SUNDAY SCIENCE: Maria Goeppert-Mayer

We here at What Would FEMSHEP Do are not just pretty, we are also smart. And to steal a stolen line of Isaac Newton's, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulder of giants." There is no way a woman would be able to freely and openly study science in this day and age if not for the women who have gone before to blaze the trail and withstand the barrage of hostility.

Today, WWFSD honors Maria Goeppert-Mayer, born on this day in 1906. How familiar are you with atomic physics? Not very? Okay. Well. Maria Goeppert-Mayer was. She was the second female Nobel prize winner in history, after Marie Curie. I guess the name "Marie/Maria" was pretty fortuitous for intelligent women back then. Anyway. Goeppert-Mayer conceived the Nuclear Shell Model, a model of the atomic nucleus that explains the structure of the structure of the nucleus in terms of energy levels.

Translation, she's the one who helped diagram what a model of an atom looks like, with the nucleus at the center and electrons orbiting around it. Goeppert-Mayer was part of the team that helped discover that by adding or subtracting protons or nucleons from the nucleus of an atom, you can vary the energy output of that atom.

If this sounds like hypothetical nonsense with no bearing on actual human life, Wrong. If you ever think that about science, you're probably wrong, but I still love you. Goeppert-Mayer and her team paved the way for nuclear energy, which powered the ship I deployed on and countless other Naval vessels around the world. It also fuels spacecraft and further scientific discovery to this day. Also nuclear energy arguably ended World War Two.

So, on this beautiful Sunday, as you enjoy the comforts of modern life, take a second to think of Maria Goeppert-Mayer, and feel a little grateful that this old-timey badass made such great contributions to science.

And eyebrows.