Saturday, June 26, 2010

Absolute Zero


I am sure if you were to just read the title of this post, you might expect a picture of me to be added above, well I might be a little harsh on myself, but I am not a total zero yet.

The fellow above is one William Thomson, a.k.a. Lord Kelvin, born this day 1824 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The son of a professor mathematics, and engineering, Lord Kelvin, would to on to become quite the scientific star himself. Our boy Kelvin helped to figure out the first two laws of Thermodynamics, helped to lay a transatlantic cable (for which he was eventually knighted), helped to create a much more reliable mariner's compass, and came with a way of measuring absolute zero. That last little bit got a measurement of temperature named after him, it is called the Kelvin, and my astronomy teacher from log ago always you to use it as a way of saying how cold the surfaces of planets or stars were. What the temperature was in Kelvin he would exclaim "That's brisk!" So, it must be cold. Kelvin was a man of many talents, and I am too lazy to go through them all today. Plus, a few discouraging words about this project have taken a bit of the edge of it today. So, for making every temperature reading seem "brisk!" William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (June 26th, 1824- December 17th, 1907, at the age of 83), you are my (306th) hero of the day.

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