The United States came into being during the Age of Enlightenment (circa 1680 to 1800), a period in which writers and thinkers rejected the superstitions of the past. Instead, they emphasized the powers of reason and unbiased inquiry, especially inquiry into the workings of the natural world. Enlightenment philosophers envisioned a "republic of science," where ideas would be exchanged freely and useful knowledge would improve the lot of all citizens. The Age of Enlightenment refers to the 18th century in European philosophy, and is often thought of as part of a larger period which includes the Age of Reason. ... A common European superstition dictates that it is bad luck for a black cat to cross ones path. ... A philosopher is a person devoted to studying and producing results in philosophy. ...

From its emergence as an independent nation, the United States has encouraged science and invention. It has done this by promoting a free flow of ideas, by encouraging the growth of "useful knowledge," and by welcoming creative people from all over the world. Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Science For the scientific journal named Science, see Science (journal). ... In general terms, an invention is an object, process or technique which displays an element of novelty. ...

The United States Constitution itself reflects the desire to encourage scientific creativity. It gives Congress the power "to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries." This clause formed the basis for the U.S. patent and copyright systems, which ensured that inventions and other creative works could not be copied or used without the creator's receiving some kind of compensation. The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. ... A congress is a gathering of people, especially a gathering for a political purpose. ... A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a person for a fixed period of time in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of a device, method, process or composition of matter (substance) (known as an invention) which is new, inventive, and... Copyright symbol. ...

Early North American science

In the early decades of its history, the United States was relatively isolated from Europe and also rather poor. At this stage America's scientific infrastructure was still quite primitive compared to the long-established societies, institutes, and universities in Europe. World map showing Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ...

Two of America's founding fathers were scientists of some repute. Benjamin Franklin conducted a series of experiments that deepened human understanding of electricity. Among other things, he proved what had been suspected but never before shown: that lightning is a form of electricity. Franklin also invented such conveniences as bifocal eyeglasses and a stove that bears his name. (The Franklin stove fits into a fireplace and circulates heat into the adjacent room.) Benjamin Franklin by Jean-Baptiste Greuze 1777 Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most prominent of the Founders and early political figures and statesmen of the United States. ... Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... Lightning is a powerful natural electrostatic discharge produced during a thunderstorm. ...

Thomas Jefferson was a student of agriculture who introduced various types of rice, olive trees, and grasses into the New World. He stressed the scientific aspect of the Lewis and Clark expedition (1804-06), which explored the Pacific Northwest, and detailed, systematic information on the region's plants and animals was one of that expedition's legacies. Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 N.S. – July 4, 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801–1809), author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential founders of the United States. ... The Lewis and Clark expedition (1804-1806) was the first American overland expedition to the Pacific coast and back. ... Darker red states are always part of the Pacific Northwest. ...

Like Franklin and Jefferson, most American scientists of the late 18th century were involved in the struggle to win American independence and forge a new nation. These scientists included the astronomer David Rittenhouse, the medical scientist Benjamin Rush, and the natural historian Charles Willson Peale. David Rittenhouse. ... Dr. Benjamin Rush painted by Charles Wilson Peale, 1783 Dr. Benjamin Rush (December 24, 1745–April 19, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States. ... Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 - February 22, 1827) was an American painter, soldier and naturalist. ...

During the American Revolution, Rittenhouse helped design the defenses of Philadelphia and built telescopes and navigation instruments for the United States' military services. After the war, Rittenhouse designed road and canal systems for the state of Pennsylvania. He later returned to studying the stars and planets and gained a worldwide reputation in that field. Philadelphia is a village located in Jefferson County, New York. ... 50 cm refracting telescope at Nice Observatory. ... The Canal du Midi in Toulouse, France. ... Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 33rd 119,283 km² 255 km 455 km 2. ... The Pleiades star cluster A star is a massive body of plasma in outer space that is currently producing or has produced energy through nuclear fusion. ... A planet is generally considered to be a relatively large mass of accreted matter in orbit around a star that is not a star itself. ...

As United States Surgeon General, Benjamin Rush saved countless lives of soldiers during the Revolutionary War by promoting hygiene and public health practices. By introducing new medical treatments, he made the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia an example of medical enlightenment, and after his military service, Rush established the first free clinic in the United States. The Surgeon General of the United States is the leading spokesman on matters of public health in the Government of the United States. ... Dr. Benjamin Rush painted by Charles Wilson Peale, 1783 Dr. Benjamin Rush (December 24, 1745–April 19, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States. ... The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was a war fought primarily between Great Britain and revolutionaries within thirteen of her North American colonies. ... Hygiene is the maintenance of healthy practices. ... Public health is concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health analysis. ... The Pennsylvania Hospital by William Strickland (1755) Pennsylvania Hospital is the first hospital in the United States. ...

