Whether a scientist or not, this article is an exclusive on Lord Kelvin (William Thomson), an eminent physicist with a wide range of interests and enthusiasms.
◾Devising the absolute temperature scale, now called the 'Kelvin scale'
◾Formulating the second law of thermodynamics
◾Working to install telegraph cables under the Atlantic
William Thomson was born at 21-25 College Square East in Belfast in 1824. This location was later home to the first cinema in Belfast – 'the Kelvin'.
Lord Kelvin's father became Professor of Mathematics at Glasgow University. Kelvin attended university classes from the age of 10. He wrote his first scientific paper, under the pseudonym 'PQR', aged only 16.
In his teens he learned French well enough to read the work of eminent French mathematician Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier. Philip Kelland, Professor of Mathem
atics at Edinburgh University, had criticised Fourier's work on the theory of heat. Kelvin boldly stated that Kelland was wrong – and later scientists agreed with him. From 1841 to 1845 Kelvin attended Cambridge University. He was an excellent student – although he shocked his father by spending his allowance on a boat.
After graduating, Kelvin worked in a Paris laboratory with physics professor Victor Regnault. Kelvin was influenced by the mathematical ideas of George Green, a self-taught miller's son from Nottingham. He later brought an essay of Green's to the attention of fellow mathematicians and physicists by republishing it in a respected scientific journal. Until then the essay on mathematical analysis, electricity and magnetism had gone largely unnoticed. In 1846, aged only 22, Kelvin returned to Glasgow University to become Professor of Natural Philosophy. He remained in this post for 53 years. Keen to see students involved in practical experiment, he established what became the first university physics laboratory.
Kelvin continued to study the nature of heat. He realised that it would be useful to be able to define extremely low temperatures precisely. In 1848, he proposed an absolute temperature scale, now called 'the Kelvin scale'.
After further research, Kelvin formulated the second law of thermodynamics. This states that heat will not flow from a colder to a hotter body.
His interest in the transmission of electricity prompted Kelvin's appointment as Director of the Atlantic Telegraph Company in 1856.
The company was to install a telegraph cable under the Atlantic Ocean. Atlantic Cable Expeditions in 1857, 1858 and 1865 failed, but communication by cable finally succeeded in 1866. Kelvin received a knighthood for his efforts in this project. He was ennobled in 1892 in recognition of his achievements in thermodynamics, and of his opposition to
Irish Home Rule, becoming Baron Kelvin, of Largs in the County of Ayr. He was the first British scientist to be elevated to the
House of Lords. The title refers to the
River Kelvin, which flows close by his laboratory at the
University of Glasgow.
From 1870 onwards, Kelvin spent many summers on his yacht 'Lalla Rookh', and invented several marine instruments to improve navigation and safety.
He introduced a mariner's compass more accurate than any other in existence, and a machine to predict tide levels worldwide.
He became an International celebrity. In 1884 Kelvin travelled to the United States to give a series of lectures. These were enthusiastically received, and were published in 1904 as the 'Baltimore Lectures'. Kelvin became a Lord in 1892 and took the name Kelvin because of his Glasgow connections. By the time of his death in 1907, he was an internatio
nal celebrity, widely respected and honoured.
Thomson published more than 600 papers. He was elected to the
Royal Society in 1851, received its Royal Medal in 1856, received its Copley Medal in 1883 and served as its president from 1890 to 1895. In addition to his activities with the
Royal Society, as one would expect of such an eminent Scottish professor, he served the Royal Society of Edinburgh over many years. He served three terms as president of this Society, first from 1873 to 1878, for the second time from 1886 to 1890, and for the third time from 1895 until his death in 1907. Thomson served as president of yet a third society when he was elected as president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1871.
They gained the mechanical skills essential for their success by working for years in their shop with printing presses, bicycles, motors, and other machinery. Their work with bicycles in particular influenced their belief that an unstable vehicle like a flying machine could be controlled and balanced with practice. From 1900 until their first powered flights in late 1903, they conducted extensive glider tests that also developed their skills as pilots. Their bicycle shop employee Charlie Taylor became an important part of the team, building their first airplane engine in close collaboration with the brothers.
