The Physics Gala

     The Physics Gala is a gathering of famous scientists and engineers from all different times. They eat and laugh and discuss physics and how their work has affected the world of science. Having been part of the physics gala just about an hour ago, I knew what I was getting into when I went to ask people about their characters.
     The first person I interviewed was Marie Curie. She born in Warsaw, Poland in 1867 and eventually moved to Paris, France. She was the famous scientist who discovered radium and radiation along with her husband. She told me, "Radiation is the name given to energy in particles emitted from unstable nuclei or particles." Her daughter, Irene, was also in the same field of science. Sadly, Curie died in 1934 due to radiation exposure.
     The next scientist I interviewed was Carl Sagan. Sagan was born on November 9th, 1934 in Brooklyn, New York. He was an astronomer who searched for extraterrestrial beings (or aliens) in space. He believed that "the universe is unknown and unlimited" and he was the only scientist to ever send out a physical message that can be understood by all and any aliens. Sagan died on December 20, 1996 in the nearby city of Seattle, Washington.

     The last person I interviewed was Sally Ride (portrayed on the left of the last picture). (I had played her in my first period physics class just earlier.) She was born May 26, 1951 in Los Angeles, California and grew up and went to school there for most of her life. She became the first American woman to go to space and the youngest as well. In 2001, she co-founded Sally Ride Science to "inspire and encourage young women to pursue mathematics and science". Ride died from pancreatic cancer in San Diego, CA on July 23, 2012.