Charles Willson Peale is best remembered as an artist, but he also was a natural historian, inventor, educator, and politician. He created the first major museum in the United States, the Peale Museum in Philadelphia, which housed the young nation's only collection of North American natural history specimens. Peale excavated the bones of an ancient mastodon near West Point, New York; he spent three months assembling the skeleton, and then displayed it in his museum. The Peale Museum started an American tradition of making the knowledge of science interesting and available to the general public. The Peale Museum is a museum of paintings and natural history, located in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It is the oldest museum building in the Western Hemisphere. ...

Science immigration

American political leaders' enthusiasm for knowledge also helped ensure a warm welcome for scientists from other countries. A notable early immigrant was the British chemist Joseph Priestley, who was driven from his homeland because of his dissenting politics. Priestley, who came to the United States in 1794, was the first of thousands of talented scientists who emigrated in search of a free, creative environment. Joseph Priestley is often credited for the discovery of oxygen. ... 1794 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Other scientists had come to the United States to take part in the nation's rapid growth. Alexander Graham Bell, who arrived from Scotland by way of Canada in 1872, developed and patented the telephone and related inventions. Charles Steinmetz, who came from Germany in 1889, developed new alternating-current electrical systems at General Electric Company, and Vladimir Zworykin, who left Russia in 1919 and later invented a television camera. The Serb Nikola Tesla came to the United States in 1884, where he invented the brushless electrical motor based on rotating magnetic fields. Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-Canadian-American scientist and inventor. ... Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... The telephone or phone (Greek: tele = far away and phone = voice) is a telecommunications device which is used to transmit and receive sound (most commonly voice and speech) across distance. ... Charles Proteus Steinmetz (April 9, 1865_October 26, 1923) was born in Breslau, Silesia, Germany. ... 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The General Electric Company, or GE, (NYSE: GE) is a multinational technology and services company. ... Vladimir Kosma Zworykin (Russian: (July 30, 1889 - July 29, 1982) was a pioneer of television technology. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Nikola Tesla (July 10, 1856 – c. ... 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Into the early 1900s Europe remained the center of science research, notably in England and Germany. However with the rise of the Nazi party in Germany, a huge number of scientists, many of them of Jewish decent, left the country and travelled to the US. One of the first to do so was Albert Einstein in 1933. At his urging, and often with his support, a good percentage of Germany's theoretical physics community, previously the best in the world, left for the US. Enrico Fermi, came from Italy in 1938 and led the work that produced the world's first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. The term National Socialism has been used in self-description by a number of different political groups and ideologies, some of which have no connection with the Nazis; see National socialism (disambiguation). ... Jews (Hebrew: יהודים, Yehudim) are followers of Judaism or, more generally, members of the Jewish people (also known as the Jewish nation, or the Children of Israel), an ethno-religious group descended from the ancient Israelites and converts who joined their religion. ... Albert Einstein photographed by Oren J. Turner in 1947. ... Enrico Fermi in the 1940s. ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Albert Einsteins letter to President Roosevelt in 1939 about his concern, about (Nuclear chain reactions) Click for closeup of letter A nuclear chain reaction occurs when on average more than one nuclear reaction is caused by another nuclear reaction, thus leading to an exponential increase in the number of...

In the post-war era the US was left in a position of unchallenged scientific leadership, being one of the only industrial countries not ravaged by war. Additionally, science and technology were seen to have greatly added to the Allied war victory, and were seen as absolutely crucial in the Cold War era. As a result, the US government became, for the first time, the largest single supporter of basic and applied scientific research. By the mid-1950s the research facilities in the US were second to none, and scientists were drawn to the US for this reason alone. The changing pattern can be seen in the winners of the Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry. During the first half-century of Nobel Prizes – from 1901 to 1950 – American winners were in a distinct minority in the science categories. Since 1950, Americans have won approximately half of the Nobel Prizes awarded in the sciences. Sir Edward Appletons medal Photographs of Nobel Prize Medals. ...

