William Thomson

PHYSICIST NAME: William Thomson
STUDENT NAME: Angela Mari Peralta

BIOGRAPHY

William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (or Lord Kelvin)
(26 June 1824 – 17 December 1907)

- mathematical physicist and engineer.
- born in Belfast, who became professor of natural philosophy at Glasgow University in 1846.
- He was the originator of the absolute scale of temperature and was one of the founders of thermodynamics.
- He carried out important experimental work on electromagnetism, inventing the mirror galvanometer and contributing to the development of telegraphy.
- He also worked with James {Joule} on the {Joule-Thomson} (or Joule-Kelvin) effect. His main theoretical work was in {thermodynamics}, in which he stressed the importance of the conservation of energy.
- He also introduced the concept of absolute zero and the Kelvin temperature scale based on it; the unit of thermodynamic temperature is named after him. In 1896 he was created Baron Kelvin of Largs.
- He also had a career as an electric telegraph engineer and inventor, which propelled him into the public eye and ensured his wealth, fame and honour.
- He is widely known for developing the basis of absolute zero, and for this reason a unit of temperature measure is named after him. On his ennoblement in honour of his achievements in thermodynamics, and of his opposition to Irish Home Rule, he adopted the title Baron Kelvinof Largs and is therefore often described as Lord Kelvin.
- He was the first UK scientist to be elevated to the House of Lords.
- Thomson became scientific adviser to a team with Whitehouse as chief electrician and Sir Charles Tilston Bright as chief engineer but Whitehouse had his way with the specification, supported by Faraday and Samuel F. B. Morse.

CONTRIBUTIONS

- created the first physics laboratory in Great Britain.
- worked on the Laws of the Conservation of Energy
- discovered the Thomson effect in thermoelectricity
- discovered the natural radioactivity of potassium.
- demonstrated that hydrogen had only a single electron per atom.
- He also introduced the concept of absolute zero

OBJECT OF INTEREST

I chose William Thomson because He carried out important experimental work on electromagnetism which helps us nowadays. He also introduced the concept of absolute zero and the Kelvin temperature scale that we used these days. It helps because we all know that these days we use temperature and the Kelvin Temperature is the one were using.