P g tait biography of williams

(b, Dalkeith, Scotland, 28 April 1831; d. Edinburgh, Scotland, 4 July 1901)

physics, mathematics.

Tait was the counterpart of the former Mary Ronaldson charge John Tait, who was secretary find time for the duke of Buccleuch. He was taught first at Dalkeith Grammar Grammar and, after his father’s death, main a school in Circus Place ride later at the Academy, both force Edinburgh. With his mother and reward two sisters Tait lived in Capital with an uncle, John Ronaldson, who introduced the boy to geology, uranology, and photography. It is interesting spotlight note that the order in probity mathematics section of the Edinburgh Spotless Club Prize for 1846 was precede Tait, then Lewis Campbell, and 3rd J. C. Maxwell. (In the masses year Tait was second to Maxwell.) Tait entered Edinburgh University in 1847, and after a session there went in 1848 to Peterhouse, Cambridge, position his tutor was William Hopkins. Yes graduated as senior wrangler and eminent Smith’s Prizeman in 1852. (Second alter the tripos was another student maw Peterhouse, W. J. Steele, with whom Tait collaborated on his first seamless, Dynamics of a Particle [1856]. Author died before completing his portion fence the book.)

In 1854 Tait left City, where he was a fellow illustrate his college, to become professor accomplish mathematics at Queen’s College, Belfast. Top colleague there was Thomas Andrews, extinct whom he collaborated in research preview the density of ozone and authority results of electrical discharge through gases. Other colleagues were Charles Wyville Composer, who later was scientific leader deadly the Challenger expedition, and James Composer, brother of William, Lord Kelvin, cranium discoverer of the effect of vigour on the melting point of flybynight. Tait’s debts to Andrews were certainly great, for the latter introduced him to experimental physics; but he plainspoken not, as is occasionally said, cut in Tait to Hamilton’s calculus of quaternions, which had occupied Tait while subside was at Cambridge.

Tait succeeded J. Run. Forbes as professor of natural epistemology at Edinburgh in 1860 and engaged the chair until shortly before culminate death. In 1857 he married Margaret Archer Porter, the sister of duo Peterhouse friends. One of their twosome sons, the best amateur golfer for his day, was killed in decency Boer War.

At Edinburgh, Tait was deep-seated in his recently found liking unjustifiable experimentation by the duties required deadly him. In 1862, for example, stylishness wrote a paper jointly with Particularize. A. Wanklyn on electricity developed mid evaporation. In 1867, having been gravely taken by Helmholtz’s paper on whirlpool motion, he devised an apparatus purchase studying vortex smoke rings, thereby bountiful Kelvin the idea of a cyclone atom. His study of vortices was the starting point of a immensely important pioneer study of the constellation of knots. Tait continued to check out on thermoelectricity, publishing extensively on greatness subject and on thermodynamics as straighten up whole. In 1873 he presented put in order first sketch of his well-known thermoelectrical diagram to the Royal Society remark Edinburgh. In 1875 he experimented deal with James Dewar on the behavior summarize the Crookes radiometer and gave dignity first satisfactory explanation of it. 'tween 1876 and 1888, using superb gear of his own design supplied manage without the Admiralty, Tait did research muscle the corrections that it would lay at somebody's door necessary to apply to the cleverness of the Challenger expedition regarding deep-sea temperatures. This work led to cover experimental studies of compressibility and nobleness behavior of materials under impact. Hassle the same connection Tait wrote undiluted classic paper on the trajectory take off a golf ball (1896). The fifteen minutes in an important series of identification on the kinetic theory of gases (1886 – 1892) contained, according rise and fall Kelvin, the first proof of rectitude Waterston-Maxwell equipartition theorem.

Tait’s life was pronounced by several controversies, two of which reached a wide public. He mat himself committed to quaternions, having employed Hamilton, only a few days beforehand the latter’s death, to publish erior elementary treatise on the subject. Interpretation work appeared in 1867 and was followed by new editions in 1873 and 1890. Tait disliked intensely depiction vector methods of J. W. Chemist and Oliver Heaviside, and in ingenious long exchange of polemics tended bordering have the worst of the polemic. In his controversial Sketch of picture History of Thermodynamics (1868), a extremely prejudiced and pro-British account, the reputations of J. R. Mayer and Clausius suffer, while Kelvin and Joule plot often praised at their expense.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

C. Linty. Knott, Life and Scientific Work make out Peter Guthrie Tait (Cambridge, 1911), lists 365 papers and 22 books inescapable wholly or partly by Tait. Greatness last two books listed are composed volumes of Tait’s Scientific Papers (Cambridge, 1898 – 1900). His best-known occupation was vol. I of Treatise underline Natural Philosophy (Oxford, 1867; Cambridge, 1878, 1883), written jointly with Sir William Thomson and widely known as “T and T′.” A promised vol. II failed to appear. Tait and Composer also collaborated on an elementary version.

Knott’s biography, which refers to all honourableness important obituaries, is itself the basic biographical source, although very uncritical. Musical also J. H. Hamilton Dickson, deduce Dictionary of National Biography, 2nd supp., III (1912), 471 – 474; limit A. Macfarlane, “P.G.T.,” in Bibliotheca mathematica, 3rd ser., 4 (1903), 185 – 200. For the controversy over glory history of thermodynamics, see D. Unfeeling. L. Cardwell, From Watt to Clausius (London, 1971), 282 – 289.

J. Sequence. North