American applied science

During the 19th century, Britain, France, and Germany were at the forefront of new ideas in science and mathematics. But if the United States lagged behind in the formulation of theory, it excelled in using theory to solve problems: applied science. This tradition had been born of necessity. Because Americans lived so far from the well-springs of Western science and manufacturing, they often had to figure out their own ways of doing things. When Americans combined theoretical knowledge with "Yankee ingenuity," the result was a flow of important inventions. The great American inventors include Robert Fulton (the steamboat); Samuel Morse (the telegraph); Eli Whitney (the cotton gin); Cyrus McCormick (the reaper); and Thomas Alva Edison, the most fertile of them all, with more than a thousand inventions credited to his name. Theory has a number of distinct meanings in different fields of knowledge, depending on the context and their methodologies. ... Applied science is the exact science of applying knowledge from one or more natural scientific fields to practical problems. ... Yankee ingenuity is a reference to the self-reliance of early colonial settlers of New England. ... Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was a US engineer and inventor, who was widely and erroneously credited with developing the first steam-powered ship. ... It has been suggested that paddle steamers be merged into this article or section. ... Portrait of Samuel F. B. Morse by Mathew Brady, between 1855 and 1865 Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor, and painter of portraits and historic scenes; he is most famous for inventing the electric telegraph and Morse code. ... Telegraphy (from the Greek words tele = far away and grapho = write) is the long distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters, originally over wire. ... Eli Whitney Eli Whitney (December 8, 1765 - January 8, 1825) was an American inventor and manufacturer. ... Cotton gin The cotton gin is a machine invented by American inventor Eli Whitney in 1793 to mechanize the production of cotton fiber. ... Cyrus Hall McCormick (February 15, 1809 - May 13, 1884) of Virginia was an Irish American farmer, inventor, businessman, marketer, and newspaper editor. ... The reaper was a horse-drawn farm implement invented by Cyrus McCormick in 1831 to cut small grain crops. ... Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 - October 18, 1931) was an inventor and businessman who developed many important devices. ...

Edison was not always the first to devise a scientific application, but he was frequently the one to bring an idea to a practical finish. For example, the British engineer Joseph Swan built an incandescent electric lamp in 1860, almost 20 years before Edison. But Edison's light bulbs lasted much longer than Swan's, and they could be turned on and off individually, while Swan's bulbs could be used only in a system where several lights were turned on or off at the same time. Edison followed up his improvement of the light bulb with the development of electrical generating systems. Within 30 years, his inventions had introduced electric lighting into millions of homes. Joseph Swan Sir Joseph Wilson Swan (October 31, 1828 – May 27, 1914) was an English physicist and chemist, most famous for the development of the light bulb. ... Light bulb may be used to refer to many different types of electric lighting, some of which have their own page: Incandescent light bulb, the most common type. ... Dynamo can refer to more than one item. ...

Another landmark application of scientific ideas to practical uses was the innovation of the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright. In the 1890s they became fascinated with accounts of German glider experiments and began their own investigation into the principles of flight. Combining scientific knowledge and mechanical skills, the Wright brothers built and flew several gliders. Then, on December 17, 1903, they successfully flew the first heavier-than-air, mechanically propelled airplane. First flight, December 17, 1903. ... Gliders are heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for un-powered flight. ... December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Fixed-wing aircraft is a term used to refer to what are more commonly known as aeroplanes in Commonwealth English (excluding Canada) or airplanes in North American English. ...

An American invention that was barely noticed in 1947 went on to usher in the Information Age. In that year John Bardeen, William Shockley, and Walter Brattain of Bell Laboratories drew upon highly sophisticated principles of quantum physics to invent the transistor, a small substitute for the bulky vacuum tube. This, and a device invented 10 years later, the integrated circuit, made it possible to package enormous amounts of electronics into tiny containers. As a result, book-sized computers of today can outperform room-sized computers of the 1960s, and there has been a revolution in the way people live – in how they work, study, conduct business, and engage in research. 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... John Bardeen (May 23, 1908 – January 30, 1991) was an American physicist. ... William Bradford Shockley (February 13, 1910 – August 12, 1989) American physicist, eugenicist and co-inventor of the transistor with John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. ... Walter Houser Brattain (February 10, 1902 – October 13, 1987) was a physicist who, along with John Bardeen, invented the transistor. ... Bell Telephone Laboratories or Bell Labs was originally the research and development arm of the United States Bell System, and was the premier corporate facility of its type, developing a range of revolutionary technologies from telephone switches to specialized coverings for telephone cables, to the transistor. ... Fig. ... Assorted component transistors The transistor is a solid state semiconductor device which can be used for amplification, switching, voltage stabilization, signal modulation and many other functions. ... In electronics, a vacuum tube (U.S. and Canadian English) or (thermionic) valve (outside North America) is a device generally used to amplify, or otherwise modify, a signal by controlling the movement of electrons in an evacuated space. ... SEM image of an integrated circuit showing defects in the aluminium layer deposition (shown in cyan). ... The field of electronics is the study and use of systems that operate by controlling the flow of electrons or other electrically charged particles in devices such as thermionic valves and semiconductors. ... For the magazine by IEEE Computer Society, see Computer (magazine) A computer is a machine for manipulating data according to a list of instructions - a program. ... Research is often described as an active, diligent, and systematic process of inquiry aimed at discovering, interpreting and revising facts. ...

