Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer (1836–1920) was one of the pioneers of astronomical spectroscopy and became one of the most influential astronomers of his time. His main interest was sun spectroscopy, which led him to discover helium independently of Pierre Janssen, a scientist who posited its existence in the same year. In addition to his work in astronomy, Lockyer was one of the founders of Nature and was the editor of the journal for its first fifty years. This is the second edition of Lockyer's guide to spectroscopy, first published in 1878. It begins with the basics of spectroscopy such as the physics of waves and the method of observing spectra. Later chapters describe the history of the method and some of Lockyer's own experiments and findings. This book is a fascinating part of the history of astronomy, giving insights into the development of a method vital to the field.
William Thomson, Baron Kelvin (1824–1907), was educated at Glasgow and Cambridge. While only in his twenties, he was awarded the University of Glasgow's chair in natural philosophy, which he was to hold for over fifty years. He is best known through the Kelvin, the unit of measurement of temperature named after him in consequence of his development of an absolute scale of temperature. These volumes collect together Kelvin's lectures for a wider audience. In a convivial but never condescending style, he outlines a range of scientific subjects to audiences of his fellow scientists. The range of topics covered reflects Kelvin's broad interests and his stature as one of the most eminent of Victorian scientists. Volume 2 is mainly concerned with geology and was actually published last, in 1894. It includes additional lectures given between 1866 and 1893 that were not included in the other two volumes.
Born in Leighlinbridge in Ireland, John Tyndall (1820–93) was a brilliant nineteenth-century experimental physicist and gifted science educator. He worked initially as a draughtsman, then spent a year teaching at an English school before attending the University of Marburg to study physics and chemistry. Tyndall carried out important research on magnetism, light and bacteriology. Among his many significant achievements, he demonstrated the greenhouse effect in Earth's atmospheric gases using absorption spectroscopy. He was a skilled and entertaining educator and as Professor of Natural Philosophy at the Royal Institution he gave many public lectures and demonstrations of science. In this engaging potpourri of essays published in 1893, Tyndall's prose enlivens subjects as diverse as the life of Louis Pasteur, observing the Sabbath, the prevention of phthisis (tuberculosis), personal experiences of Alpine mountaineering, and the science of rainbows.
Sir James Prescott Joule (1818–1889) became one of the most significant physicists of the nineteenth century, although his original interest in science was as a hobby and for practical business purposes. The son of a brewer, he began studying heat while investigating how to increase the efficiency of electric motors. His discovery of the relationship between heat and energy contributed to the discovery of the conservation of energy and the first law of thermodynamics. Volume 1 of Joule's scientific papers was published in 1884. It is organised chronologically and reveals the range of Joule's interests and the development of his thought. Volume 2, published in 1887, contains papers which he co-authored with other noted physicists including Scoresby, Playfair and William Thomson, later Lord Kelvin. Joule's work, both individual and collaborative, was fundamental to the development of significant areas of twentieth-century physics.
William Thomson, first Baron Kelvin (1824–1907), is best known for devising the Kelvin scale of absolute temperature and for his work on the first and second laws of thermodynamics, though throughout his 53-year career as a mathematical physicist and engineer at the University of Glasgow he investigated a wide range of scientific questions in areas ranging from geology to transatlantic telegraph cables. The extent of his work is revealed in the six volumes of his Mathematical and Physical Papers, published from 1882 until 1911, consisting of articles that appeared in scientific periodicals from 1841 onwards. Volume 1, published in 1882, includes articles from the period 1841–1853 and covers issues relating to heat, especially its linear motion and theories about it. Other topics include aspects of electricity, thermodynamics and research relating to magnetism.
William Thomson, first Baron Kelvin (1824–1907), is best known for devising the Kelvin scale of absolute temperature and for his work on the first and second laws of thermodynamics, though throughout his 53-year career as a mathematical physicist and engineer at the University of Glasgow he investigated a wide range of scientific questions in areas ranging from geology to transatlantic telegraph cables. The extent of his work is revealed in the six volumes of his Mathematical and Physical Papers, published from 1882 until 1911, consisting of articles that appeared in scientific periodicals from 1841 onwards. Volume 2, published in 1884, includes articles from the period 1853–1856, and puts a special emphasis on the issue of the development of electric telegraphy. Also included is Thomson's Bakerian Lecture on the electro-dynamic qualities of metals.
