He was an infant prodigy in mathematics, taught by his father until, by age 10, he entered the University of Glasgow in Guided by his father's interest in his education, Thomson studied at Cambridge University He then did postgraduate work in Paris with Henri-Victor Regnault , including study of science demonstration techniques. Throughout his education, Thomson demonstrated excellence and published scholarly papers on mathematics, the first when he was 16 'On the Figure of the Earth', When he became Professor of Natural Philosophy at Glasgow University in , at age 22, he held the position for half a century.
It was here h e would create the first physics laboratory at a British University. Also in , he estimated the age of the earth—based on creation at the temperature of the sun and the rate of cooling for a body of the size of the earth—to be around million years. He first defined the absolute temperature scale in , subsequently named after him, which was the first scale based on a completely general natural law.
He changed the view of heat as being a fluid to an understanding of the energy of motion of molecules. The names of these two scientists are linked with the famous Joule-Kelvin Effect which makes refrigerators work. Kelvin's name is also immortalized by the Kelvinator fridge.
He improved the design of the cables, even traveled on the ships supervising the laying of them. He studied the electrical losses in cables, and improved the mariner's work with the invention of an improved gyro-compass, new sounding equipment, and a tide prediction with chart-recording machine. When he graduated four years later, he received highest honors.
His interest in French mathematical and scientific methods then inspired him to travel to Paris, where he gained experience in the experimental side of physics by working in the laboratory of Henri-Victor Regnault.
When in the University of Glasgow needed to fill its chair of natural philosophy, Thomson received the appointment with the help of his father, despite being just 22 years old. He returned to Scotland from France and was content to remain associated with the University of Glasgow throughout his career, though he received offers from other academic institutes. While still a student at Cambridge, Thomson embarked on a comparative study of the distribution of electrostatic force and the distribution of heat through a solid that led him to conclude that the two are mathematically equivalent.
This work, published as "On the uniform motion of heat in homogeneous solid bodies, and its connection with the mathematical theory of electricity," was the foundation of his later work involving electric and magnetic fields. Faraday had many years before experimented with light and magnetism, but without observing any connection between the two.
By mid-September he had proven that magnetism and light are related, discovering what has come to be known as the Faraday effect. Similar to Faraday, Thomson seems to have been guided by the idea that there is unity among all types of matter and energy. Some of his more transformative and recognisable accomplishments include paving the way for the global communication highway with his work on planning the Trans-Atlantic telegraph cable, for which he was knighted in by Queen Victoria, becoming Sir William Thomson.
He is equally revered for other important inventions such as his sound machine and Kelvin compass, which greatly increased safety at sea and was adopted by navies around the world. His academic work was also highly valued, having published more than scientific papers during his lifetime and proposing an absolute scale of temperature, now known as the Kelvin Scale. Kelvin was a Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University for 53 years, from to , teaching over 7, students from all over the world.
He then went on to serve as Dean of Faculties from to , and then as Chancellor from to For his achievements in thermodynamics, Kelvin became the first scientist to be elevated to the peerage when he was ennobled in , becoming Baron Kelvin of Largs. He died at his home in Ayrshire and was buried in Westminster Abbey on 23 December The University of Glasgow uses cookies for analytics and advertising.
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