The Atomic Age and "Big Science"

One of the most spectacular – and controversial – accomplishments of US technology has been the harnessing of nuclear energy. The concepts that led to the splitting of the atom were developed by the scientists of many countries, but the conversion of these ideas into the reality of nuclear fission was accomplished in the United States in early 1940s, both by many Americans but also aided tremendously by the influx of European intellectuals fleeing the growing conflagration sparked by Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in Europe. ... (help· info) (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 and Führer (Leader) of Germany from 1934 until his death. ... Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (July 29, 1883 – April 28, 1945) led Italy from 1922 to 1943. ...

During these crucial years, a number of the most prominent European scientists, especially physicists, immigrated to the United States, where they would do much of their most important work: including Hans Bethe, Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, Leó Szilárd, Edward Teller, Felix Bloch, Emilio Segre, and Eugene Wigner, among many, many others. American academics worked hard to find positions at laboratories and universities for their European colleagues. Hans Bethe in 1945. ... Albert Einstein photographed by Oren J. Turner in 1947. ... Enrico Fermi in the 1940s. ... Leó Szilárd (right) and Albert Einstein re-enact the signing of the famous letter to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. ... Edward Teller in 1958 as Director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. ... Felix Bloch. ... Emilio Gino Segr (February 1, 1905 - April 22, 1989) was an Italian American physicist who, with Owen Chamberlain, won the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of the antiproton. ... Eugene Wigner (left) and Alvin Weinberg Eugene Paul Wigner (Hungarian Wigner Pál JenÅ‘) (November 17, 1902 – January 1, 1995) was a Hungarian physicist and mathematician who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 for his contributions to the theory of the atomic nucleus and the elementary particles, particularly...

After German physicists split a uranium nucleus in 1938, a number of scientists concluded that a nuclear chain reaction was feasible and possible. In a letter to President Franklin Roosevelt, written by Leó Szilárd and signed by Albert Einstein, warned that this breakthrough would permit the construction of "extremely powerful bombs." This warning inspired an executive order towards the investigation of using uranium as a weapon, which later was superseded during World War II by the Manhattan Project the full Allied effort to be the first to build an atomic bomb. The project bore fruit when the first such bomb was exploded in New Mexico on July 16, 1945. General Name, Symbol, Number uranium, U, 92 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery gray metallic; corrodes to a spalling black oxide coat in air Atomic mass 238. ... A stylized representation of a lithium atom. ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Albert Einsteins letter to President Roosevelt in 1939 about his concern, about (Nuclear chain reactions) Click for closeup of letter A nuclear chain reaction occurs when on average more than one nuclear reaction is caused by another nuclear reaction, thus leading to an exponential increase in the number of... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... Leó Szilárd (right) and Albert Einstein re-enact the signing of the famous letter to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. ... Albert Einstein photographed by Oren J. Turner in 1947. ... Combatants Allies: • Poland, • UK & Commonwealth, • France/Free France, • Soviet Union, • USA, • China, ...and others Axis: • Germany, • Italy, • Japan, ...and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total: 50 million Full list Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total: 12 million Full list World War II... The Manhattan Project resulted in the development of the first nuclear weapons, and the first-ever nuclear detonation at the Trinity test of July 16, 1945. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ... Official language(s) None, English, Spanish popularly believed to be official, but they are not. ... July 16 is the 197th day (198th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 168 days remaining. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ...

The development of the bomb and its use against Japan in August of 1945 initiated the Atomic Age, a time of anxiety over weapons of mass destruction that has lasted through the Cold War and down to the anti-proliferation efforts of today. But the Atomic Age has also been characterized by peaceful uses of atomic energy, as in nuclear power and nuclear medicine. The Atomic Age was a phrase used for a time in the 1950s in which it was believed that all power sources in the future would be atomic in nature. ... Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) generally include nuclear, biological, chemical and, increasingly, radiological weapons. ... The Cold War was the protracted geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle that emerged after World War II between the global superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States, supported by their respective and emerging alliance partners. ... World map with nuclear weapons development status represented by color. ... Atomic energy is an outdated phrase which can mean a number of things related to energy produced by atoms: In the late- 19th century through the early- 20th century, it was often used to describe the particles ejected by radioactive elements (especially radium). ... A nuclear power station. ... Nuclear medicine is a branch of medicine and medical imaging that uses unsealed radioactive substances in diagnosis and therapy. ...

