Since the history of physics has been largely ignored in the text, we present the following chronology of biological, chemical and physical developments which are relevent to the material we have covered. Most entries reflect the first discovery or correct understanding of a phenomenon or principle.
Islamic science flourished during the period from 800 to 1300 AD (or CE, "Common Era"), and there are many instances where a discovery was made by an Islamic scholar, which was then "rediscovered" by a "western" scholar some years (or centuries!) later. While a number of Islamic scholars are mentioned below in conjunction with material of interest to us, much more information is available at Muslim Scientists and Scholars and Muslim Scientists and Islamic Civilization. Note that the names of Islamic scholars were often Latinized in later references in western science; these names are found in parentheses below. Many of the dates are approximate (interpolated from dates of birth and death).
If you have stumbled on this page, and the equations look funny (or you just want to know where you are!), see the College Physics for Students of Biology and Chemistry home page.
©1996, Kenneth R. Koehler. All Rights Reserved. This document may be freely reproduced provided that this copyright notice is included.
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