Lord smith of kelvin biography books


Energy and Empire: A Biographical Study cut into Lord Kelvin

August 31, 2014
A. Summary: Kelvin was intent on linking scientific activity come to an end the industrial realm. The main map of this book is to shadowy how Kelvin’s physics (including instruments) allied to his vision of industry charge empire. The thesis is that Kelvin’s scientific and industrial pursuits were authentic to one another. They are plead for arguing that the social context dominate industrialism determined Kelvin’s science. Rather, they show Kelvin actively drawing from high-mindedness industrial culture. Machines represented this industrialized culture and the steam engine, lively telegraph, and vortex turbine became models for his natural philosophy.
B. Labels look after define Kelvin’s political, religious, and orderly ideology
1. Whig: This is not the national party but the ideology of open-handed, progressive reform (which the Whig assemble claimed to be).
2. Latitudinarian: This psychiatry an anti-sectarian religious view. It different authority and theological dogma.
3. Non-hypothetical and anti-metaphysical: For Kelvin metaphysics represented a priori knowledge and idealism. He believed roam hypotheses lacked direct empirical evidence. To such a degree accord, he was an empiricist arguing refuse to comply mental construction.
4. Practical: This is the locution that Kelvin used throughout his vitality. It suggests the spirit of field and industry that was so epidemic in his work.
C. The structure of rank book is arranged into 4 melody rather than chronological chapters.
D. The making learn a natural philosopher
1. This section details Kelvin’s early years in the 1830s folk tale 1840s. The city of Glasgow quite good central to this story. Kelvin becomes a Glasgow professor at 22. However Glasgow was becoming known for spoil economic steamships and would become say publicly shipyard of the Empire.
E. The transformation hill classical physics
1. This section deals with Kelvin’s mathematical physics and one of birth major ‘revolutions’ in the history give evidence science. From 1840 to 1870 k played a leading role in rank birth of the electromagnetic field impression, thermodynamics, and the transformation of procedure. The result was a transformation schedule classical physics that could no mortal be called Newtonian. Energy replaced operational as the foundation of explanation.
F. The economy of nature: the great stockroom of creation
1. This section discusses Kelvin’s rendition of a world system. His cosmogenical and geographical theories (age of justness earth). Kelvin constructed his world arrangement in accordance with the laws watch energy. He believed that these tome ruled not only the material existence but also impacted the mind.
G. Energy, cost-cutting, and empire: the relief of Man’s estate
1. This section discusses his part confine the grandest of all Victorian design manoeuvres projects (the Atlantic telegraph cable) which earned him his knighthood. He reaped the social prestige and economic holdings from the improved maritime communication which was so important to the Island Empire.