#physisist

On February 27th 1735, John Arbuthnot, Scottish mathematician, physicist and author died.

Born in the county of Kincardineshire, the son of an Episcopalian priest. These were turbulent times for Scotland and the Jacobites and it is not known for certain where he was educated, although suggestions are that he went to Aberdeen’s Marischal College and gained a degree. By 1691 he had moved to London and taught mathematics for a while. He had a keen interest in science and, the following year, translated from the original Dutch a book called Of the Law and chance .

John Arbuthnot was an intellectually gifted man who was a satirist, physician and mathematician. He is often described as a true polymath and was responsible for the invention, in 1712, of a character named John Bull who would go on to symbolise “middle England” in political and sociological posters, pamphlets and publications. He was one of the founder members of a London literary group called the Scriblerus Club, other members including famous writers Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift.

Although this work was a success Arbuthnot was struggling financially, a situation eased by a number of tutoring posts that he filled during the next few years. He decided to become a student himself, again, when enrolling on a doctor of medicine course at the University of St Andrews in September 1696. However it was deemed unnecessary for him to take the course, the college awarding him the doctorate on the strength of seven theses on medicine presented on the day of his enrolment.

During the early years of the 18th century Arbuthnot was reading works of a scientific nature with a growing sense of scorn and decided to respond to them with satire. This was the beginning of his time as a noted satirist but, apart from that, he was also being favoured in royal circles. He became close to Prince George of Denmark and the English Queen Anne and, no doubt with their patronage, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1704. The following year Cambridge University made him an MD.

It seems that, despite his academic and social achievements, Arbuthnot found it hard to take his own work, and that of others, seriously. He was quick to attack people seen to act scandalously, or outside the laws of human decency, and yet many saw him as an amiable sort of chap. He certainly held favour at the royal court and these connections ensured that he presented himself as a figure of some importance, as well as one of great modesty.

By the mid-1730s his health was failing. He was overweight and suffering with kidney stones and asthma and announced to his friends that he was dying.

John Arbuthnot died in London on the 27th February 1735, aged 67

November 5th 1879 saw the death of Edinburgh-born mathematician and physicist James Clerk Maxwell.

James Clerk Maxwell is one of the most influential scientists of all time. Albert Einstein acknowledged that the origins of the special theory of relativity lay in Clerk Maxwell’s theories, saying “The work of James Clerk Maxwell changed the world forever”.

Clerk Maxwell’s research into electromagnetic radiation led to the development of television, mobile phones, radio and infra-red telescopes. The largest astronomical telescope in the world, at Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii, is named in his honour.

The worlds first colour photograph was produced, not by Maxwell as is often quoted but by Thomas Sutton, it was however for James Clerk Maxwell’s pioneering 1861 demonstration of colour photography and Maxwell’s principle of three-colour analysis and synthesis, quite simply, his idea, but as he was not a photographer he brought in Sutton to demonstrate it.

Clerk Maxwell was as important to the world of science, as Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, indeed both feature on his statue on George Street Edinburgh, which was unveiled in 2008. Einstein stated “The special theory of relativity owes its origins to Maxwell Equations of the electromagnetic field.” and described Maxwell's work "as the most profound and the most fruitful that physics has experienced since the time of Newton."

Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Noble Laureate and Scottish physicist and meteorologist died on November 15th 1959.

C.T .R, as he became known , is also the only Scottish-born physicist ever to have won the Prize for Physics.

C.T.R. was inspired by the cloud formations he had witnessed on Ben Nevis. He started out attempting to recreate clouds in his laboratory, but his invention and experiments led on to massive strides in the science of particle physics. The search for the Higgs Boson at the Large Hadron Collider is the latest stage in the hunt for answers about fundamental particles of life, however, in the late 19th Century, very little was known about protons, neutrons and electrons. Photons, neutrinos, muons and quarks were a long way from being discovered.

C.T.R. was given the Nobel Prize in 1927 “for his method of making the paths of electrically charged particles visible by condensation of vapour” - but essentially it was for his invention of the cloud chamber. Throughout his career, he got the opportunity to conduct research, teach and work as a reader and demonstrator at the Cambridge university. His most significant works include his observation on the formation of clouds and subsequent development of the cloud chamber, research on the behaviour of ions and so on.

He was honoured with several other awards and recognitions for his research and contribution to physics. Throughout his life, he remained active in the field of science and during his retirement, he shifted to Edinburgh, and later to the village of Carlops at Glencorse. During this time, he worked on his manuscript on the ‘theory of thundercloud electricity’. He died on 15th November 1959 in Edinburgh aged 90.

