Lord Kelvin

William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, OM, GCVO, PC, FRS, FRSE (26 June 1824 – 17 December 1907),[7] or (late in his life) Lord Kelvin,[8] was a British mathematician, mathematical physicist and engineer born in Belfast.[9] Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of Glasgow for 53 years, he undertook significant research in the mathematical analysis of electricity and formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and did much to unify the emerging discipline of physics in its contemporary form. He received the Royal Society's Copley Medal in 1883, was its president 1890–1895 and in 1892 was the first British scientist to be elevated to the House of Lords.[2]

The Right Honourable The Lord Kelvin OM GCVO PC FRS FRSE
Kelvin in 1906
President of the Royal Society
In office 1 December 1890 – 30 November 1895
Preceded by	Sir George Stokes
Succeeded by	The Lord Lister
Personal details
Born	(1824-06-26)26 June 1824 Belfast, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Died	17 December 1907(1907-12-17) (aged 83) Largs, Scotland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Nationality	British[1][2]
Political party	Liberal (1865–1886) Liberal Unionist (from 1886)
Spouse(s)	Margaret Crum ​ ​ (m. 1852; died 1870)​ Frances Blandy ​ ​ (m. 1874⁠–⁠1907)​ [3]
Children	None[4]
Signature
Alma mater	Royal Belfast Academical Institution Glasgow University Peterhouse, Cambridge
Known for	List Joule–Thomson effect Joule-Thomson ideal gas coefficient Voigt–Thomson law Thomson effect (thermoelectric) Thomson relations Kelvin balance Kelvin's balls Kelvin cat's eye pattern Kelvin coupling Kelvin's mirror galvanometer Kelvin material Kelvin water dropper Kelvin wave Kelvin–Helmholtz instability Kelvin–Helmholtz mechanism Kelvin-Helmholtz luminosity Kelvin-Planck statement Kelvin's heat death paradox Kelvin–Helmholtz time scale Kelvin's minimum energy theorem Kelvin conjecture Kelvin structure Kelvin foam Kelvin functions Kelvin transform Kelvin's circulation theorem Kelvin–Stokes theorem Kelvin bridge Kelvin sensing Kelvin equation Kelvin-Varley divider Kelvin wake pattern Kelvin angle Zero Kelvin Kelvin probe force microscope Kelvin scanning probe Automatic curb sender Cable theory Dark night sky paradox Earth's age paradox Depth sounding Dissipation Gyrostat Law of squares First law of thermodynamics Second law of thermodynamics Entropy Heat death of the universe Magnetic vector potential Magnetoresistance Maxwell's demon Piezoresistive effect Siphon recorder Stationary phase approximation Dark matter Tide-predicting machine Vortex theory of the atom Coining the term chirality Coining the term thermodynamics[5] Coining the term kinetic energy
Awards	First Smith's Prize (1845) Royal Medal (1856) Keith Medal (1864) Matteucci Medal (1876) Albert Medal (1879) Copley Medal (1883) John Fritz Medal (1905)
Scientific career
Institutions	University of Glasgow
Academic advisors	William Hopkins
Notable students	Lord Rayleigh[6] William Edward Ayrton
Influences	Sadi Carnot Rudolf Clausius Julius von Mayer James Joule Humphry Davy
Influenced	Andrew Gray
It is believed the "PNP" in his signature stands for "Professor of Natural Philosophy". Kelvin also wrote under the pseudonym "P. Q. R."

Absolute temperatures are stated in units of kelvin in his honour. While the existence of a coldest possible temperature (absolute zero) was known prior to his work, Kelvin is known for determining its correct value as approximately −273.15 degrees Celsius or −459.67 degrees Fahrenheit. The Joule–Thomson effect is also named in his honour.

He worked closely with mathematics professor Hugh Blackburn in his work. He also had a career as an electric telegraph engineer and inventor, which propelled him into the public eye and ensured his wealth, fame and honour. For his work on the transatlantic telegraph project he was knighted in 1866 by Queen Victoria, becoming Sir William Thomson. He had extensive maritime interests and was most noted for his work on the mariner's compass, which previously had limited reliability.

He was ennobled in 1892 in recognition of his achievements in thermodynamics, and of his opposition to Irish Home Rule,[10][11][12] becoming Baron Kelvin, of Largs in the County of Ayr. The title refers to the River Kelvin, which flows near his laboratory at the University of Glasgow's Gilmorehill home at Hillhead. Despite offers of elevated posts from several world-renowned universities, Kelvin refused to leave Glasgow, remaining until his eventual retirement from that post in 1899.[7] Active in industrial research and development, he was recruited around 1899 by George Eastman to serve as vice-chairman of the board of the British company Kodak Limited, affiliated with Eastman Kodak.[13] In 1904 he became Chancellor of the University of Glasgow.[7]

His home was the red sandstone mansion Netherhall, in Largs, which he built in the 1870s and where he died. The Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow has a permanent exhibition on the work of Kelvin including many of his original papers, instruments, and other artefacts, such as his smoking pipe.