Faculty of Arts & Science
Physics & Astronomy

Who was the first Nobel Prize Winner in physics?
Wilhelm Roentgen (1845 - 1923) in 1901 for the discovery of X-rays. 

Who was Madame Marie Curie and what were her contributions to science?
Madame Curie won the Nobel Prize not once, but twice. http://almaz.com/nobel/women.html
For information about her, check out Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie
Also check information on AIP on Madame Curie: http://www.aip.org/history/curie/

How many times did Albert Einstein win a Nobel Prize for physics?
Once. He received a Nobel Prize in 1921 for his contributions to theoretical physics and, in particular, his explanation of the photoelectric effect. 

What is the International System (S.I.) units for time?
In 1967, the time standard was (re)defined in terms of the transition of the cesium-113 atom between its two lowest energy states. The "second" is the time required for 9,192,631,770 oscillations of this radiation. The cesium "atomic clock" is accurate to (give or take) one second in 300,000 years! 

The metric system uses the metre as its base. What is a meter?
A metre is defined precisely as 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of orange-red light emitted by the kryptons-86 atom OR one-ten-millionth the length of the longitude from the north pole to the equator.