Along with the production of the atomic bomb, World War II also saw the entrance of an era known as "Big Science" with increased government patronage of scientific research. The advantage of a scientifically and technologically sophisticated country became all too apparent during wartime, and in the ideological Cold War to follow the importance of scientific strength in even peacetime applications became too much for the government to any more leave to philanthropy and private industry alone. This increased expenditure on scientific research and education propelled the United States to the forefront of the international scientific community -- an amazing feat for a country which only a few decades before still had to send its most promising students to Europe for extensive scientific education. Combatants Allies: • Poland, • UK & Commonwealth, • France/Free France, • Soviet Union, • USA, • China, ...and others Axis: • Germany, • Italy, • Japan, ...and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total: 50 million Full list Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total: 12 million Full list World War II... In 1977 the completion of the Shiva laser at LLNL ushered in a new field of big science; laser fusion. ... The Cold War was the protracted geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle that emerged after World War II between the global superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States, supported by their respective and emerging alliance partners. ...

The first US commercial nuclear power plant started operation in Illinois in 1956. At the time, the future for nuclear energy in the United States looked bright. But opponents criticized the safety of power plants and questioned whether safe disposal of nuclear waste could be assured. A 1979 accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania turned many Americans against nuclear power. The cost of building a nuclear power plant escalated, and other, more economical sources of power began to look more appealing. During the 1970s and 1980s, plans for several nuclear plants were cancelled, and the future of nuclear power remains in a state of uncertainty in the United States. A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors generating nuclear power. ... Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 25th 149,998 km² 340 km 629 km 4. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Warning signs, such as this one, can improve safety awareness. ... Political Punk band from Victorville, Ca WWW.MYSPACE.COM/NUCLEARWASTEX ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station consists of two nuclear reactors, each with its own containment building and cooling towers. ... Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 33rd 119,283 km² 255 km 455 km 2. ... A nuclear power station. ...

Meanwhile, American scientists have been experimenting with other renewable energy, including solar power. Although solar power generation is still not economical in much of the United States, recent developments might make it more affordable. Renewable energy (sources) or RES capture their energy from existing flows of energy, from on-going natural processes, such as sunshine, wind, flowing water, biological processes, and geothermal heat flows. ... Solar power describes a number of methods of harnessing energy from the light of the sun. ...

In 1994 Subhendu Guha, executive vice president of United Solar Systems in Troy, Michigan, was lecturing on the benefits of solar energy and showing a picture of solar cells arrayed on the roof of a house. An architect in the audience said, "But it's so ugly. Who would want that on their house?" That remark got Guha thinking about how to make the photovoltaics look more like the roof, instead of mounting the solar cells on frames that jut skyward. 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... Troy is a city located in Oakland County, Michigan. ... A solar cell is a semiconductor device that converts photons (light) into electricity. ... Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction. ... A solar cell, a form of photovoltaic cell, is a device that uses the photoelectric effect to generate electricity from light, thus generating solar power (energy). ...

Two years later, Guha's innovation came off the assembly line – solar shingles that can be nailed directly onto the roof. The shingles are made from stainless steel sheeting, coated with nine layers of silicon, a semiconducting film, and protective plastic. Roofers install the shingles just as they do normal ones, but they must drill a hole in the roof for electrical leads from each shingle. On average, one-third of a home's roof covered with solar shingles should provide enough power to meet all electrical needs when the sun is shining. Guha believes that his shingles will be economical in some parts of the United States and that they will be even more promising in Japan, where energy prices are high and the government subsidizes solar energy.

