On the banknotes of many countries, there are always influential figures for that country or for the whole of humanity. Among them are many scientists.
Marie Curie (1867-1934) was a famous French-Polish physicist and chemist who, together with her husband, pioneered the discovery and classification of radioactive elements and jointly received the Nobel Prize in 1903. Marie Curie also won the prize. Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911 for research on radium.
The couple had the honor of being on the 500 franc note from 1995-2000. Marie Curie was also featured on the Polish 20,000 Zloty note from 1989-1995 in 2011.
Kristian Birkeland (1867-1917) has been on the Norwegian 200 Kroner bill since 1994. He is a pioneering scientist studying the Earth’s magnetic field and the aurora borealis phenomenon.
His model of the Earth’s magnetic field showed that high-energy electrons crashing directly into the Earth model were guided towards the magnetic poles and produced rings of light around the poles.
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) appeared on the Polish 1,000 Zloty note in the two periods 1962-1965 and 1975-1995.
He was the first modern scientist to propose a model of the solar system in which the sun is at the center, and the planets move in circular orbits around them.
His theory was contrary to the geocentric theory of the time, so he was executed before his work was published.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) appeared on the Israeli 5 pound note from 1972-1984. Einstein is often considered the greatest physicist of the 20th century with great theories such as special relativity and general relativity, quantum theory.
Leonhard Euler (1707-1783), Swiss mathematical physicist who appeared on the 10 Swiss franc note from 1979-2000.
Euler made many contributions to mathematical physics, especially to fluid theory used to study the operation of aircraft and to the theory of rotation of solids used to control satellites.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was a pioneer in the field of electricity.
He was the first to propose the conservation of electric charge. In the field of science, he is the epitome of the history of physics because of his discoveries and theories about electricity such as the discoveries of thunder.
He is on the 0 bill today. In 1976, he was also on the US 2 dollar bill.
Alessandro Volta (1745-1827) was an Italian physicist who appeared on the 10,000 lire note between 1985-2002. He is credited with inventing the electric battery. His name is given to the unit of electrical potential volt (symbol V).
Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855) appeared on the German 10 mark from 1991-2002.
He was a talented German mathematician and scientist. He made important discoveries in science such as number theory, calculus, differential geometry, magnetism, electrostatics, astronomy, and optics.
Gauss is known as the “prince of mathematicians” , famous for his math problems from 1 to 100 in elementary school.
Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) was an Italian scientist who won the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Marconi was the first successful radio transmitter developer, considered the father of radio. His image appeared on the 2,000-lire Italian note from 1990-2002.
Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937) has been on the New Zealand 0 bill since 1990.
Rutherford is a New Zealand genius physicist active in the fields of radioactivity and atomic structure.
He is considered the “father” of nuclear physics, discovering that atoms have a positive charge located in the nucleus. He is also a user of the ” planet atom ” model to explain the famous “gold foil experiment” .
Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) was a Serbian-American, best known for his contributions to the development of electrical and magnetic engineering technology.
His inventions and theoretical work are the basis for the development of current and 2-D electric motors today.
His name appeared on the Serbian 100-dinar note from 2006, the Yugoslavian note from 1970-1986, the 1,000-dinar note from 1990-1991, the 5-billion-dinar note in 1993 and the 10-billion-dinar note in 1993.
Isaac Newton (1642-1727) appeared on the £1 note from 1978-1988.
Newton is one of the greatest physicists in history. His work established the basis of a scientific style of research with important discoveries in the theory of motion, the nature of light, gravity, and many other theories.
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was an English naturalist. His image appeared on the £10 note in 2000. He was the one who discovered and proved that all species evolved over time from common ancestors through the process of natural selection.
He is the author of On the Origin of Species (1859) about the evolution and diversity of species in nature.
James Watt (1736-1819) was a famous Scottish inventor. His innovative steam engine was the foundation for the Industrial Revolution.
The unit of energy measurement watt (symbol W) is also named after him. James Watt’s image appeared on the £50 note in 2011.
William Thomson (1824-1907) was a Scottish mathematical physicist and engineer, awarded the title of Lord Kelvin by the British Royal Family.
His name Kelvin is also given to the absolute scale (degrees K). His image has appeared on the £100 note issued by Clydesdale Bank since 1998.
Hans Christian Ørsted (1777-1851) was a Danish physicist and chemist. He is best known for discovering the relationship between electricity and magnetism, or electromagnetism.
His image appeared on the 100-krone Danish note from 1962-1974.