Physicists Like Us

(1920 – 1958) Physical chemist Rosalind is known for taking an image of ‘DNA’ using X-rays, a type of radiation like light but we can’t see it. DNA is found in the cells of every living organism. They are like a set of instructions that tell living organisms how to grow, function and produce more […]

(1918 – 2001) Meteorologist Anna loved meteorology, which is the study of the Earth’s atmosphere and the weather it causes. She wrote many papers on gemstones (like rubies and emeralds), the Sun’s energy, weather instruments, and the ozone layer, which protects the Earth from the harmful part of the Sun’s energy. She improved instruments used […]

(1958 – 2014) Physicist Angela worked to help stop nuclear and radiation accidents, which can be very harmful to us and the natural world.  She also loved astronomy and studied different subjects, including physics and law. Transgender herself, Angela tried very hard to make sure transgender people are treated just like everyone else. She helped […]

(1906 – 1938) Physicist Ettore famously showed that particles could be their own antiparticles. ‘Dark matter’, which makes up most of the Universe, may be made out of these ‘Majorana particles’. Ettore was born in Sicily to a family with a background in science and politics. He studied at the University of Rome, first studying […]

(1928 – 2016) Astrophysicist Vera is famous for discovering that stars in the outer bits of spiral galaxies, like the Milky Way, move a lot faster than you would expect. This means that galaxies contain at least five to ten times as much ‘invisible’ matter as ordinary matter – the first direct evidence of the […]

(1942 – 2018) Theoretical astrophysicist who studied black holes and the evolution of our Universe Stephen predicted with Roger Penrose that the densest objects in our Universe, black holes, emit radiation. Radiation is energy that moves from one place to another, like light and sound waves. While researching theoretical physics at the University of Cambridge, […]