The "Space Age"

Running almost in tandem with the Atomic Age has been the Space Age. American Robert Goddard was one of the first scientists to experiment with rocket propulsion systems. In his small laboratory in Worcester, Massachusetts, Goddard worked with liquid oxygen and gasoline to propel rockets into the atmosphere, and in 1926 he successfully fired the world's first liquid-fuel rocket which reached a height of 12.5 meters. Over the next 10 years, Goddard's rockets achieved modest altitudes of nearly two kilometers, and interest in rocketry increased in the United States, Britain, Germany, and the Soviet Union. This article is in need of attention. ... Robert Goddard Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was one of the pioneers of modern rocketry. ... A Redstone rocket, part of the Mercury program A rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving exhaust gas from within a rocket engine. ... Nickname: The Heart of the Commonwealth, The City of the Seven Hills, Wormtown, Woo-town, Wortown (war-town), The City of Diners Motto: Official website: www. ... Liquid oxygen (also LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace industry) is the liquid form of oxygen. ... Gasoline (or petrol) is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting primarily of hydrocarbons, used as fuel in internal combustion engines. ... Layers of Atmosphere (NOAA) Earths atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earths gravity. ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The metre (Commonwealth English) or meter (American English) (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... A kilometer (Commonwealth spelling: kilometre), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1,000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). ... A rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving exhaust from within a rocket engine. ...

As Allied forces advanced during World War II, both the American and Russian forces searched for top German scientists who could be claimed as "spoils" for their country. In particular, the American effort to bring home German rocket technology in Operation Paperclip, and the bringing of German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun (who would later sit at the head of NASA) stand out in particular. Operation Paperclip scientists pose together. ... Wernher von Braun stands at his desk in the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama in May 1964, with models of rockets developed and in progress. ... NASA logo Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ...

Expendable rockets provided the means for launching artificial satellites, as well as manned spacecraft. In 1957 the Soviet Union launched the first satellite, Sputnik I, and the United States followed with Explorer I in 1958. The first manned space flights were made in the spring of 1961, first by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin and then by American astronaut Alan Shepard. A satellite is any object that orbits another object (which is known as its primary). ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite to be launched into orbit, on October 4, 1957. ... Explorer-I, officially known as Satellite 1958 Alpha, was the first United States Earth satellite and was sent aloft as part of the United States program for the International Geophysical Year 1957-1958. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (Russian: Юрий Алексеевич Гагарин; March 9, 1934 – March 27, 1968), was a Soviet cosmonaut who in 1961 became the first human to travel into space. ... Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. ...

From those first tentative steps, to the 1969 Apollo program landing on the Moon, to today's reusable Space Shuttle, the American space program has brought forth a breathtaking display of applied science. Communications satellites transmit computer data, telephone calls, and radio and television broadcasts. Weather satellites furnish the data necessary to provide early warnings of severe storms. 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... Description Role: Earth and Lunar Orbit Crew: 3; CDR, CM pilot, LM pilot Dimensions Height: 36. ... For other moons in the solar system see natural satellite. ... The Space Shuttle Columbia seconds after engine ignition, 1981 (NASA). ... U.S. military MILSTAR communications satellite A communications satellite (sometimes abbreviated to comsat) is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purposes of telecommunications. ... For the magazine by IEEE Computer Society, see Computer (magazine) A computer is a machine for manipulating data according to a list of instructions - a program. ... The telephone or phone (Greek: tele = far away and phone = voice) is a telecommunications device which is used to transmit and receive sound (most commonly voice and speech) across distance. ... A weather satellite is a type of artificial satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. ... A rolling thundercloud over Enschede, Netherlands Heavy storm brought by Typhoon Sanvu in Hong Kong. ...

Medicine and health care

As in physics and chemistry, Americans have dominated the Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine since World War II. The National Institutes of Health, the focal point for biomedical research in the United States, has played a key role in this achievement. Consisting of 24 separate institutes, the NIH occupies 75 buildings on more than 1.2 km² in Bethesda, Maryland. Physiology (in Greek physis = nature and logos = word) is the study of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of living organisms. ... Medicine is the branch of health science and the sector of public life concerned with maintaining human health or restoring it through the treatment of disease and injury. ... The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for medical research. ... Nickname: Motto: Official website: Location Location of Bethesda within Montgomery County, Maryland. ...

The goal of NIH research is knowledge that helps prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat disease and disability -- everything from the rarest genetic disorder to the common cold. At any given time, grants from the NIH support the research of about 35,000 principal investigators, working in every US state and several foreign countries. Among these grantees have been 91 Nobel Prize-winners. Five Nobelists have made their prize-winning discoveries in NIH laboratories. A disease is an abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person afflicted or those in contact with the person. ... The term disability, as it is applied to humans, refers to any condition that impedes the completion of daily tasks using traditional methods. ... For a villain character in Codename: Kids Next Door, see Common Cold (Codename: Kids Next Door) The acute nasopharyngitis, often known as the common cold is a mild viral infectious disease of the nose and throat; the upper respiratory system. ...

