Introduction:
A towering figure in 19th-century physics and engineering, William Thomson—known as Lord Kelvin—made significant contributions that changed the field and set the stage for later breakthroughs. Born in Belfast, Ireland, on June 26, 1824, Thomson’s brilliant mind and creative ideas helped him rise to prominence as one of the most important scientists of his day.
Lord Kelvin:
Lord Kelvin was exalted in 1892, and we now honour him by naming the absolute temperature scale after him. Kelvin was a brilliant Mathematical Physicist from Belfast but went on to Cambridge and contributed to the 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics. George Gabriel Stokes succeeded him as the president of the Royal Society. The Kelvin, Navier-Stokes, was studied during my PhD thesis. Navier was a renowned engineer from France, and his name appears on the Eiffel Tower as one of the 72 French giants. I was lucky enough to visit the tower and observe it in 2009. Other greats on the observatory include J. Fourier (1768-1830), whose work Kelvin was a great admirer of and a topic I am fortunate to teach at UCL.
The Caloric Theory Heat:
Kelvin disproved the caloric theory of heat. A post on the development of the periodic table by “Giants” such as Dmitri Mendeleev (1834-1907) will have to wait for another day. The father of analytical chemistry, Antoine Lavoisier, introduced caloric to Science. Sadly, Antoine was beheaded during the French Revolution in 1794, and shortly after, my close friend Lagrange (1736–1813), whose role as a Lagrangian I also have the honour to discuss at UCL, lamented with these immortal words:
“It took them only an instant to cut off that head, and a hundred years may not produce another like it.”
Postulates:
Returning to Kelvin, he was not without his mistakes in predicting the age of our sun to be somewhere between 29 and 100 million years. Thanks to Herzberg and Russell’s work, Kelvin helped Science move past the aether concept. Giants seated on top of Giants atop Giants. A grand image emerges of the beauty of Science and Mathematics when looked at like this.
Spirit of Euclid:
Kelvin spoke to Michelson-Morley before their Nobel-winning experiment, which led to Einstein’s theory of relativity with the constant speed of light as a postulate. Euclid’s 13 books of the Elements provide a foundational method based on hypotheses. Newton was influenced by this work when he wrote the Principia, which experts described as being in the “spirit of Euclid.” Lord Kelvin’s contributions have laid the foundation for modern engineering and physics.
Conclusion:
Lord Kelvin’s contributions have laid the foundation for modern engineering and physics. In the rapidly industrialising 19th century, his work significantly impacted Science’s practical applications and advanced theoretical understanding. William Thomson left a lasting legacy now reflected in the ideas and innovations that form the basis of many modern science and technology aspects.