On June 13th 1831 James Clerk Maxwell was born in Edinburgh.

James Clerk Maxwell was no ordinary child, considering what he achieved! He attended school in the city and was nicknamed ‘daftie’ by his classmates, due to his home-made clothing and rustic accent. Despite the teasing, he excelled at the school, producing a scientific paper at the age of just 14, he later studied at the Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge.

He graduated with a degree in mathematics from Trinity College, Cambridge and soon after started his career as a Professor of Physics in Marischal College, Aberdeen. He then switched to King’s College, London and then at Cambridge as the first ever Professor of Experimental Physics.

Ask physicists to rank their heroes, and Maxwell is in the top three, standing a shade below Newton and Einstein. But when it comes to being celebrated by the public, somehow Maxwell gets left behind. Einstein’s image is well known and Newton’s pilgrims regularly flock to his tomb at Westminster. But few Scos would recognise Maxwell’s face.

His theories on the composition of the rings of Saturn was so far ahead of it’s time that they were only confirmed to be correct in the 1980s when the Voyager space expeditions allowed closer examination of Saturn. He also predicted the existence of radio waves. Maxwell gave us the first colour photograph in a collaboration with Thomas Sutton, and of course being a Scot he knew the best thing to capture different colours would be a piece of tartan!

It has been said that Maxwell was one of the most likeable men in the annals of science, well he would be, being a Scot! How can you not like a man who sends a heartfelt letter of condolence on the death of a friend’s dog? A man who patiently nursed his dying father, and later his wife, and who regularly gave up his time to volunteer at the new “Working Men’s Colleges” for tradesmen? It seems that everyone who knew him thought of him as kind and generous, albeit a little eccentric. He was “one of the best men who ever lived”, according to his childhood friend and biographer, Lewis Campbell.

It seems a sin that a man held in such high esteem in the scientific world hardly gets a mention in our history books, even in death he is very understated, his grave is a simple affair in Parton Kirk, Galloway, granted, there is now a statue of Maxwell Clerk in George Street but it is relatively new affair, and I wonder how many actually know about him as they pass him on the way in and out of St Andrews Square. Maxwell was ranked 91st on the BBC poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, a figure way too low for a man who inspired people like Albert Einstein, another poll put him in a more favourable light, when a survey of the 100 most prominent physicists saw Maxwell voted the third greatest physicist of all time, again behind only Newton and Einstein. Einstein himself described Maxwell’s work as the “most profound and the most fruitful that physics has experienced since the time of Newton.” Einstein kept a photograph of Maxwell on his study wall, alongside pictures of Michael Faraday and Newton.

Most men of science are portrayed as dour serious folk, that is certainly not the case with James Clerk Maxwell, he has been described as funny, flippant and charming.

As a great lover of Scottish poetry, Maxwell memorised poems and wrote his own. The best known is Rigid Body Sings, closely based on Comin’ Thro the Rye by Robert Burns, which he apparently used to sing while accompanying himself on a guitar. It has the opening lines:

Gin a body meet a body

Flyin’ through the air.

Gin a body hit a body,

Will it fly? And where?

A collection of his poems was published by his friend Lewis Campbell in 1882.

On July 5th 1820, William Rankine, the engineer and physicist, was born.

Rankine is noted for his work in thermodynamics. He has been described as “the father of engineering science in this country”, in recognition of his achievements as a theoretical scientist and as an educator.

Born William John Macquorn Rankine in Edinburgh, Rankine was educated at that city’s University. He worked as a civil engineer and published papers on practical engineering subjects and then on molecular physics and thermodynamics. He moved to Glasgow in 1851 and was appointed to the University’s Chair of Civil Engineering and Mechanics four years later, proclaiming his intention to teach theory, practice and the application of theory to practice.

As Professor, Rankine worked closely with Glasgow shipbuilders on radical improvements to the design of vessels and their engines. He introduced “sandwich courses” that required students to work with local engineering firms during their vacations, and he campaigned vigorously for the recognition of Engineering as a degree subject.

Largely through his efforts, a Certificate of Proficiency in Engineering Science was introduced in 1863 and in 1872 the degree of BSc was offered for science subjects including Engineering.

Rankine conducted pioneering research in the fields of railway engineering, molecular physics and thermodynamics. He wrote more than 150 scientific papers and manuals as well as textbooks which became standard works of reference for students and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1853, he was also the first President of the Institution of Engineers in Scotland.

The Institution of Engineers later became the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland and is still in existence today.

It wasn’t all work for Oor Wullie though, he was an enthusiastic amateur singer, pianist and cellist who composed his own humorous songs.