William Thomson, first Baron Kelvin (1824–1907), is best known for devising the Kelvin scale of absolute temperature and for his work on the first and second laws of thermodynamics, though throughout his 53-year career as a mathematical physicist and engineer at the University of Glasgow he investigated a wide range of scientific questions in areas ranging from geology to transatlantic telegraph cables. The extent of his work is revealed in the six volumes of his Mathematical and Physical Papers, published from 1882 until 1911, consisting of articles that appeared in scientific periodicals from 1841 onwards. Volume 3, published in 1890, includes articles from the period 1858–1890, the majority of which relate to questions around elasticity and heat, and are accompanied by extensive appendices.
William Thomson, first Baron Kelvin (1824–1907), is best known for devising the Kelvin scale of absolute temperature and for his work on the first and second laws of thermodynamics, though throughout his 53-year career as a mathematical physicist and engineer at the University of Glasgow he investigated a wide range of scientific questions in areas ranging from geology to transatlantic telegraph cables. The extent of his work is revealed in the six volumes of his Mathematical and Physical Papers, published from 1882 until 1911, consisting of articles that appeared in scientific periodicals from 1841 onwards. Volume 4, published in 1910, includes articles from the period 1867–1906. Themes covered in this book examine issues relating to water, such as hydrodynamics, tidal theory and deep sea ship waves.
William Thomson, first Baron Kelvin (1824–1907), is best known for devising the Kelvin scale of absolute temperature and for his work on the first and second laws of thermodynamics, though throughout his 53-year career as a mathematical physicist and engineer at the University of Glasgow he investigated a wide range of scientific questions in areas ranging from geology to transatlantic telegraph cables. The extent of his work is revealed in the six volumes of his Mathematical and Physical Papers, published from 1882 until 1911, consisting of articles that appeared in scientific periodicals from 1841 onwards. Volume 5, published in 1911, includes articles from the period 1847–1908. Topics covered include thermodynamic and electrodynamic research, as well as some works on issues of geological physics such as the possible age of the sun's heat.
William Thomson, first Baron Kelvin (1824–1907), is best known for devising the Kelvin scale of absolute temperature and for his work on the first and second laws of thermodynamics, though throughout his 53-year career as a mathematical physicist and engineer at the University of Glasgow he investigated a wide range of scientific questions in areas ranging from geology to transatlantic telegraph cables. The extent of his work is revealed in the six volumes of his Mathematical and Physical Papers, published from 1882 until 1911, consisting of articles that appeared in scientific periodicals from 1841 onwards. Volume 6, published in 1911, includes articles from the period 1867–1907. The chapters in the first part of the work focus on voltaic theory and radioactivity, while later ones examine navigation and tides.
William Thomson, Baron Kelvin (1824–1907), was educated at Glasgow and Cambridge. While only in his twenties, he was awarded the University of Glasgow's chair in natural philosophy, which he was to hold for over fifty years. He is best known through the Kelvin, the unit of measurement of temperature named after him in consequence of his development of an absolute scale of temperature. These volumes collect together Kelvin's lectures for a wider audience. In a convivial but never condescending style, he outlines a range of scientific subjects to audiences of his fellow scientists. The range of topics covered reflects Kelvin's broad interests and his stature as one of the most eminent of Victorian scientists. Volume 1, published in 1889, includes talks about the constitution of matter and basic topics in physics such as light, heat, electricity and gravity.
Born in Leighlinbridge in Ireland, John Tyndall (1820–93) was a brilliant nineteenth-century experimental physicist and gifted science educator. He worked initially as a draughtsman, then spent a year teaching at an English school before attending the University of Marburg to study physics and chemistry. Tyndall carried out important research on magnetism, light and bacteriology. Among his many significant achievements, he demonstrated the greenhouse effect in Earth's atmospheric gases using absorption spectroscopy. He was a skilled and entertaining educator and as Professor of Natural Philosophy at the Royal Institution he gave many public lectures and demonstrations of science. Published in 1873, this book features six accessible lectures on light. They explore a wide range of ideas in a non-technical way, from basic scientific theories through magnetism and light scattering, to analytical spectroscopy. The book ends with a series of essays on special topics, and includes a detailed
Among the widely agreed facts of physics in the late nineteenth century was the existence of luminiferous ether: the medium through which light was thought to travel. Theorised to be a highly rarefied substance, the ether accounted for the movement of light, gravity and even heat across a vacuum. It also had great implications for spiritualism. Where thought was not proven to be a result of chemistry in the brain, the presence of ether allowed for the idea that cognition and emotion might exist independently of a physical body. First published in 1925, this monograph by the eminent physicist and ether advocate Sir Oliver Lodge (1851–1940) was written for the non-scientific reader. With a focus on straightforward explanations rather than mathematical theory, his book still represents a fascinating introduction to the topic today.
