theories?

Fascinating Facts about Scientists


Heisenberg. Einstein was reacting to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. This idea has remained controversial, yet highly influential, up to the modern day.



Alpha rays, beta rays and gamma rays were originally referred to as ____________ rays. What scientist's name belongs in the blank?

Fascinating Facts about Scientists


Becquerel. Becquerel was the discoverer of radioactivity and a co-winner of the Nobel Prize with the Curies in 1903. The Curies worked off of Becquerel's discovery to make several discoveries of their own, for example the element radium.



What was Francis Bacon doing that helped cause him to get sick and die?

Fascinating Facts about Scientists


Stuffing a chicken with snow. He was trying to prove that cold could help preserve food...he was right!



What U.S. physicist formulated the theory of the quark?

Fascinating Facts about Scientists


Murray Gell-Mann. He won the Nobel prize for physics in 1969. Gell-Mann also created the 'periodic table' of particle physics based on theorized charge and predicted reactions. Interesting folks, all of these...wouldn't you say? Thanks for trying the quiz!



This American chemist, born 1912, died 1999, won, along with his partner, the 1951 Nobel Prize for discovering plutonium and 3 other elements. He later contributed to the discovery of two more. His first name was Glenn. What was his last name?

Down the Ladder: Scientists and Inventors


Seaborg. Among many other very significant contributions, Seaborg participated in the discovery of 9 more elements, including americium, berkelium, einsteinium, and seaborgium!



This American physicist, born 1915, shared the 1964 Nobel Prize with 2 Soviet scientists for inventing and developing masers. His first name is Charles. His last name?

Down the Ladder: Scientists and Inventors


Townes. In 1958, Townes and his partner at Bell Labs, Arthur Schawlow, published a paper titled "Infrared and Optical Masers." The development of the laser was a result of this study.



He was born in Ulm, Germany, in 1879. He won a Nobel Prize in 1921. What was his last name?

Down the Ladder: Scientists and Inventors


Einstein. Albert Einstein was probably the greatest mind of his time. He was chosen by "Time Magazine" as Man of the Century.



With two partners, this scientist from the United Kingdom won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2001 for discoveries in key regulators of the cell cycle. He is addressed as Sir Paul. What is his last name?

Down the Ladder: Scientists and Inventors


Nurse. Sir Paul Nurse and one of his partners, Tim Hart, work with the Imperial Cancer Research Fund of London, England.



With partner E. Donnall Thomas, this scientist from the US won the 1990 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for his "discoveries in organ and cell transplantation in the treatment of human disease." Joseph is his first name. What is his last name?

Down the Ladder: Scientists and Inventors


Murray. According to njabr.org, Dr. Joseph Murray worked "with burn victims as a doctor during World War II."



He was born in 1847 and died in 1931. As a boy, he was known as "Al." He had 1093 patents. What was his last name?

Down the Ladder: Scientists and Inventors


Edison. Thomas Alva Edison was one of the greatest of inventors, but he also got credit for things invented by memebers of his staff.



This American astronomer died in 1997 at age 90. He was only 24 when he discovered the planet Pluto in 1930. His first name was Clyde. What was his last name?

Down the Ladder: Scientists and Inventors


Tombaugh. Clyde Tombaugh, an assistant astronomer at the Lowell Observatory who did not have a degree in astronomy, discovered the planet Pluto on Feb. 18,1930. He died in 1997, aged 91, 67 years after his big discovery!



With his partner, Hendrick Lorentz, this scientist from the Netherlands won the 1902 Nobel because of his work on the influence of magnetism on radiation phenomena. His first name was Pieter. What was his last name?

Down the Ladder: Scientists and Inventors


Zeeman. Pieter Zeeman was unusually young for a Nobel Laureate, only 37. He was Extraordinary Professor at the University of Amsterdam.



Dynamite is used for commercial rock breaking and quarrying. It has many uses from mining to large scale construction. It was invented by a Swedish chemist. What was his name?

The Inventing Quiz


Alfred Nobel. Alfred Nobel was born in Sweden and he later moved to the U.S.A where he built and managed a factory. He tried several ways to make nitroglycerin safer and easier to use. He in the end, however managed to mix nitoglycerin with a type of clay to make dynamite. (Ascanio Sobrero discovered nitroglycerin).



Today we have many cars, motorbikes, generators, ships, trains, buses and a whole lot more. What do they have in common? They all run on an engine. Early in the 1700s the first type of engine was developed, a steam engine. Who invented this?

The Inventing Quiz


Thomas Newcomen. Contrary to popular belief the Newcomen engine was the first ever steam engine, later improved greatly by James Watt.



This man pioneered the electro-mechanical industry and is known around the world for his work with morse code transmitters and telegraphy. The unit of electric conductance is named after him. Who was it?

