Lord Kelvin
Pioneering physicist, engineer, and mathematician who shaped modern thermodynamics and electrical standards.
Chronology: 1825-06-26 – 1907-12-17
Origins & Early Life
William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (26 June 1824 – 17 December 1907) was a British mathematician, mathematical physicist and engineer. Born in Belfast, he was the professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow for 53 years. There he undertook significant research on the mathematical analysis of electricity, and was instrumental in the formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics. He contributed significantly to unifying physics, which was then in its infancy of development as an emerging academic discipline.
Pivotal Works & Achievements
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. 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. The Joule–Thomson effect is also named in his honour.
Enduring Legacy & Impact
Kelvin worked closely with the mathematics professor Hugh Blackburn in his work. He also had a career as an electrical telegraph engineer and inventor...
Source: Wikipedia