In his study of optics, Newton postulated that light, like sound, must be carried through a medium, and that this medium must exist even in a vacuum. By the late nineteenth century, this theoretical substance was known as the luminiferous ether. But the ether theory faced several problems. If the earth moved through ether, there would be ether wind, and light travelling against the flow would move more slowly than light travelling with it. That was soon disproven. Nor could the ether be stationary: by 1905, Einstein's work on relativity had disproven absolute motion. In this fascinating advocacy of ether, first published in 1933, Sir Oliver Lodge (1851–1940) fiercely defends ether against the new physics, arguing for solid models over mathematical abstractions, and urging new ether experiments. With in-depth references to Einstein, Jeans and Eddington, this book is still relevant to students in the history of science.
Sir Oliver Lodge (1851–1940) was a physicist instrumental in the discovery of electromagnetic waves: the basis of today's radio and X-ray technology. He came from humble beginnings. After suffering at the hands of violent masters and schoolmates during his childhood, Lodge went on to teach physics and chemistry to young women at Bedford College in London. Later, he was appointed professor of physics at the University of Liverpool, and became known for his public lectures on a vast range of topics, from the comic faults of phonographs to the medical applications of X-rays. Whether seeing the cells of a voltaic battery in a pile of plates or appreciating the enunciation of Alexander Graham Bell, Lodge had a warm enthusiasm that shines through in this touching autobiography, first published in 1931. It remains ideal for general readers as well as students in the history of science.
Originally apprenticed to a bookbinder, Michael Faraday (1791–1867) began to attend Sir Humphrey Davy's chemistry lectures purely out of interest. Although he soon recognised that science would be his vocation, there was no defined career path to follow, and when he applied to Davy for work he was gently told to 'attend to the bookbinding'. It was only after a laboratory explosion in which Davy partially lost his sight that Faraday was taken on as his amanuensis. From this difficult beginning stemmed perhaps the most famous scientific career of the nineteenth century. This three-volume collection of Faraday's papers provides a comprehensive record of a key branch of his work. Volume 1, reissued here in a second edition of 1849, covers his early work in electricity and magnetism, including papers on lightning, electric fish, and notes on the elaborate and often beautiful experiments conducted to investigate whether magnetism could produce electricity.
Originally apprenticed to a bookbinder, Michael Faraday (1791–1867) began to attend Sir Humphrey Davy's chemistry lectures purely out of interest. Although he soon recognised that science would be his vocation, there was no defined career path to follow, and when he applied to Davy for work he was gently told to 'attend to the bookbinding'. It was only after a laboratory explosion in which Davy partially lost his sight that Faraday was taken on as his amanuensis. From this difficult beginning stemmed perhaps the most famous scientific career of the nineteenth century. This three-volume collection of Faraday's papers provides a comprehensive record of a key branch of his work. Volume 2, first published in 1844, includes essays on the illusions caused by lightning, the chemistry of a voltaic pile, and his defence against accusations that the idea behind his electromagnetic motor was stolen from another physicist.
Originally apprenticed to a bookbinder, Michael Faraday (1791–1867) began to attend Sir Humphrey Davy's chemistry lectures purely out of interest. Although he soon recognised that science would be his vocation, there was no defined career path to follow, and when he applied to Davy for work he was gently told to 'attend to the bookbinding'. It was only after a laboratory explosion in which Davy partially lost his sight that Faraday was taken on as his amanuensis. From this difficult beginning stemmed perhaps the most famous scientific career of the nineteenth century. This three-volume collection of Faraday's papers provides a comprehensive record of a key branch of his work. Volume 3, first published in 1855, includes his landmark paper on the effect of magnetism on light (known now as the Faraday Effect), work on the chemical implications of magnetism, and a fascinating speculation on a link between electricity and gravity.
Famed for his seminal work in the development of atomic theory, John Dalton (1766–1844) was a chemist and natural philosopher who served for years as professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at the New College, Manchester. Dalton was born into a Quaker family in the Lake District; his early interest in weather was inspired by a local instrument-maker and meteorologist. He began keeping a meteorological diary in 1787, and this 1793 book is one of his earliest publications. It contains not only meteorological observations but also speculations about their causes. Beginning with a description of the instruments needed to undertake such investigations, Dalton considers a variety of natural phenomena, finishing by offering various theories on the causes of the Aurora Borealis. This book also contains many of the ideas that would go on to be developed in his future research and publications, for which he is better known.
