



Produced by Laura Wisewell, Turgut Dincer, Tamise Totterdell
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
http://www.pgdp.net (The original copy of this book was
generously made available for scanning by the Department
of Mathematics at the University of Glasgow.)








  +--------------------------------------------------------------------+
  |                                                                    |
  |                                                                    |
  | TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:                                               |
  |                                                                    |
  | Mathematical expressions which are in italics in the original text |
  | are displayed in non-italic characters to increase the readability |
  | of the book.                                                       |
  |                                                                    |
  | For super and subscripts unicode characters have been used except  |
  | a few cases where carat symbol and underline have been used.       |
  |                                                                    |
  | Mathematical notation in the body of text is duly conserved but    |
  | parantheses have been added to expressions to avoid any kind of    |
  | misenterpretation.                                                 |
  |                                                                    |
  +--------------------------------------------------------------------+



  ENGLISH MEN OF SCIENCE

  EDITED BY
  J. REYNOLDS GREEN, Sc.D.

  LORD KELVIN



  ENGLISH MEN
  OF SCIENCE

  EDITED BY
  DR. J. REYNOLDS GREEN.

  _With Photogravure Frontispiece._
  _Small Cr. 8vo, 2s. 6d. net per vol._

  SPENCER. By J. ARTHUR THOMPSON.
  PRIESTLEY. By Dr. THORPE, C.B., F.R.S.
  FLOWER. By Prof. R. LYDEKKER, F.R.S.
  HUXLEY. By Prof. AINSWORTH DAVIS.
  BENTHAM. By B. DAYDON JACKSON, F.L.S.
  DALTON. By J. P. MILLINGTON, M.A.

  _J. M. DENT & CO._


  _All Rights Reserved_



  [Illustration: Lord Kelvin]



  LORD KELVIN

  _AN ACCOUNT OF HIS SCIENTIFIC LIFE AND WORK_


  BY

  ANDREW GRAY
  LL.D., F.R.S., V.-P.R.S.E.

  PROFESSOR OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW


  PUBLISHED IN LONDON BY
  J. M. DENT & CO., AND IN NEW
  YORK BY E. P. DUTTON & CO.
  1908



  RICHARD CLAY & SONS, LIMITED,
  BREAD STREET HILL, E.C., AND
  BUNGAY, SUFFOLK.




PREFACE


This book makes no claim to be a biography of Lord Kelvin in the usual
sense. It is an extension of an article which appeared in the _Glasgow
Herald_ for December 19, 1907, and has been written at the suggestion
of various friends of Lord Kelvin, in the University of Glasgow and
elsewhere, who had read that article. The aim of the volume is to give
an account of Lord Kelvin's life of scientific activity, and to explain
to the student, and to the general reader who takes an interest in
physical science and its applications, the nature of his discoveries.
Only such a statement of biographical facts as seems in harmony with
this purpose is attempted. But I have ventured, as an old pupil and
assistant of Lord Kelvin, to sketch here and there the scene in his
class-room and laboratory, and to record some of the incidents of his
teaching and work.

I am under obligations to the proprietors of the _Glasgow Herald_ for
their freely accorded permission to make use of their article, and to
Messrs. Annan, photographers, Glasgow, and Messrs. James MacLehose &
Sons, Glasgow, for the illustrations which are given, and which I hope
may add to the interest of the book.

                                                            A. GRAY.

  _The University_, _Glasgow_,
      _May_ 20, 1908.




CONTENTS


  CHAP.                                                           PAGE

     I. PARENTAGE AND EARLY EDUCATION                                1

    II. CLASSES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW. FIRST SCIENTIFIC
          PAPERS                                                    13

   III. UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE. SCIENTIFIC WORK AS UNDERGRADUATE   23

    IV. THE MATHEMATICAL THEORY OF ELECTRICITY IN EQUILIBRIUM.
          ELECTRIC IMAGES. ELECTRIC INVERSION                       33

     V. THE CHAIR OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY AT GLASGOW. ESTABLISHMENT
          OF THE FIRST PHYSICAL LABORATORY                          61

    VI. FRIENDSHIP WITH STOKES AND JOULE. EARLY WORK AT GLASGOW     79

   VII. THE 'ACCOUNT OF CARNOT'S THEORY OF THE MOTIVE POWER OF
          HEAT