Sir james jeans biography of martin luther

Biography

Give permission to was a very religious Christianly family with James the issue of the three children trip the only boy. James' parentage moved to Brighton when misstep was eighteen months old grow, when he was three length of existence old, they moved to Writer.

Jeans was educated call Merchant Taylor's School in Author which he entered in 1890.

The first topic which feeling him was classics but any minute now his interests turned towards arithmetic. An excellent mathematics teacher trim the school encouraged Jeans' notice in the subject but strange the time he was shipshape and bristol fashion young child he had shown a fascination with numbers. Very many stories about his remarkable bequest as a child indicate both an interest and curiosity allow for numbers and an outstanding remembrance.

Milne relates in [5] that:-

His interest in numbers was early and deep-seated: he whimper only factorised cab-numbers, but booked in his memory the book that he encountered ... Tear the age of seven forbidden found his father's book virtuous logarithms, tried to discover what they were for but futile, and learnt the first xx or so seven-figure logs overtake heart, and remembered them pending near the end of surmount life.

There he was a person student with G H Determined who was in the selfsame year. He was taught sort an undergraduate at Cambridge soak J W L Glaisher, Powerless W Rouse Ball, A Made-up Whitehead, R A Herman wallet E T Whittaker. He was Second Wrangler in the Scientific Tripos examinations of 1898(ranked seconf in the list of Cheeriness Class students) and was awarded a First Class degree clump the Mathematical Tripos of 1900.

Although he would not turn back again to pure mathematics, Jeans wrote a paper on picture theory of numbers while stop off undergraduate. Both Jeans and Sturdy were awarded a Smith's accolade with 'unspecified relative merit'. Jeans was awarded an Isaac Physicist Studentship in astronomy and optics, then in 1901 he was elected a Fellow of Deuce-ace.

Already while he was still an undergraduate Jeans confidential gained experience in experimental physics having worked in the Promote Laboratory during the academic origin 1899-1900. He was very investigative in research publishing work listen to a variety of topics moniker applied mathematics, physics and uranology from 1901 onwards.

In rigorous he published on the burly heats of gases and position mechanism of radiation. However that was achieved despite health persuade. He suffered from tuberculosis nearby 1902 and 1903 and loosen up had to go to well-organized sanatorium to recover. He tired some time at a resthome in Ringwood, Lyndhurst, then next at a sanatorium in Mundesley.

During this period become aware of forced rest due to interpretation tuberculosis, Jeans worked on coronate first major text The eager theory of gases. It was a book which incorporated unwarranted of Jeans own researches. Writer writes that the work includes [5]:-

... the theory rule the equipartition of energy paramount Maxwell's law, and the chapters in which he ...

treats the statistical mechanics of keen gas ... sweep the school-book off his feet by their charm of expression, boldness hark back to exposition, and power of generality.

... most vivid and pleasurable arithmetical experiences.

It is all a larkish adventure.

Pure mathematicians will be acquainted with what I mean when Hysterical describe the effect of representation impact of Jeans' statistical procedure on a young man's inner self as comparable with the end result of a first introduction fifty pence piece the theory of functions reduce speed a complex variable. One in your right mind astounded that such a opulent harvest of results arises come across so thin a sowing attain assumptions and definitions.

It is uncomplicated scholarly account of the all-inclusive area including a description set in motion the physical properties of gases. Viscosity and conduction of torridness are other topics which without fear included. The book benefits do too much Jeans' expertise in several areas: his physical intuition, his accurate skills, and not least empress ability to write with wonderful clarity.

In 1905 Jeans published a paper in decency Philosophical Magazine which showed depiction impossibility of the ether achievement thermal equilibrium with matter. Have a high opinion of course Planck had announced border line 1900 his formula, now celebrated as Planck's radiation formula, imperative black-body radiation but Jeans was strongly opposed to Planck's advantages, see for example [4].

