One of the skills we had to learn, when
studying for a Master's certificate, was how to correct the magnetic compass and
Kelvins "balls" or spheres as they were called played an important part in this
process together with Flinder's bar and rod magnets.
Visit
this link to see a picture of Kelvin's "balls" on a magnetic compass.
The blue plaque reads:
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English Heritage
Lord Kelvin
1824 - 1907
Physicist and
Inventor
lived here
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The Scottish Science Hall of Fame website (visit
link) tells us:
"Lord Kelvin (William Thomson) was an
eminent physicist with a wide range of interests and enthusiasms.
Best remembered for his talent for theoretical mathematics, he also had a
practical ability for solving problems. Thanks to his persistence and ingenuity,
the first telegraph cable was successfully installed under the Atlantic Ocean.
Early life and education
William Thomson was born at 21-25 College Square East in Belfast in 1824. This
location was later home to the first cinema in Belfast – 'the Kelvin'.
Lord Kelvin's father became Professor of Mathematics at Glasgow University.
Kelvin attended university classes from the age of 10. He wrote his first
scientific paper, under the pseudonym 'PQR', aged only 16.
In his teens he learned French well enough to read the work of eminent French
mathematician Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier. Philip Kelland, Professor of
Mathematics at Edinburgh University, had criticised Fourier's work on the theory
of heat. Kelvin boldly stated that Kelland was wrong – and later scientists
agreed with him.
From 1841 to 1845 Kelvin attended Cambridge University. He was an excellent
student – although he shocked his father by spending his allowance on a boat.
Professorship at Glasgow University
After graduating, Kelvin worked in a Paris laboratory with physics professor
Victor Regnault.
Kelvin was influenced by the mathematical ideas of George Green, a self-taught
miller's son from Nottingham.
He later brought an essay of Green's to the attention of fellow mathematicians
and physicists by republishing it in a respected scientific journal. Until then
the essay on mathematical analysis, electricity and magnetism had gone largely
unnoticed.
In 1846, aged only 22, Kelvin returned to Glasgow to become Professor of Natural
Philosophy. He remained in this post for 53 years. Keen to see students involved
in practical experiment, he established what became the first university physics
laboratory.
Kelvin scale and thermodynamics
Kelvin continued to study the nature of heat. He realised that it would be
useful to be able to define extremely low temperatures precisely. In 1848, he
proposed an absolute temperature scale, now called 'the Kelvin scale'.
After further research, Kelvin formulated the second law of thermodynamics. This
states that heat will not flow from a colder to a hotter body.
Atlantic telegraph
His interest in the transmission of electricity prompted Kelvin's appointment as
Director of the Atlantic Telegraph Company in 1856.
The company was to install a telegraph cable under the Atlantic Ocean. Atlantic
Cable Expeditions in 1857, 1858 and 1865 failed, but communication by cable
finally succeeded in 1866.
Kelvin received a knighthood for his efforts in this project.
Kelvin at sea
From 1870 onwards, Kelvin spent many summers on his yacht 'Lalla Rookh', and
invented several marine instruments to improve navigation and safety.
He introduced a mariner's compass more accurate than any other in existence, and
a machine to predict tide levels worldwide.
International celebrity
In 1884 Kelvin travelled to the United States to give a series of lectures.
These were enthusiastically received, and were published in 1904 as the
'Baltimore Lectures'.
Kelvin became a Lord in 1892 and took the name Kelvin because of his Glasgow
connections. By the time of his death in 1907, he was an international
celebrity, widely respected and honoured."
Another anecdote from my nautical stories!
A friend of mine was a third mate with Union
Castle that, as part of it duties, used to carry mail and passengers to South
Africa. One of his duties was to take the passengers for a tour of parts of the
ship that they would not normally see as they were off-limits. He always used to
end his tour on the monkey island. That was the deck above the wheelhouse where
the magnetic compass was located. He would gather the passengers around the
magnetic compass and explain to them its purpose. His grand finale was to place
a hand on each of Kelvin's "balls" and, with a straight face, say 'Ladies and
gentlemen, this is why it is called a mail (male) ship'. The men used to get the
innuendo but the ladies always thought they had learned something new".