In his honour The University of Edinburgh has named a building, The William Rankine Building, the second phase of the Engineering Quadrangle at their Kings Buildings Campus. He also has the The Rankine–Hugoniot Equation named after him and French engineer Pierre Henri Hugoniot, named after him and the Rankine cycle a model used to predict the performance of steam turbines.

The Rankine Lecture is an annual lecture, again named after the man, the Rankine scale, an absolute Fahrenheit scale for thermodynamics is named in his honour, a crater on the moon also bears the name Rankine Crater and in 2013 he was inducted into Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame.

William Rankine died at 8 Albion Crescent (now called Dowanside Road), Dowanhill, Glasgow at 11:45pm on Christmas Eve 1872, aged only 52. He was unmarried and had no children.

February 14th 1869 saw the birth of Charles Thomson Rees Wilson who became a physicist and meteorologist at Glencorse Midlothian to farmer John Wilson and Annie Clerk Harper.

The first of two Scottish Nobel Prize winner of the day C.T .R, as he became known , is also the only Scottish-born physicist ever to have won the Prize for Physics,

C.T.R. was inspired by the cloud formations he had witnessed on Ben Nevis. He started out attempting to recreate clouds in his laboratory, but his invention and experiments led on to massive strides in the science of particle physics. The search for the Higgs Boson at the Large Hadron Collider is the latest stage in the hunt for answers about fundamental particles of life, however, in the late 19th Century, very little was known about protons, neutrons and electrons. Photons, neutrinos, muons and quarks were a long way from being discovered.

C.T.R. was given the Nobel Prize in 1927 “for his method of making the paths of electrically charged particles visible by condensation of vapour” - but essentially it was for his invention of the cloud chamber. Throughout his career, he got the opportunity to conduct research, teach and work as a reader and demonstrator at the Cambridge university. His most significant works include his observation on the formation of clouds and subsequent development of the cloud chamber, research on the behaviour of ions and so on.

He was honoured with several other awards and recognitions for his research and contribution to physics. Throughout his life, he remained active in the field of science and during his retirement, he shifted to Edinburgh, and later to the village of Carlops at Glencorse. During this time, he worked on his manuscript on the ‘theory of thundercloud electricity’. He died on 15th November 1959 in Edinburgh aged 90.

James David Forbes Scottish physicist and glaciologist passed away on December 31st 1868.

Forbes was a physicist best known for his work on the conduction of heat, and on glaciology, he was born into a banking family and was taught by a home tutor and entered Edinburgh University at the age of 16, in the scientific fields he is well known for producing papers on both heat and cold, at first he hid hi love of science from his father, who wanted him to take up law, he loved his father too well to betray tastes and inclinations which might seem to point towards a different career.

After a year travelling Europe he returned to Scotland and was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh at the age of 19. Forbes was held in great esteem throughout his life, winning awards and being made Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh in 1833 before going on to become Principal of the United College, part of the University of St Andrews.

I won’t bamboozle you with all his theories etc, and if you’ve made it this far well done, the juicy part of this post is that James Forbes invented in 1941 a “machine”, still in wide use today, albeit a much more modern version, the seismometer or at very least his machine was the first to use that term.

On July 5th 1820, William Rankine, the engineer and physicist, was born.

William John Macquorn Rankine was the son of professional soldier and later civil engineer David Rankine and the daughter of Glasgow banker Barbara Grahame. He attended grammar school at Ayr and Glasgow only a few years after the family moved there in 1830.

After reading, at the age of fourteen, Isaac Newton's greatest work, Principia Mathematica in Latin, he became interested in physics.

At the age of sixteen, in 1836, he began to study natural science at the University of Edinburgh, where he was taught, among other things, natural philosophy under James David Forbes and natural history under Robert Jameson.

In 1838 he left the university and became an assistant to the Irish civil engineer John Benjamin MacNeill. He worked here on the design of railways, the construction of ports and the construction of sewers. In 1855 he was appointed Professor of Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Glasgow.

Rankine became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1849 and of the Royal Society in London in 1853. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Swedish Society of Sciences and of the American American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1857 he founded a Scottish branch of the "Institution of Civil Engineers" and served as its first president until 1870. In 1857 Rankine received an honorary doctorate from Trinity College, Dublin.

In addition to his work as a civil engineer, Rankine has made a number of contributions to science. He wrote standard works on mechanics, the theory and practice of steam, the principles of civil engineering, and mechanical principles of construction.

Rankine's work was able to bridge the gap between engineering practice and scientific inquiry.