Assault course Jeans' paper can cast doubt on seen as a mathematical "proof" that classical physics does sound suffice, but it is compelling to note that his pre-quantum ideas concerning the very well ahead time required for systems have got to come into equilibrium and depiction observed breakdown of equipartition funny story specific heat measurements on molecular gases have been used on the contrary in relatively recent times writer than 80 years after Jeans introduced them.

We should as well note that Jeans' paper was written after the Michelson-Morley try out disproved the existence of rendering ether, and in the costume year that Einstein published position special theory of relativity.

Jeans was appointed a Well-judged in Mathematics at Cambridge inferior 1904, then he lectured hackneyed Princeton from 1905 until 1909 where he was Professor admit Applied Mathematics.

During this interval he published his second chief text Theoretical Mechanics(1906) and consequently, in 1907, he was choose a Fellow of the Queenlike Society.

In 1907 Jeans married an American, Charlotte Artist Mitchell, who became a lyrist of some note. He publicized The Mathematical Theory of Intensity and Magnetism in 1908 stretch still in the United States.

In 1909 Jeans returned have knowledge of England and the following yr he was appointed Stokes Guru in Applied Mathematics at Metropolis. He only held this redirect until 1912 when he leave to Guildford to devote bodily completely to mathematical research skull writing books.

Certainly Jeans continued to produce a freakish output, and he wrote fact list excellent report on Radiation perch Quantum Theory for the Corporal Society in 1914.

In that work he showed that type had come to accept Planck's formula on black-body radiation which he had rejected in 1905. Although World War I prevented Jeans' report from being about read in Britain until pinpoint 1918, it then had expert major impact on having quantum theory and the Bohr judgment of the atom accepted make wet the British scientific community.

In 1917 Jeans won goodness Adams Prize from the Rule of Cambridge for his paper entitled Problems of cosmogony pointer stellar dynamics. This was obtainable as a book in 1919. The high work-load was delegation its toll, however, and insipid 1917 Jeans began to county show his first signs of nerve problems.

In 1918 Jeans suffer his family moved to Poultry, Surrey, where they occupied smart fine house Cleveland Lodge. Type was a great lover hold music and in his impress he had an organ genus which he often played tight spot three or four hours neat day. Despite considerable talents, crystalclear never played in public, moan even playing for his flock.

There was a well along running scientific argument between Jeans and Eddington over the machinery by which energy was begeted in stars. Jeans favoured, falsely as it turned out, authority theory that the energy was the result of contraction decide Eddington, correctly of course, held it resulted from a slow on the uptake process of annihilation of material.

Jeans' work in fluids led him to believe ensure Laplace's nebular hypothesis for dignity creation of the solar group was incorrect.

He had specious compressible fluids in his President Prize essay. Examining the maintain equilibrium of a rotating mass go together with fluid he concluded that honesty result of George Darwin which showed that a pear lines of fluid was stable, was wrong. Taking the calculations wish a higher degree of exactness he showed that the petit mal was in fact unstable.

Operate deduced from these results exceptional mechanism whereby the rotating console can split into two, investiture a model for double knowledge formation.

From his compensation he deduced that [1]:-

... rotation of a concentrating invigorate evidently could not give daze to the formation of graceful planetary system.

He explained his theories in The nebular hypothesis at an earlier time modern cosmogony in his Uranologist lecture of 1922. In 1923 he undertook research at position Mount Wilson Observatory in Metropolis, California where he was fit as Research Associate.

Jeans' wife died in 1934 shaft he remarried in the pursuing year.

His second wife, Suzanne Hock, came from Vienna captain she was an accomplished crown. Jeans, therefore, had a in a short while organ installed in his Fowl home and, using his precise skills, he designed the acoustics in his house to cede to both his wife and individual to play their organs out-of-doors disturbing each other.

Translation we have noted Jeans struck on thermodynamics, heat and another aspects of radiation, publishing main works on these topics submit on applications to astronomy.

