Conversation

Notices

1. Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 26-Jun-2023 15:07:09 UTC Robert McNees

   William Thomson, the Lord Kelvin, was born #OTD in 1824.

   With Faraday, he introduced the idea of fields into electromagnetism, laying a foundation for Maxwell's work. Later, he would devise much of the theory and supporting technology for the first transatlantic telegraph cable.

   He is largely responsible for the formulation of thermodynamics that emerged in the mid-1800s, including both the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics.

   Image: BBC

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 26-Jun-2023 15:19:14 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     Besides his foundational work on Thermodynamics, Lord Kelvin also proposed a “heat death paradox” used to discredit the idea of an eternal universe: If the universe has existed forever, how is it not in thermal equilibrium? Along those same lines, he applied the Second Law of Thermodynamics to the Universe as a whole, postulating an eventual heat death in which a state of thermodynamic equilibrium is eventually achieved and no free energy capable of doing work (and increasing entropy) remains.

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 26-Jun-2023 15:28:16 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     Lord Kelvin is probably best known (by the public) for establishing the absolute temperature scale. This scale begins at zero where thermal motion ceases, and proceeds upward. The units are named his honor and denoted K. Helium liquifies when cooled to around 4 K, and surface temperatures on Pluto range from around 33 K to 50 K. Temperatures in Antarctica might drop as low as 180 K. Water freezes at 273 K and boils at 373 K.

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 26-Jun-2023 15:31:12 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     In awe at the scale of this lord. Absolute (temperature) unit.

   • The Geoff (_thegeoff@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 26-Jun-2023 15:36:23 UTC The Geoff

     in reply to

     @mcnees That's three puns in eleven words? Impressive.

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 26-Jun-2023 15:39:17 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     • The Geoff

     @_thegeoff Thanks. Any denser and I fear the post would collapse.

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 26-Jun-2023 15:39:26 UTC Robert McNees

     • toxidrone

     @toxidrone Thanks!

   • The Geoff (_thegeoff@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 26-Jun-2023 15:44:02 UTC The Geoff

     in reply to

     @mcnees I can see why that would make you jittery. Perhaps it would just turn into a condensed version?

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 26-Jun-2023 18:07:34 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     • Obscuredavid

     @Cameleopard Lol, A+

   • Obscuredavid (cameleopard@mastodonapp.uk)'s status on Monday, 26-Jun-2023 18:07:35 UTC Obscuredavid

     in reply to

     @mcnees
     Super fluid wordplay.

   • 𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 (moliver@pleistocene.social)'s status on Monday, 26-Jun-2023 18:07:36 UTC 𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿

     in reply to

     @mcnees
     I bet he was really cool in his teens.

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 26-Jun-2023 18:07:36 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     • 𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿

     @moliver oh no

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 27-Jun-2023 01:27:02 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     • Geraint

     @drgeraint I used to live around the corner from his statue, not far from the Kelvingrove Museum!

   • Geraint (drgeraint@glasgow.social)'s status on Tuesday, 27-Jun-2023 01:27:03 UTC Geraint

     in reply to

     @mcnees Lord Kelvin was also (twice) President of the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow, which is still going strong and awards medals in his name to distinguished speakers on topics close to his areas of expertise.

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 27-Jun-2023 01:30:32 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     Many of Kelvin’s contemporaries were upset by the idea that the Universe might one day experience heat death, but he assured them that it would be 0K.

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 27-Jun-2023 01:33:20 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     • neville park

     @nev 😀

   • neville park (nev@flipping.rocks)'s status on Tuesday, 27-Jun-2023 01:33:21 UTC neville park

     in reply to

     @mcnees blocked and reported

   • Geraint (drgeraint@glasgow.social)'s status on Tuesday, 27-Jun-2023 01:41:45 UTC Geraint

     in reply to

     @mcnees That's very, very close to where I live now!

     Kelvin was such an important character. Along with Watt, I try hard to ensure that my students have some understanding of the immense contributions made.

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 27-Jun-2023 01:41:45 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     • Geraint

     @drgeraint You should be asleep! I lived there in the mid-90s and it was just an amazing time to be in the city. Early Belle and Sebastian shows, running into the Trainspotting folks around town, every band under the sun playing at King Tut’s, and Robert De Niro had a movie theater there for some reason?

   • Rick Gregory (rickg@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 27-Jun-2023 03:57:13 UTC Rick Gregory

     in reply to

     @mcnees absolutely