NIH research has helped make possible numerous medical achievements. For example, mortality from heart disease, the number-one killer in the United States, dropped 41 percent between 1971 and 1991. The death rate for strokes decreased by 59 percent during the same period. Between 1991 and 1995, the cancer death rate fell by nearly 3 percent, the first sustained decline since national record-keeping began in the 1930s. And today more than 70 percent of children who get cancer are cured. There are different forms of heart disease: Coronary heart disease Ischaemic heart disease Cardiovascular disease Pulmonary heart disease The study of the heart (and diseases of the heart) is Cardiology. ... A stroke or cerebrovascular accident (CVA) occurs when the blood supply to a part of the brain is suddenly interrupted. ... When normal cells are damaged beyond repair, they are eliminated by apoptosis. ...

With the help of the NIH, molecular genetics and genomics research have revolutionized biomedical science. In the 1980s and 1990s, researchers performed the first trial of gene therapy in humans and are now able to locate, identify, and describe the function of many genes in the human genome. Scientists predict that this new knowledge will lead to genetic tests for susceptibility to diseases such as colon, breast, and other cancers and to the eventual development of preventive drug treatments for persons in families known to be at risk. Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... Genomics is the study of an organisms genome and the use of the genes. ... Health science is the discipline of applied science which deals with human and animal health. ... Gene therapy using an Adenovirus vector. ... The human genome is the genome of Homo sapiens. ... Grays Fig. ... The term breast, also known by the Latin mamma in anatomy, refers to the upper ventral region of an animals torso, particularly that of mammals, including human beings. ...

Perhaps the most exciting scientific development under way in the United States is the NIH's Human Genome Project. This is an attempt to construct a genetic map of humans by analyzing the chemical composition of each of the 50,000 to 100,000 genes making up the human body. The project is expected to take 15 years to complete, at a cost of at least $3 billion. The Human Genome Project (HGP) endeavoured to map the human genome down to the nucleotide (or base pair) level and to identify all the genes present in it. ...

Research conducted by universities, hospitals, and corporations also contributes to improvement in diagnosis and treatment of disease. NIH funded the basic research on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), for example, but many of the drugs used to treat the disease have emerged from the laboratories of the American pharmaceutical industry; those drugs are being tested in research centers across the country. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (or acronym AIDS or Aids), is a collection of symptoms and infections resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). ... This is a list of pharmaceutical and biotech companies that are major manufacturers on global or national markets : Abbott Laboratories Able Laboratories Akzo Nobel Allergan Almirall Prodesfarma Alphapharm Altana (previously Byk Gulden) ALZA, part of Johnson & Johnson Amgen AstraZeneca, formed from the merger of Astra AB and Zeneca Group PLC...

One type of drug that has shown promise in treating the AIDS virus is the protease inhibitor. After several years of laboratory testing, protease inhibitors were first given to patients in the United States in 1994. One of the first tests (on a group of 20 volunteers) showed that not only did the drug make the amount of virus in the patients' blood almost disappear, but that their immune systems rebounded faster than anyone had thought possible. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) A bacteriophage virus A virus is a submicroscopic obligate parasitic particle that infects cells in biological organisms. ... Protease inhibitor can refer to: Protease inhibitor (pharmacology): a class of medication that inhibits viral protease Protease inhibitor (biology): a group of proteins that inhibit proteases. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... This group of political volunteers is working to promote voter turn-out. ... Human blood smear: a - erythrocytes; b - neutrophil; c - eosinophil; d - lymphocyte. ... The immune system is the system of specialized cells and organs that protect an organism from outside biological influences. ...

Doctors have combined protease inhibitors with other drugs in "combination therapy." While the results are encouraging, combination therapy is not a cure, and, so far, it works only in the blood; it does not reach into the other parts of the body -- the brain, lymph nodes, spinal fluid, and male testes -- where the virus hides. Scientists continue to experiment with combination therapy and other ways to treat the disease, while they search for the ultimate solution – a vaccine against it. In contemporary usage, the expression combination therapy most often refers to the simultaneous administration of two or more medications to treat a single disease, but the expression is also used when other types of therapy are used at the same time. ... Comparative brain sizes In animals, the brain, or encephalon (Greek for in the head), is the control center of the central nervous system. ... Lymph nodes are components of the lymphatic system. ... Human male anatomy The testicles, known medically as testes (singular testis), are the male generative glands in animals. ... A vaccine is an antigenic preparation used to produce active immunity to a disease, in order to prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by any natural or wild strain of the organism. ...

