James Thomson (16 Feb 1822 – 8 May 1892) was an engineer and physicist whose reputation is substantial though it is overshadowed by that of his younger brother William Thomson (Lord Kelvin)

William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin

William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin OM, GCVO, PC, PRS, PRSE, was a mathematical physicist and engineer. At the University of Glasgow he did important work in the mathematical analysis of electricity and formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and did much to unify the emerging...

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Biography

Born in Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, he grew up mostly in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

. His father James

James Thomson (mathematician)

James Thomson was an Irish mathematician, notable for his role in the formation of the thermodynamics school at Glasgow University...

 was professor of mathematics at the University of Glasgow

University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...

 from 1832 onward and his younger brother was to become William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin

William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin

William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin OM, GCVO, PC, PRS, PRSE, was a mathematical physicist and engineer. At the University of Glasgow he did important work in the mathematical analysis of electricity and formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and did much to unify the emerging...

. James attended Glasgow University from a young age and graduated (1839) with high honors in his late teens. After graduation he served brief apprenticeships with practical engineers in several domains; and then gave a considerable amount of his time to theoretical and mathematical engineering studies, often in collaboration with his brother, during his twenties in Glasgow. In his late twenties he entered into private practice as a professional engineer with special expertise in water transport. In his early thirties, in 1855, he was appointed professor of civil engineering at Queen's University Belfast. He remained there until 1873, when he accepted the professorship of Civil Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Glasgow

University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...

 (in which post he was successor to the influential William Rankine)until he resigned with failing eyesight in 1889.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in June 1877.

He served as President of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland

Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland

The Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland is a professional body for engineers and shipbuilders in Scotland.-Founding:The inaugural meeting of the Institution of Engineers in Scotland was held on 1 May 1857...

 from 1884 to 1886. He died in Glasgow in 1892.

Legacy

James Thomson is known for his work on the improvement of water wheels, water pumps and turbines. Also, his innovations in the analysis of regelation

Regelation

Regelation is the phenomenon of melting under pressure and freezing again when the pressure is reduced. Many textbooks and reference books as well as websites often claim that regelation can be demonstrated by looping a fine wire around a block of ice , with a heavy weight attached to it...

, i.e., the effect of pressure on the freezing point of water. Also, his studies in glaciology

Glaciology

Glaciology Glaciology Glaciology (from Middle French dialect (Franco-Provençal): glace, "ice"; or Latin: glacies, "frost, ice"; and Greek: λόγος, logos, "speech" lit...

 including glacier motion, where he extended the work of James David Forbes

James David Forbes

James David Forbes was a Scottish physicist and glaciologist who worked extensively on the conduction of heat and seismology. Forbes was a resident of Edinburgh for most of his life, educated at the University and a professor there from 1833 until he became principal of the United College of St...

. Also, he studied the experimental work of his colleague Thomas Andrews

Thomas Andrews (scientist)

Thomas Andrews FRS was an Irish chemist and physicist who did important work on phase transitions between gases and liquids.-Life:Andrews was born in Belfast, Ireland where his father was a linen merchant...

 concerning the continuity of the liquid and gaseous states of matter, and strengthened understanding of it by applying his strong knowledge of thermodynamics. He derived a simplified form of the Clapeyron equation for the solid-liquid phase boundary

Phase boundary

The behavior of phase boundaries has been a developing subject of interest and an active research field in physics and mathematics for almost two centuries. One reason behind this is that phase boundaries naturally arise in many physical processes due to immiscibility of two or more substances with...

. He also had contributions in the realm of fluid dynamics of rivers.

External links