Lord Kelvin example essay topic

William Thomson born on June 26, 1824 and died December 17, 1907. Born in Belfast, Ireland, this British physicist began the papers on the laws of conservation and dissipation of energy. He published 661 papers on scientific subjects during his life and patented 70 inventions. He was educated at the University of Glasgow and Cambridge University at the age of 10 and had his first papers published at the ages of 16 and 17. These papers contained an argument defending the work of Fourier (Fourier transforms), which at that time was being heavily criticized by British scientists. He showed that Fourier's mathematics could be applied to other physical phenomena other than that of heat flow, where it was originally applied.

At the age of fifteen, Kelvin wrote an essay which he called "An Essay on the Figure of Earth". Kelvin used this essay as a source and inspiration for ideas all of his life and won an award from the University. After eleven years of college, he graduated with a B. A honors degree at 21. At the age of only 22 Kelvin was elected to professor of physics as a result of a very well organized campaign, run by his father, who was still a professor of mathematics. Kelvin remained at the University of Glasgow for the rest of his working life. He was a practical man, and on occasion during lectures on the conservation of momentum he would give a demonstration of this to his students.

At one end of the lecture room he would suspend a large block of wood like a pendulum and at the other he would have a gun. By firing the gun at the block of wood the bullet would become embedded in an unrealistic collision passing momentum to the combined block of wood and bullet. By measuring the amplitude of the oscillation, the momentum and speed of the bullet could be calculated. Needless to say, this experiment was eventually stopped for safety reasons, though no one was ever injured. Lord Kelvin was in charge of laying the first successful transatlantic cable in 1866. He invented the Kelvin temperature scale in 1851, which is also defined as the absolute temperature scale.

Kelvin's work with temperature and pressure systems, led to the theory that energy cannot be destroyed, only passed from one form to another. Kelvin's work with Carnet's cycle led to the second law of thermodynamics. This law explains that heat cannot spontaneously pass from one object to another without some form of energy being transformed or lost. How he fond this out, was a result of his curiosity. His assumption was that the sun produced its radiant energy from the gravitational potential of matter falling into the sun, including meteorites and even planets. In collaboration with Hermann von Helmholtz, a dutch scientist, he calculated and published in 1853 a value of 50 million years.

What he did not know at the time was the effect of the- as-yet-undiscovered radioactivity. He also made enquiries into the age of the earth, calculating a maximum of 400 million years. These calculations were based on the rate of cooling of a globe of matter after first solidification occurs i.e. after the earth was first formed. Basing his ideas on these conclusions, he became an opponent of Darwin's theory of evolution. Both of these accomplishments leaned toward a better understanding of our universe, from how an automobile engine works, to the dynamics of a thunderstorm, to how Earth obtains heat from the sun.

He also theorized electro-magnetic light, the geo-physical determinance of the earth's age, and did fundamental work in hydro dynamics. William Thomson was Knighted in 1892 as Lord Kelvin, by Queen Victoria for his work on the electrical engine. In 1889 he retired from the university after having been professor there for 53 years. In the year 1890 he became the president of the Royal Society and held that position until 1895. He was created Baron Kelvin of Largs in 1892 and in 1902 received the Order of Merit. Finally, after a long, progressive life, Lord Baron Kelvin of Largs died on Dec. 17 1907, and is buried at Westminster abbey, London.