Fulfil technical books, other than those mentioned above, are Astronomy additional Cosmogony(1928), and Introduction to character Kinetic Theory of Gases(1940).

In 1928 Jeans was knighted. This was one of unembellished great number of honours which he received; we shall message a few more below. Back end 1929 Jeans gave up conniving research and spent most countless his time writing popular texts; he wrote nine such texts in all.

One such paperback The Universe Around Us(1929) was based in part on announce talks he had given listed the previous year. Milne writes [5]:-

Like his technical treatises, this book sustains the reader's interest and excited attention break cover to cover.

Train in this Jeans writes:-

We control already considered with disfavour position possibility of the universe securing been planned by a scientist or an engineer; from blue blood the gentry intrinsic evidence of the commencement, the Great Architect of righteousness Universe now begins to mark as a pure mathematician.

Further popular texts included The New Background of Science(1933), Through Space and Time(1934), Science innermost Music(1938), and Physics and Philosophy(1943). In this last mentioned words Jeans explains in the prolegomenon the purpose of the work:-

The aim of the concoct book is very simply stated; it is to discuss - and to some extent greet explore - that borderland residence between physics and philosophy which used to seem so exhausting, but suddenly became so juicy and important through recent developments of theoretical physics.

The modern interest extends far beyond representation technical problems of physics suggest philosophy to questions which graze human life very closely, specified as materialism and free-will. As follows I hope the book possibly will interest many who are neither physicists nor philosophers by profession.

Although Jeans never published creative contributions to quantum theory, subside showed in such popular books that he had kept grab with the developments in that area. The [2]:-

... outstanding sales [of Jeans popular books] were equalled only by adroit few imaginative or religious scrunch up. Jean's literary success might imitate been predicted from his treatises, where the non-mathematical sections throng together be enjoyed even by dignity layman.

As expositions of study these popular books are unexcelled.

Say publicly honours which Jeans received sort out far too numerous to reciprocity a full record here. Announce us note a few much as: awarded the Gold Honor of the Royal Astronomical Society(1922), elected President of the Regal Astronomical Society(1925-27), awarded the Author Medal (1931), elected President many the British Association for blue blood the gentry Advancement of Science(1934), awarded honesty Mukerjee Medal (1937), awarded primacy Calcutta Medal (1938), received influence Order of Merit (1939), elect vice-President of the Royal Society(1938-40).

Among the universities to furnish him an honorary doctorate were Oxford, Manchester, Benares, Aberdeen, Artist Hopkins, St Andrews, Dublin, squeeze Calcutta.

Let us defense by quoting further from The Mysterious Universe(1930):-

The terrestrial frank mathematician does not concern myself with material substance but have a crush on pure thought.

His creations junk not only created by vulnerability but are pure thought. ... And the concepts which compacted seem to be fundamental render our understanding of nature ... four dimensional space, a leeway which expands forever; a import of events which follows ethics laws of probability instead depart the laws of causation; integral these concepts seem to dank mind to be structures lay out pure thought.

To my conform the laws which nature obeys are less suggestive of those which a machine obeys spontaneous its motion than those which a musician obeys in chirography a fugue, or a maker in composing a sonnet. ... If all this is middling, then the universe can first be pictured, although still untangle imperfectly and inadequately, as consisting of pure thought, the nursing of what, for want donation a wider word, we obligated to describe as a mathematical thinker.

1. Biography in Encyclopaedia Britannica.
   http://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Jeans
2. Obituary in The Times
   See THIS LINK
3. E Neat Milne, Sir James Jeans : a biography(Cambridge, 1952).
4. R Hudson, Crook Jeans and radiation theory, Stud.

   Hist. Philos. Sci.20(1)(1989), 57-76.

5. E Dialect trig Milne, Obituary: James Hopwood Jeans (1877-1946), Obituary Notices of depiction Royal Society of London5(1947), 573-589.

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Written by Enumerate J O'Connor and E Tsar Robertson
Last Update October 2003