Kelvin, William Thomson, Lord

Japanese: ケルビン（英語表記）Kelvin， William Thomson， Lord

Born: June 26, 1824 in Belfast, Northern Ireland
[Died] December 17, 1907. Netherhall, near Largs. British physicist. His real name was William Thomson, and in 1892 he was raised to the peerage and took the name Lord Kelvin. He studied at the universities of Glasgow and Cambridge, and became a professor at Glasgow at the age of 22 (1846). He was a member of the Royal Society (51), and later its president (90-95). He first discussed the relationship between thermal conduction and electrical conduction, introduced the concept of electromagnetic lines of force, and discovered the phenomenon of hysteresis in dielectrics. He later turned to the study of thermodynamics. He correctly evaluated the theories of J. Joule and S. Carnot, and introduced the absolute temperature scale in 1848, the unit of which was named after him, the Kelvin (symbol K). In 1951, independently of R. Clausius, he derived the second law of thermodynamics, which states that an object cannot do work by lowering its own temperature below that of its surroundings (Thomson's principle). In the same year, he discovered the Thomson effect. In 1952, he discovered the Joule-Thomson effect, and also focused on the problem of energy dissipation, predicting the "heat death" of the Earth and attracting much attention. In 1953, he returned to the study of electromagnetic phenomena, studying high-frequency currents, and in 1955, he studied the capacity of undersea telegraph wires. He also invented many measuring instruments, such as the quadrant electrometer, galvanometer, and depth sounder. He believed in a mechanical view of nature and insisted on the creation of mechanical models of all physical phenomena, including ether, the medium of electromagnetic waves, and had a great influence on the scientific thinking of the time.

Kelvin
Kelvin

The SI base unit of temperature. Its symbol is K. It is set by defining the Boltzmann constant k as 1.380649×10 ^-23 J/K. In the past, 1 K was defined as 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature (absolute temperature) of the triple point of water. It is used for temperature intervals and temperature differences. The unit is named after Lord Kelvin (William Thomson).

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

[生]1824.6.26. 北アイルランド，ベルファスト
[没]1907.12.17. ラーグス近郊ネザーホール
イギリスの物理学者。本名はウィリアム・トムソン William Thomson，1892年に貴族に列せられてケルビン卿 Lord Kelvinと名のった。グラスゴー大学，ケンブリッジ大学に学び，22歳でグラスゴー大学教授 (1846) 。ロイヤル・ソサエティ会員 (51) ，のちに同会長 (90～95) 。初め熱伝導と電気伝導の関連を論じ，電磁力線の概念を示し，誘電体のヒステリシス現象を発見。のち熱力学の研究に転じた。 J.ジュールと S.カルノーの所説を正しく評価し，1848年絶対温度目盛りを導入，その単位は彼にちなみケルビン (記号K) と名づけられた。 51年物体はみずからの温度を周囲の温度よりも低くすることによって仕事をすることはできないという表現 (トムソンの原理) で，R.クラウジウスとは独立に熱力学第二法則を導いた。同年トムソン効果を発見する。次いで 52年にジュール＝トムソン効果を発見，またエネルギーの散逸の問題を重点的に論じ，地球の「熱的死」を予言して多くの注目を集めた。 53年電磁気現象の研究に戻り，高周波電流を研究し，55年には海底電信の電線の容量を研究した。象限電気計，検流計，測深器などの計測器の発明も多い。力学的自然観を信奉し，電磁波の媒体であるエーテルをはじめすべての物理現象の力学モデルをつくるべきことを主張して，当時の科学思想に多大の影響を与えた。