Emphasis on prevention

While the American medical community has been making strides in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, the American public also has become more aware of the relationship between disease and personal behavior. Since the US surgeon general first warned Americans about the dangers of smoking in 1964, the percentage of Americans who smoke has declined from almost 50 percent to approximately 25 percent. Smoking is no longer permitted in most public buildings or on trains, buses, and airplanes traveling within the United States, and most American restaurants are divided into areas where smoking is permitted and those where it is not. Studies have linked a significant drop in the rate of lung cancer to a nationwide decline in cigarette smoking. The Surgeon General of the United States is the leading spokesman on matters of public health in the Government of the United States. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ...

The federal government also encourages Americans to exercise regularly and to eat healthily, including large quantities of fruits and vegetables. More than 40 percent of Americans today exercise or play a sport as part of their regular routine. The per capita consumption of fruits and vegetables has increased by about 20 percent since 1970. Fruit stall in Barcelona, Catalonia. ... Vegetables in a market Vegie garden Venn diagram representing the relationship between fruits and vegetables For other uses, see Vegetable (disambiguation). ... (for options, see option exercise) U.S. marine emerges from the water upon completing the swimming portion of the triathlon. ...

Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Clinton administration, frequently speaks out in support of scientific research and preventive medicine. Addressing a conference of medical and public health professionals in 1996 she said: The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, concerned with The Secretary is a member of the Presidents Cabinet. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

We must continue to unlock the incremental mysteries in basic science that culminate in blockbuster discoveries over time. But, we must cast our net wider than that. It must encompass behavioral research, occupational research, health services and outcomes research, and environmental research -- all of which hold the potential to prevent disease – and help Americans live healthier lives.

Troubling signs

In recent years the formerly natural split between research and commercial activity has become increasingly blurry. Many purely theoretical advances have been funded at various industrial think tanks such as Xerox's PARC and AT&T's Bell Labs, with little or no interest in the possible commercial applications of the research being carried out. Research centers like these are increasingly seen as a thing of the past, as companies demand better return on their investment dollar. This article is about the institution. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) was a flagship research division of the Xerox Corporation, based in Palo Alto, California, USA, which essentially created the modern personal computer paper paradigm. ... AT&T Inc. ... Bell Telephone Laboratories Inc. ...

Meanwhile the laws governing the use of public funds, notably federal research grants, have increasingly allowed for commercial interests to immediately take the research and patent it. Changes to these laws have been demanded for some time, notably by the pharmaceutical industry, in order to get products into the marketplace faster. They argue that they will be providing the drug to the public anyway, so there is no reason to demand that those developments made with public funds shouldn't be commerciallized as soon as possible.

However this has also led to a number of abuses that are increasing the ire of the consumers. One case in particular, the development of AZT, deserves mention. AZT was originally developed using public funding in the 1960s as a treatment for cancer, during a time when it was thought that cancer was caused by a retrovirus. When its efficacy against AIDS was demonstrated in the 1980s, Glaxo-Wellcome immediately patented it, thereby generating huge profits for essentially zero money of their own. Genera Alpharetrovirus Betaretrovirus Gammaretrovirus Deltaretrovirus Epsilonretrovirus Lentivirus Spumavirus A Retrovirus is a virus which has a genome consisting of two RNA molecules, which may or may not be identical. ...

Meanwhile the patent process itself is seen as being increasingly abused. After years of complaints about what could and could not be patented, the United States Patent and Trademark Office relented and allowed mathematical formulas and computer programs to be patented. The result has been a rush of dubious patents that have strained the system, filling it with patents that many consider invalid. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO or USPTO) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that provides patent and trademark protection to inventors and businesses for their inventions and corporate and product identification. ...

These developments are seen by some as a troubling pattern, in which commercial interests are being given increasing power over the direction of basic research, and the applications that come out of that research. It is not entirely clear what the effects of these changes will be.

In February 2004, the Union of Concerned Scientists released a report titled "Scientific Integrity in Policymaking" that purported to document the Bush administration's repeated imposition of ideological beliefs on the scientific process. More than 60 leading scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates, contributed to the report. The Union of Concerned Scientists as defined on the UCS website: The Union of Concerned Scientists is a nonprofit partnership of scientists and citizens combining rigorous scientific analysis, innovative policy development, and effective citizen advocacy to achieve practical environmental solutions. ... Scientific Integrity in Policymaking: An Investigation into the Bush Administrations Misuse of Science is the title of a report published by the Union of Concerned Scientists in February, 2004. ...