Science Milestones

This Week in Science History

Milestones in science, mathematics, and technology for the week of May 12th-May 18th

(Hybrid AI composite image by Author)

“Everything is theoretically impossible until it is done. One could write a history of science in reverse by assembling the solemn pronouncements of highest authority about what could not be done and could never happen.”
— Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988)

Welcome to our new series “Science Milestones.” Here, we are highlighting some of the extraordinary people and transformative accomplishments in science, mathematics, and technology over the centuries.

What Happened This Week in History

May 12

• 1805: Irish mathematician, physicist, and astronomer is born. Hamilton is known for his foundational work in classical mechanics. His formulation of Hamiltonian mechanics had a profound influence in the fields of both physics and mathematics. In 1843, he invented quaternions, which expanded the concept of complex numbers into four dimensions. By facilitating rotations on three dimensions, quaternions have found application in computer graphics, computer vision, robotics, magnetic resonance imaging, and crystallographic texture…