Baron Kelvin of Largs: an economical engineer.
William Thomson--honoured as Baron Kelvin of Largs--was Victorian Britain's most famous physicist, especially celebrated for laying the trans-Atlantic telegraph cable. As well as profiting financially from his many engineering projects, Kelvin introduced influential theories about energy and electromagnetism, all strongly coloured by his industrial experiences and the thrifty attitudes of Scottish Christians. Never accepting radioactivity as an additional energy source to the sun, he insisted that the Earth's life span was far too short for evolution to have taken place.
Fara
Patricia
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Clare College, Cambridge, UK. pf10006@cam.ac.uk
D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010825:Physics / Q000266:history*; D011851:Radioactivity; D012993:Solar Energy; D013685:Telecommunications / Q000266:history*; D006113:United Kingdom