Daniel Bernoulli and His Contributions

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In 1700's, one of the most brilliant minds of physics, mathematics and medicine was born. Daniel Bernoulli was born into the family of the leading mathematician Johann Bernoulli on February 8, 1700. Since the beginning, Daniel Bernoulli was surrounded by mathematics and great talent from his father and his brother—also his archenemy—Jacob Bernoulli. Albeit, one would think his father would have given him plenty of support for being a mathematician, he didn't. Johann Bernoulli forced his son to study medicine for he believed that being a mathematician brought no good fortune; nevertheless, Daniel Bernoulli beat all odds. After convincing his father to give him a few lessons in mathematics, he became one of the greatest physicists of the century; publishing many discoveries.
During his tenure of medical studies, Daniel became interested in the work of William Harvey, On the Movement of Heat and Blood in Animals. Harvey suggested that the heart was like a pump that forced blood like fluid through the arteries. This findings marked the beginnings of Daniel's interest in fluid dynamics (Miller, 2011).
In 1720, he traveled to Venice to study medicine but ended up working in mathematics. After winning the annual contest at the Paris academy for an hourglass that would continue to give the exact hour even under constant movement, Bernoulli was invited to Saint Petersburg by Catherine I of Russia. According to Allali and Bui, the next few years in Russia would be his most prosperous and productive. For instance, he worked with Leonhard Euler and helped him discover the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. The theory was a simplified version of the linear theory of elasticity. It provided the means to calculate the load carrying and deflect...

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...ydrodynamica developed on theories of watermills, windmills, water pumps and propellers and distinguished between hydrostatic and hydrodynamic pressure, or pressure when fluid is static and when it is moving.
Daniel Bernoulli might have had a rough dad compared to the rest of us. Johann Bernoulli banned his son from his household after he won the same prize as he did for the Paris Academy of Sciences Contest and followed by plagiarizing his work Hydrodynamica with Hydraulica. Daniel's family context was horrendous; nevertheless, it didn't stop Daniel Bernoulli from becoming a sublime scientist. His discoveries on the Bernoulli principle became the general principle of hydrodynamics and is of principle importance to modern aeronautics. One is grateful for the time shortened by Daniel; for at that time, six months was the time to get from one continent to the other.

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