Wednesday Wisdom

WHO?

Lord Kelvin, born William Thomson in Belfast, Ireland, on June 26, 1824, he was the son of James Thomson, a respected mathematician and professor who had a large influence on his career and thinking. His family moved to Glasgow, Scotland, when he was young, where his father took a position at the University of Glasgow. This environment nurtured William's intellectual growth, and he displayed exceptional aptitude in mathematics and science from an early age. Remarkably, he enrolled at the University of Glasgow at just 10 years old, becoming one of the youngest students ever to study there. After excelling in his studies, he pursued further education at the University of Cambridge, where he was deeply influenced by the works of Sir Isaac Newton and other prominent scientists and physicists. While at Cambridge, he earned high honors and immersed himself in mathematical physics, laying the foundation for his later groundbreaking contributions. His early exposure to academic excellence and rigorous training shaped his career as one of the most influential scientists of the 19th century.

What he is famous for

Lord Kelvin is renowned for his groundbreaking contributions to thermodynamics, temperature measurement, and engineering. Kelvin played a pivotal role in the success of the transatlantic telegraph cable, revolutionizing global communication by improving signal transmission. He also invented instruments like the mirror galvanometer and siphon recorder, which were crucial for telegraphy. His studies in wave theory and electromagnetism contributed significantly to advancements in these fields. Kelvin attempted to estimate the Earth’s age based on its cooling rate, a pioneering effort that combined physics and geology, though it was later revised with the discovery of radioactive decay. His work extended to diverse areas, including heat transfer and electrical engineering, influencing generations of scientists. Through his innovations and theoretical advancements, Lord Kelvin became one of the most influential figures of the 19th century.

In 1724, Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, German engineer, physicist and glass blower was interested in building a way to measure thermodynamic systems which is the transfer of energy and heat in the universe. His glass blowing was a significant skill building his scientific measurement instruments where he could control the experiment from outside influences. He built a mercury encased vacuum tube that he used to measure waters boiling point (212 degrees Fahrenheit) and freezing point (32 degrees Fahrenheit), and the first accurate measure of heat was born. In 1742, a Swedish scientist and astronomer Anders Celius developed a system of measurement where he based it on freezing and boiling to anchor the reference points around centigrade (which means 100 steps). Oddly, he had freezing at 100 degrees and zero as boiling point. The reversal of Anders Celius's original temperature scale, where he initially set 0°C as the boiling point of water and 100°C as the freezing point, is credited to Carl Linnaeus. Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist and contemporary of Celsius, is often recognized for popularizing the inverted scale after Celius's death in 1744. It made sense for temperatures to increase as heat was added, aligning with a natural understanding of thermodynamics.

Lord William Thomson Kelvin developed his temperature scale, known as the Kelvin scale, in 1848 to provide a universal, absolute scale for temperature measurements. His motivation stemmed from the need to establish a system that was independent of specific substances (like water) and based on fundamental principles of thermodynamics. Kelvin proposed the concept of absolute zero, the theoretical point at which all molecular motion ceases, as the starting point of his scale. This idea was derived from the study of gas behavior and the second law of thermodynamics. Absolute zero was calculated to be -273.15°C on the Celsius scale, providing a natural, universal baseline for measuring temperature.

Lord Kelvin introduced the concept of absolute temperature, creating the Kelvin scale, where 0 Kelvin represents absolute zero, the point where molecular motion ceases. His work on the second law of thermodynamics advanced the understanding of energy flow and entropy, shaping modern physics.

2025 - why it’s important

Kelvin's work was grounded in the principles of energy and heat transfer. The Kelvin scale was designed to reflect the direct relationship between temperature and thermodynamic properties, such as entropy and energy.

This brings us back to the original premise, does cold exist? You may feel the cold, but it actually doesn’t exist. Kelvin degrees is infinite to the upside because you can continue to add more and more heat, for example the big bang, which is believed to be the point of the creation of the universe was believed to be several trillion degrees kelvin. Cold it turns out is just the absence of heat which is the byproduct of the movement of atoms. As Kelvin correctly predicted, absolute zero- or 0-degrees kelvin is the condition where all molecular structures cease to move and thus generate no heat.

The philosophical question, does cold exist? Kelvin proved that it is just a feeling and an absence of heat. What does this mean going forward? Quantum computing has recently been in the forefront of attention following Google’s introduction of a new chip called Willow and Microsoft announcement that companies need to be quantum ready. Meanwhile Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang poured cold water on the quantum excitement when he opined the technology is 15 to 20 years apart. For quantum computing to work it needs to run at almost absolute zero, philosophically and theoretically you can never get to absolute zero. When particles get to near zero, the particles and waves are vibrating slowly and become one wave, and it produces a new type of matter in a phenomenon called Bose-Einstein condensate.

At absolute zero traditional laws of physics break down in the quantum state. Will we learn metaphysical question of who we are, what is life and what is the universe as we explore these cold quantum state?

And now you know...

Thanks, Dad, for the gift of curiosity!

Philosophy is the art of thinking, the building block of progress that shapes critical thinking across economics, ethics, religion, and science.

METAPHYSICS: Literally, the term metaphysics means ‘beyond the physical.’ Typically, this is the branch that most people think of when they picture philosophy. In metaphysics, the goal is to answer what and how questions in life. Who are we, and what are time and space?

LOGIC: The study of reasoning. Much like metaphysics, understanding logic helps to understand and appreciate how we perceive the rest of our world. More than that, it provides a foundation for which to build and interpret arguments and analyses.

ETHICS: The study of morality, right and wrong, good and evil. Ethics tackles difficult conversations by adding weight to actions and decisions. Politics takes ethics to a larger scale, applying it to a group (or groups) of people. Political philosophers study political governments, laws, justice, authority, rights, liberty, ethics, and much more.

AESTHETICS: What is beautiful? Philosophers try to understand, qualify, and quantify what makes art what it is. Aesthetics also takes a deeper look at the artwork itself, trying to understand the meaning behind it, both art as a whole and art on an individual level. A question an aesthetics philosopher would seek to address is whether or not beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.

EPISTEMOLOGY: This is the study and understanding of knowledge. The main question is how do we know? We can question the limitations of logic, how comprehension works, and the ability (or perception) to be certain.