The Inventing Quiz


Werner von Siemens. He invented the needle telegraph which improved morse code. Electric conductance is not measured in watts (James Watt), it's not measured it voltage (Alessandro Volta) and it's not measured in amperes (Andre-Marie Ampere).



This man did ground breaking theoretical work in physics, coming up with many different theories including the theory of relativity. He also won a Nobel Prize in Physics. He was none other than?

The Inventing Quiz


Albert Einstein. He left Germany after being dismissed from his professorship by the Nazis for being a Jew and spent the rest of his life in the U.S. In 1952 Israel invited him to become its second president, but he declined. By the way E = MC2 means: Energy is equal to mass multiplied by the speed of light, squared.



Have you ever gone 80km/h in 60km/h zone? Did you go to prom night in a limousine? Have you ever been injured and had to be hurried to hospital? Have you ever ordered pizza and the delivery boy was ten minutes early? Have you ever been in a life threatening situation requiring the help of the police? Well you have you needed a car, first invented by _____?

The Inventing Quiz


Karl Benz. Mercedes Benz was named after him. The first car engine was gasoline powered, then came diesel and now there's even ethanol!



Now on to a substance which revolutionized the world of warfare for just over a millennium! It has however been greatly improved by the Swede Alfred Nobel and turned into gunpowder. But prior to gunpowder this substance (which is chemically similar) was used in warfare and even in quarrying. It is rated in F, FF, FFF, FFFF. F being very coarse and FFFF being ground up to a very fine almost dust like substance. This substance is _________ and was invented by the _______?

The Inventing Quiz


Black powder ... Chinese. Black Powder is a mixture of potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal. The Chinese were also the first nation to use black powder in warfare and in fireworks. P.S Berzinite is just a name I made up.



The electric motor is used extensively in our lives. It is used in our pool pumps, grinding machine, fans, heaters, blow dryers, radios, and most household appliances. Michael Faraday's greatest work was in electricity. Did he invent the electric motor?

The Inventing Quiz


Yes. Michael Faraday in my opinion was truly one of the greatest inventors of all time. He greatly improved William Hyde Wollaston's failed electric motor. And indirectly without him there wouldn't be dynamos. If you think about it, a dynamo is simply the reverse form of an electric motor.



What did Léon Theremin invent?

Inventors, Scientists and Inventions


The theremin.. He was born in Russia in 1896. The theremin was one of the first fully electronic musical instruments to be created. The unusual thing about a theremin is that is it NOT controlled physically by the musician. It was designed to play without actually needing to be touched.



What did John Philip Sousa help invent?

Inventors, Scientists and Inventions


The sousaphone.. The sousaphone was invented J. W. Pepper in conjunction with Sousa himself. Sousa requested that the sousaphone be created and offered a number of suggestions in its creation. A sousaphone is a brass musical instrument.



What did James J. Drumm invent?

Inventors, Scientists and Inventions


Nickel zinc battery.. If you answered bass drum or cymbals then you were wrong - This was a bit of a trick question - you were being led down the garden path with musical questions. Sorry! Have to keep you on your toes. :) Dr Drumm was an Irish inventor who was born in 1897 and passed away in 1974. His nickel zinc battery successfully powered a train in Ireland. It is a rechargeable battery.



What did Marie Curie die from?

Inventors, Scientists and Inventions


Leukemia.. Marie Curie was born Maria Sklodowska in Warsaw, Poland on November 7, 1867. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 together with her husband for their work with spontaneous radiation, and in 1911 she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry solo. Marie's daughter, Irène, was the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1935 with her husband! The notebooks Marie Curie used are still radioactive. Marie died from leukemia caused by her constant exposure to radioactive material. She died on July 4, 1934.



What Australian invented the black box flight recorder?

Inventors, Scientists and Inventions


Dr David Warren.. The "Black box" is a device that records in-flight conversations and data. These other famous Aussies invented or designed the: Evelyn Ernest Owen invented the machine gun named after him; Mervyn Victor Richardson invented the Victa rotary lawnmower; and Ben Lexcen designed the 'Australia 2' yacht with the winged keel.



What hook and eye fastening was invented in 1948 and used commercially in 1956?

Inventors, Scientists and Inventions


Velcro. George de Mestral was a Swiss Engineer that invented Velcro. He came up with the idea after a hiking trip and saw cockleburs on his pants. After looking at them in a microscope he saw how the hooks of the cockleburs attached to the loops in his pants material. He then mimicked what he saw and created the hook and loop product. Velcro comes from the French words for velvet (velour) and hook (crochet).



What invention was conceived by American undertaker Almon Strowger in 1888?

Inventors, Scientists and Inventions


The dial telephone.. Strowger came up with his invention in 1888 while he was an undertaker. Convinced that all of his calls were being diverted by the telephone operator to another undertaker, he invented the first dial system so callers could make the calls themselves. The town telephone operator was the wife of the rival undertaker and he suspected the calls were being there.