For a long time, many important fields like science and invention were seen as mostly for men. But, that’s simply not true.
Society thought that women couldn’t make big discoveries and have always been expected to stay home, take care of the house, and look after children. But many women proved that idea wrong.
Today, we’ll celebrate the brilliant minds of five such women who dared to ask questions, dig deeper, and discover incredible things:
1. Radioactivity by Marie Curie
Marie Curie is one of the most famous scientists in history. She discovered radioactivity, which is the way some materials give off energy. Curie was fascinated by mysterious glowing rocks and spent years studying them. Through her research, she discovered a new type of radiation she called “radioactivity.” This discovery led to the development of X-rays, which are still used today by doctors to see broken bones inside our bodies. Not only that, but Curie’s work paved the way for cancer treatments using radiation. Her work was so important that she won two Nobel Prizes.
2. DNA’s Double Helix Structure by Rosalind Franklin
Rosalind Franklin was a brilliant scientist who made a significant discovery about DNA, the material inside our bodies that carries genetic information. She used a technique called X-ray crystallography to study DNA and took detailed images that showed the structure of DNA looks like a twisted ladder, also known as a double helix. Based on her work and the work of others, scientists James Watson and Francis Crick were able to propose the famous double helix model of DNA, the foundation of modern genetics. Her discovery has helped scientists learn more about genetics and how to treat diseases.
3. The first computer program by Ada Lovelace
Ada Lovelace was a mathematician who lived in the 1800s. She worked with a man named Charles Babbage, who designed a very early type of computer. Lovelace wrote the first computer program, which is a set of instructions that tells a computer what to do. She realized that computers could do more than just calculate numbers; they could also create music and art. Her ideas were far ahead of her time, and today she is known as the world’s first computer programmer.
4. The discovery of pulsars by Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Jocelyn Bell Burnell was an astrophysicist who discovered pulsars when she was a graduate student. Pulsars are stars that send out regular bursts of radio waves. Bell Burnell’s discovery was a huge breakthrough in understanding the universe. Her work showed that these objects could be used to test the laws of physics in ways that were not possible before. Even though her male supervisors received the Nobel Prize for the discovery, Bell Burnell is recognised as the true discoverer of pulsars.
5. The frequency-hopping spread spectrum by Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr was a famous actress in Hollywood, but she was also an inventor. During World War II, she co-invented a technology called frequency-hopping spread spectrum. This technology was designed to make radio signals harder to jam by enemies. It was not used at the time, but years later, it became the basis for many modern wireless communications, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Lamarr’s invention has had a huge impact on how we communicate today.
