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100 years on, Kelvin is still illuminating
IOP
31 October 2007
After a long, prolific and groundbreaking life, the British physicist Lord Kelvin died in December 1907, just under a century ago. Best known for his pioneering work in thermodynamics, he profoundly altered our understanding of the nature of heat, gave meaning to temperature, and helped to define energy and the rules by which it can be transformed, thereby propelling technological advances behind the industrial revolution.
As Mark Haw from the School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Nottingham writes in this month's edition of Physics World, Kelvin's theory of thermodynamics had such a significant impact on science and industry that it deserves to be called a 'theory of everything'.
Also in the November 2007 issue of Physics World:
- Using X-ray fluorescence to uncover some of Archimedes' earliest writing
- How interforemeters are being turned into precise inertial sensors
In Glasgow, where Kelvin held the chair of Natural Philosophy for over 50 years, we plan to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his death by inviting four leading scientists to look where the fields Kelvin started are now and where they are going.
For more information about this conference go to http://www.kelvin2007.org
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