John Tyndall
John Tyndall FRS 2 August 1820 – 4 December 1893) was an important 19th-century Irish physicist. He studied diamagnetism. Later he made discoveries about infrared radiation and the physical properties of the air. In 1859 he proved the connection between atmospheric CO2 and what is now known as the greenhouse effect.
John Tyndall | |
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| Born | 2 August 1820 Leighlinbridge, County Carlow, Ireland, UK |
| Died | 4 December 1893 (aged 73) Haslemere, Surrey, England, UK |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Alma mater | University of Marburg |
| Known for | Atmosphere, physics, Tyndall effect, diamagnetism, infrared radiation, Tyndallization |
| Awards | Royal Medal (1853) Rumford Medal (1864) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics, chemistry |
| Institutions | Royal Institution of Great Britain |
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Tyndall also published more than a dozen science books which brought state-of-the-art 19th century experimental physics to a wide audience. From 1853 to 1887 he was professor of physics at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in London.[1][2]
John Tyndall Media
- YoungJohnTyndall.jpg
Photo of John Tyndall as a young man. See two other versions of the same photo below.
- Tyndall 1896 Figure 7-37-MJ2.jpg
John Tyndall explored the glacial tributaries feeding Mer de Glace in 1857. General topology (left); dirt-bands in glacier (right).
Tyndall's sensitive ratio spectrophotometer (drawing published in 1861) measured the extent to which infrared radiation was absorbed and emitted by various gases filling its central tube.
- Tyndalls setup for broths in optically pure air.jpg
Tyndall's setup for preserving broths in optically pure air.
- Tyndalls setup for demonstrating reflection of sound in air.jpg
One of Tyndall's setups for showing that sound is reflected in air at the interface between air bodies of different densities.
- Tyndall setup for looking at aerosols.jpg
With this setup Tyndall observed new chemical reactions produced by high frequency light waves acting on certain vapours. The main scientific interest here from his point of view was the additional hard data it lent to the grand question of the mechanism by which molecules absorb radiant energy.
- Illustrations in the book Heat considered as a mode of motion (fig 4 and 5) by John Tyndall.jpg
John Tyndall's tutorial books about physics contained many illustrations. This one, from Heat Considered as Mode of Motion, is his setup for demonstrating that air cools during the act of expanding in volume; and that air heats up during the act of compressing in volume. (Click on image for more explanation).
- John Tyndall, 1872.jpg
Tyndall caricatured as a preacher in the magazine Vanity Fair, 1872.
The Swiss memorial to John Tyndall, with the Aletsch Glacier in the background