Degrees Kelvin: A Tale of Genius, Invention, and Tragedy

3.7/5 ( ratings)

LORD KELVIN. In 1840, a precocious 16-year-old by the name of William Thomson spent his summer vacation studying an extraordinarily sophisticated mathematical controversy. His brilliant analysis inspired lavish praise and made the boy an instant intellectual celebrity.

As a young scholar William dazzled a Victorian society enthralled with the seductive authority and powerful beauty of scientific discovery. At a time when no one really understood heat, light, electricity, or magnetism, Thomson found key connections between them, laying the groundwork for two of the cornerstones of 19th century science--the theories of electromagnetism and thermodynamics.

Charismatic, confident, and boyishly handsome, Thomson was not a scientist who labored quietly in a lab, plying his trade in monkish isolation. When scores of able tinkerers were flummoxed by their inability to adapt overland telegraphic cables to underwater, intercontinental use, Thomson took to the high seas with new equipment that was to change the face of modern communications. And as the world's navies were transitioning from wooden to iron ships, they looked to Thomson to devise a compass that would hold true even when surrounded by steel.

Gaining fame and wealth through his inventive genius, Thomson was elevated to the peerage by Queen Victoria for his many achievements. He was the first scientist ever to be so honored. Indeed, his name survives in the designation of degrees Kelvin, the temperature scale that begins with absolute zero, the point at which atomic motion ceases and there is a complete absence of heat. Sir William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, was Great Britain's unrivaled scientific hero.

But as the century drew to a close and Queen Victoria's reign ended, this legendary scientific mind began to weaken. He grudgingly gave way to others with a keener, more modern vision. But the great physicist did not go quietly. With a ready pulpit at his disposal, he publicly proclaimed his doubts over the existence of atoms. He refused to believe that radioactivity involved the transmutation of elements. And believing that the origin of life was a matter beyond the expertise of science and better left to theologians, he vehemently opposed the doctrines of evolution, repeatedly railing against Charles Darwin. Sadly, this pioneer of modern science spent his waning years arguing that the Earth and the Sun could not be more than 100 million years old. And although his early mathematical prowess had transformed our understanding of the forces of nature, he would never truly accept the revolutionary changes he had helped bring about, and it was others who took his ideas to their logical conclusion.

In the end Thomson came to stand for all that was old and complacent in the world of 19th century science. Once a scientific force to be reckoned with, a leader to whom others eagerly looked for answers, his peers in the end left him behind--and then meted out the ultimate punishment for not being able to keep step with them. For while they were content to bury him in Westminster Abbey alongside Isaac Newton, they used his death as an opportunity to write him out of the scientific record, effectively denying him his place in history. Kelvin's name soon faded from the headlines, his seminal ideas forgotten, his crucial contributions overshadowed.

Destined to become the definitive biography of one of the most important figures in modern science, Degrees Kelvin unravels the mystery of a life composed of equal parts triumph and tragedy, hubris and humility, yielding a surprising and compelling portrait of a complex and enigmatic man.

Language: English

Pages: 382

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Joseph Henry Press

Release: February 10, 2004

ISBN: 0309090733

ISBN 13: 9780309090735

Degrees Kelvin: A Tale of Genius, Invention, and Tragedy

David Lindley

3.7/5 ( ratings)

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Language: English

Pages: 382

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Joseph Henry Press

Release: February 10, 2004

ISBN: 0309090733

ISBN 13: 9780309090735

5/5 ( ratings)

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Reader Reviews

Ari

(4/5)

1

Jul 16, 2025

William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, was one of the great scientists of the 19th century. In his own time, he was at the pinnacle of scientific prestige. He was the first scientist ever ennobled in the United Kington. His reputation, however, has fallen off considerably since his own time, and he mostly appears in the history of science as a cranky old man, opposing these new-fangled things like nuclear physics and relativity. This biography paints a picture of the man, with particular emphasis on tryi...
Jennifer

(1/5)

1

Jul 16, 2025

Wow - I haven't read a book that bored me to this extent in a long time. The author didn't seem to know what to include and what not to include, so you get a lot of very long-winded bunny trails and technical explanations that completely left me in the dust. Pretty much any person encountered is given a mini-biography (whether they play a small or large part in the story), which got to be quite tiresome. Lord Kelvin (William Thomson) was an interesting character, though, and had a lot of influen...
Ian

(4/5)

1

Jul 16, 2025

A true Victorian genius, both as scientist and inventor, Lindley highlights the many things Kelvin got many things right while not hiding those few he did not.
Josh Paul

(3/5)

1

Jul 16, 2025

I don't have much interest in the biographies of relatively obscure early physicists (this was assigned for a class), but as far as such things go this book was fairly good.
Elsie

(5/5)

1

Jul 16, 2025

Excellent book. An interesting biography and unstandable science for a non-science person like me.
dejah_thoris

(3/5)

1

Jul 16, 2025

Another one of those books that makes me wish we taught science as more of a struggle to find answers than a clearly defined string of discoveries. Lord Kelvin is now relatively unknown despite all his numerous contributions to various areas of Natural Science and this book does a great job of reflecting on the people behind the discoveries and the conflicts between them. A long slog though because it is a bit dry and detailed but once you get into his productive years, it's amazing to see what

Ari

(4/5)

Jul 16, 2025

William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, was one of the great scientists of the 19th century. In his own time, he was at the pinnacle of scientific prestige. He was the first scientist ever ennobled in the United Kington. His reputation, however, has fallen off considerably since his own time, and he mostly appears in the history of science as a cranky old man, opposing these new-fangled things like nuclear physics and relativity. This biography paints a picture of the man, with particular emphasis on tryi...

Jennifer

(1/5)

Wow - I haven't read a book that bored me to this extent in a long time. The author didn't seem to know what to include and what not to include, so you get a lot of very long-winded bunny trails and technical explanations that completely left me in the dust. Pretty much any person encountered is given a mini-biography (whether they play a small or large part in the story), which got to be quite tiresome. Lord Kelvin (William Thomson) was an interesting character, though, and had a lot of influen...

Ian

A true Victorian genius, both as scientist and inventor, Lindley highlights the many things Kelvin got many things right while not hiding those few he did not.

Josh Paul

(3/5)

I don't have much interest in the biographies of relatively obscure early physicists (this was assigned for a class), but as far as such things go this book was fairly good.

Elsie

(5/5)

Excellent book. An interesting biography and unstandable science for a non-science person like me.

dejah_thoris

Another one of those books that makes me wish we taught science as more of a struggle to find answers than a clearly defined string of discoveries. Lord Kelvin is now relatively unknown despite all his numerous contributions to various areas of Natural Science and this book does a great job of reflecting on the people behind the discoveries and the conflicts between them. A long slog though because it is a bit dry and detailed but once you get into his productive years, it's amazing to see what

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Degrees Kelvin: A Tale of Genius, Invention, and Tragedy

Degrees Kelvin: A Tale of Genius, Invention, and Tragedy

Degrees Kelvin: A Tale of Genius, Invention, and Tragedy

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