July 30^th is Vladimir Zworykin's birthday. Zworykin was a Russian born, American engineer who was a major contributor to the early development of television. He designed a method of transmitting pictures with sound electronically using a cathode ray tube called a kinescope. He also designed a camera system based on the same technology he called the Iconoscope. Much of the basic technology used in today's 'tube' television sets is based on Zworykin's work.

Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.

If you live in an area with fleas, you know how quickly they can get out of control. In addition to the host of products on the market for flea control, there are some safe and natural flea treatments you can try. One of these is to set a dish of water under a nightlight. Stir a few drops of detergent into the water to lower the surface tension of the water so that the fleas that are attracted to the light will land in the water and drown. This is a much less expensive (and sticky) method of trapping fleas than using glue traps, yet it is effective.

Do you have any natural flea treatments that work for you? If so, post a response! Better living through chemistry...

Natural Mosquito Repellents | My War Against Fire Ants

Sure, you can look at the National Hurricane Center to see if a tropical storm or hurricane is headed your way, but wouldn't you rather use chemistry to predict whether the storm will strike? Ok, maybe a storm glass isn't particularly reliable, but it's still a fun application of chemistry. Learn about solubility, precipitation, and phases of matter.
Make a Hurricane Glass | Cloud Seeding Hurricanes

July 29^th is NASA's birthday. In October of 1957, the Soviet Union greatly injured the pride of the United States by launching their first satellite, Sputnik into orbit. The United States had not given much priority to launching rockets into space. Much of their rocketry research was done by the military to develop ballistic missiles. Sputnik changed all that. Public opinion believed the Soviet Union was already technologically ahead of the U.S. and "something" had to be done. The "something" started when President Eisenhower signed an act to create the National Aeronautics and Space Agency. NASA would start operations on October 1, 1958 with 8,000 employees and an annual budget of $100 million. The Space Race was on.

NASA launched their first satellite in January 1958. In the next twenty years, they put men in space, landed men on the Moon, sent robotic probes to other planets and out of our solar system, created networks of satellites, built the Skylab space station and created a fleet of reusable Space Shuttles.

Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.