William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (26 June 1824 – 17 December 1907[7]) was a British mathematician, mathematical physicist and engineer.[8][9] Born in Belfast, he was the professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow for 53 years, where he undertook significant research and mathematical analysis of electricity, was instrumental in the formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics,[10][11] and contributed significantly to unifying physics, which was then in its infancy of development as an emerging academic discipline. He received the Royal Society's Copley Medal in 1883 and served as its president from 1890 to 1895. In 1892, he became the first scientist to be elevated to the House of Lords.[12]
Absolute temperatures are stated in units of kelvin in Lord Kelvin's honour. While the existence of a coldest possible temperature, absolute zero, was known before his work, Kelvin determined its correct value as approximately −273.15 degrees Celsius or −459.67 degrees Fahrenheit.[13] The Joule–Thomson effect is also named in his honour.
Kelvin worked closely with mathematics professor Hugh Blackburn in his work. He also had a career as an electrical telegraph engineer and inventor which propelled him into the public eye and earned him wealth, fame, and honours. For his work on the transatlantic telegraph project, he was knighted in 1866 by Queen Victoria, becoming Sir William Thomson. He had extensive maritime interests and worked on the mariner's compass, which previously had limited reliability.
Kelvin was ennobled in 1892 in recognition of his achievements in thermodynamics, and of his opposition to Irish Home Rule,[14][15][16] becoming Baron Kelvin, of Largs in the County of Ayr. The title refers to the River Kelvin, which flows near his laboratory at the University of Glasgow's Gilmorehill home at Hillhead. Despite offers of elevated posts from several world-renowned universities, Kelvin refused to leave Glasgow, remaining until his retirement from that post in 1899.[7] Active in industrial research and development, he was recruited around 1899 by George Eastman to serve as vice-chairman of the board of the British company Kodak Limited, affiliated with Eastman Kodak.[17] In 1904 he became chancellor of the University of Glasgow.[7]
Kelvin resided in Netherhall, a redstone mansion in Largs, which he built in the 1870s and where he died in 1907. The Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow has a permanent exhibition on the work of Kelvin, which includes many of his original papers, instruments, and other artefacts, including his smoking pipe.
- ^ Grabiner, Judy (2002). "Creators of Mathematics: The Irish Connection (book review)" (PDF). Irish Math. Soc. Bull. 48: 67. doi:10.33232/BIMS.0048.65.68. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- ^ Sharlin, Harold I. (2019). "William Thomson, Baron Kelvin". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- ^ "Significant Scots. William Thomson (Lord Kelvin)". Electric Scotland. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ "William Thomson, Lord Kelvin. Scientist, Mathematician and Engineer". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
His first wife was Margaret Crum and he married secondly Frances Blandy but had no children.
- ^ Ranford, Paul (September 2019). John William Strutt-- the 3rd Baron Rayleigh (1842–1919): Recently studied correspondence. p. 25.
- ^ Thomson, William (1849). "An Account of Carnot's Theory of the Motive Power of Heat; with Numerical Results deduced from Regnault's Experiments on Steam". Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 16 (5): 541–574. doi:10.1017/s0080456800022481. S2CID 120335729.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "You are being redirected..." www.dib.ie. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ Multiple sources:
- Martin, Elizabeth, ed. (2009), "Kelvin, Sir William Thomson, Lord", The New Oxford Dictionary for Scientific Writers and Editors (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199545155.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-954515-5,
British theoretical and experimental physicist
- Knowles, Elizabeth, ed. (2014), Lord Kelvin Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (8th ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199668700.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-966870-0,
Lord Kelvin 1824–1907 British physicist and natural philosopher
- Clapham, Christopher; Nicholson, James, eds. (2014), "Kelvin, Lord", The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics (5th ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199679591.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-967959-1,
Kelvin, Lord (1824–1907) The British mathematician, physicist and engineer
- Schaschke, Carl, ed. (2014), "Kelvin, Lord", A Dictionary of Chemical Engineering, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199651450.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-965145-0,
A Belfast-born Scottish scientist
- Ridpath, Ian, ed. (2018), "Kelvin, Lord", A Dictionary of Astronomy (3rd ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780191851193.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-185119-3,
Kelvin, Lord (William Thomson) (1824–1907) Scottish physicist
- Ratcliffe, Susan, ed. (2018). Lord Kelvin Oxford Essential Quotations (6th ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780191866692.001.0001.
Lord Kelvin 1824–1907 British scientist
- Rennie, Richard; Law, Jonathan, eds. (2019), "Kelvin, Lord", A Dictionary of Physics (8th ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780198821472.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-882147-2,
Kelvin, Lord (William Thomson; 1824–1907) British physicist
- Law, Jonathan; Rennie, Richard, eds. (2020), "Kelvin, Lord", A Dictionary of Chemistry (8th ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780198841227.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-884122-7,
Kelvin, Lord (William Thomson; 1824–1907) British physicist, born in Belfast
- Martin, Elizabeth, ed. (2009), "Kelvin, Sir William Thomson, Lord", The New Oxford Dictionary for Scientific Writers and Editors (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199545155.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-954515-5,
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, The Second Law of Thermodynamics". BBC. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ^ "Thermodynamics - Entropy, Heat, Energy". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ^ "Thomson, William, Baron Kelvin". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/36507. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "Kelvin: History". National Institute of Standards and Technology. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ^ Flood, Raymond; McCartney, Mark; Whitaker, Andrew (28 April 2009). "Kelvin and Ireland". Journal of Physics: Conference Series. 158: 011001. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/158/1/011001. S2CID 250690809.
- ^ Randall, Lisa (2005). Warped Passages. New York: HarperCollins. p. 162. ISBN 0-06-053109-6.
- ^ Hutchison, Iain (2009). "Lord Kelvin and Liberal Unionism". Journal of Physics: Conference Series. 158 (1). IOP Publishing: 012004. Bibcode:2009JPhCS.158a2004H. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/158/1/012004. S2CID 250693895.
- ^ Trainer, Matthew (2008). "Lord Kelvin, Recipient of The John Fritz Medal in 1905". Physics in Perspective. 10: 212–223. doi:10.1007/s00016-007-0344-4. S2CID 124435108.