Scientist of the day - Alan Turing

Computers would probably have been non-existent if it wasn't for famous British mathematician, Alan Turing. Having been a child prodigy, he went on to pursue his PhD from the 'Princeton University'. Soon, he became an important member of a group of code-breakers in the 'Government Code and Cypher School' ('GC&CS') in Bletchley Park. He was given the daunting task of deciphering the ever-changing German codes sent through the ingenious machine, 'Enigma'. Alan proved the almost impossible task, possible with his 'bombe' device, which used a technique called 'Banburismus'. Eventually this mathematician and his team of code-breakers were successful in defeating the 'Enigma'. However, two code-breakers from his team were found out to be Soviet spies, and thus the work was declared highly confidential. For a long time, no records of Turing's work were available, and the 'Official Secrets Act' prohibited him from talking about his work to anyone. His homosexuality caused him to be convicted, though the British government has apologized posthumously in recent times. His works and life has recently been popularized by the ‘Academy Award’ winning movie, ‘The Imitation Game’, released in 2014. Read on and explore the life and works of this brilliant mathematician and code-breaker. 

Childhood & Early Life

Alan Mathison Turing was born to Julius Mathison and Ethel Sara on June 23, 1912, in Paddington, London. Julius was employed with the 'Indian Civil Service', and with his wife, he had another son, John.

Major Works

This scientist is known for having pioneered the concept of modern-day computers, by introducing the idea of a ‘Turing Machine’, which is simple, and yet capable of solving any form of algorithms that can be measured and quantified.

Awards & Achievements

• Alan was awarded the 'Smith's Prize' in 1939, by the 'University of Cambridge', for his exceptional contribution in the field of applied mathematics.
• In 1945, this great mathematician was honoured by King George VI, with the 'Most Excellent Order of the British Empire', for his services during the World War II.

   

  Trivia

  This famous British mathematician was also a fast long-distance runner, who appeared for the 'British Olympic' try-outs in 1948. He lost out to famous runner Thomas Richards, falling short by a meagre 11 minutes.

Scientist of the day - Hermann Minkowski

Hermann Minkowski was a renowned German mathematician. His contribution to the development of modern mathematics is immense. The development of the theory on the geometry of numbers is his well known work. He utilized this theory very skilfully in solving problems of number theory, mathematical physics and the theory of relativity. This geometric method helped him to understand the theory of continued fractions and to generalize it into an algorithm. Personalities like Albert Einstein were his student. Minkowski’s theory of four-dimensional space-time which is better known as “Minkowski space”, aims to prove that the special theory of relativity that Albert Einstein presented algebraically, can be understood geometrically also. He discussed about this theory through his book “Space and Time”. The works of Einstein and Minkowski establish the fact that space and time are closely interlinked. This theory of four-dimensional space-time later provided an inspiration for Einstein’s work on general relativity. In this context, it will not be out of place to mention that Hendrik Lorentz’s analysis of transformations of space and time was the inspiration of his idea of the unity of space and time. Besides pursuing his mathematical research, he taught mathematics at several prestigious universities such as University of Bonn, Konigsberg University and the University of Gottingen. 

Childhood & Early Life

Hermann Minkowski was born in Aleksotas, Kingdom of Poland on 22 June 1864 AD , as the son of Polish Jews parents Rachel and Lewin Minkowski. His father was a businessman.

Major Works

In 1896, he propounded his theory on geometry of numbers. This theory is applicable in functional analysis and Diophantine approximation. Through geometrical theory, he solved problems in number theory.

Awards & Achievements

In 1883, the French Academy of Sciences conferred him the Mathematics Prize for his manuscript on the theory of quadratic forms. Quadratic forms have wide usage in different branches of mathematics like linear algebra and number theories.

Personal Life & Legacy

• He got married to Auguste Adler in 1897. They had two daughters namely Lily and Ruth.
• He died unexpectedly of appendicitis at the age of 44 in Gottingen. To honour his contribution, the asteroid ‘12493 Minkowski’ and ‘M-matrices’ are named after him.
• After his death, renowned physicists like Max von Laue and Arnold Sommerfeld extended his idea of space and time. In 1911, Lau published a textbook on the special theory of relativity and it was the first textbook that used the formulation of Minowski.