FOOTNOTES:

The wise and active conquer difficultiesBy daring to attempt them. Sloth and follyShiver and shrink at sight of toil and labor,And make the impossibility they fear.

Shortly after his return home, Prof. Thomson was knighted for his splendid services in connection with sub-oceanic cables, and was also honored with the freedom of the City of Glasgow.

If while journeying over land or sea, Sir William's mind was always active, his eyes were also open and observant. In the numerous voyages which he undertook in the interest of cable companies, he seems to have been struck by the unreliable character of the ordinary apparatus used in taking soundings, consisting of a heavy weight suspended by a thick hempen cord unwoundfrom a reel. Owing to the massiveness of the cord, the motion of the ship and currents in the water would necessarily deflect it from the vertical, so that the soundings recorded would be in excess of the true depth. To remedy this defect, Thomson replaced the rope, at first by a steel wire, and later by a thin strand of steel wires, on which the speed of the ship has but little effect; the sinker descends vertically with considerable velocity, and is raised with equal rapidity by suitable winding-up machinery placed in the stern of the ship. The sinker carries a gauge consisting of a quill-tube open at the lower end and closed at the top. The inside, which is coated with silver chromate, shows by the discoloration produced by the action of the sea water how far the water has compressed the air in the tube. By comparison with a graduated ruler, the depth is then read off. When the sinker reaches bottom, the heavy weight is detached automatically, so that there is but little strain on the wire as it ascends with its thermometer and battery of tubes containing samples of the depths reached.

A story is told in connection with this sounding-machine which shows the vivacity and wit of the inventor. Having brought his friend Joule into White's one day, he pointed to a number of coils of steel wire lying on the floor, informing his English friend of "mechanical-equivalent" fame at the same time that he intended the wire for sounding purposes. Upon Joule's innocently asking what note it would sound, he received the prompt answer, "the deep sea"!

Another subject to which Sir William gave some attention after his experiences on the ocean is the navigating compass. His observations led him to distrust the long,heavy needles then in general use on shipboard. Besides the friction to which the pressure on the pivot gives rise and which necessarily diminishes the sensitiveness of the needle, there was another objection, due to the difficulty experienced in successfully applying steel magnets and soft-iron masses to compensate for the magnetism of the ship and for the changes induced in it by change of place in the earth's magnetic field.

As a result, Prof. Thomson devised a compass-card which is remarkable for its lightness and sensitiveness. It is made of two sets of magnets, containing four needles each, arranged symmetrically on the right and left of the pivot. The four needles, forming a set, are of unequal length, ranging from 3-1/4 to 2 inches, with the shortest outermost. Such a card, with its associated correctors of steel magnets and soft-iron balls, has added greatly to the safety and certainty of navigation; and as such, it is used to-day in the merchant service and in the navies of most countries of the world.

As we have seen, Thomson had the keen, racy wit of his race. Lecturing before the members of the Birmingham and Midland Institute in 1883, he placed himself and his nationality on record in a very humorous way. His subject was "The six gateways of Knowledge." As will be remembered by the readers ofThe Pilgrim's Progress, old Bunyan likened the soul to a citadel on a hill having no means of communication with the outer world save by live gates,viz., the eye gate, the ear gate, the mouth gate, the nose gate and the feel gate. These are the five senses by which we obtain our knowledge of the material world which surrounds us. But Prof. Thomson took issue with Bunyan, with Reid, and the metaphysicians of all time in maintaining in thislecture that we have six gateways of knowledge instead of five, justifying the position which he took by affirming that the sense of touch is really twofold, one of heat and the other of force. It does not appear, however, that he made any marked impression on the philosophic thought of the day, for psychologists continued to write with undisturbed equanimity of the five senses and not the six.

It was on this occasion that Prof. Thomson said: "The only census of the senses, so far as I am aware, that ever before made them more than five was the Irishman's reckoning of seven senses. I presume the Irishman's seventh sense was common sense; and I believe that the possession of that virtue by my countrymen,I speak as an Irishman, I say the large possession of the seventh sense which I believe Irishmen have, will do more to alleviate the woes of Ireland than the removal of 'the melancholy ocean' which surrounds its shores."

For the successful operation of cables, telegraph lines and scientific investigations of all sorts, a system of practical electrical units, accepted by all companies and countries of the world, was soon found to be indispensable. The pioneer in the movement for establishing an international system of electrical standards was Mr. J. Latimer Clark, who, assisted by his distinguished partner, (Sir) Charles Bright, prepared a paper on "The formation of Standards of Electrical Quantity and Resistance," which was read at the Manchester meeting of the British Association in 1861. Prof. Thomson was present; and, at his instance, a committee was appointed to report on the general question of electrical units. This was the first meeting of a committee that was destined to accomplish much in the electric and electromagnetic field; it was the initial impulse of a movementthat brought renown to the entire body of English electricians. Such units as the ohm, the volt and the farad met with immediate acceptance, while later on the ampere, the coulomb, the watt and the joule were introduced. Among the members of this body besides Prof. Thomson, were such able men as Clerk Maxwell, Joule, Lord Rayleigh, Sir William Siemens, Johnstone Stoney, Balfour Stewart, and Carey Foster.

The world is then indebted to the insistence and advocacy of Prof. Thomson for the general acceptance of the "C.G.S." system of measurement, which involves the centimeter (length), the gram (mass), and the second (time) as the fundamental units from which all others are derived.

Prof. Thomson has claims in the "wireless" field also; for as far back as 1855, he studied the nature of the discharge of a condenser and proved mathematically that, under certain conditions easily realized in practice, such discharges are of an oscillatory character, consisting of a forward and a backward rush of electricity between the two coatings of the condenser. As pointed out on page 92, Prof. Henry had reached the same conclusion in 1842, and Helmholtz in 1847; but Thomson's insight into the phenomenon is keen and his mathematical analysis of it very remarkable.

Just as the to-and-fro motions of the prongs of a tuning-fork give rise to sound-waves in the air, so the electric oscillation due to a condenser discharge sets up in the universal ether electric waves which flash the news of the world over continents and oceans with unthinkable velocity.

By special request, Sir William Thomson gave, in 1884, a course of lectures at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, to an audience of "professional fellow-students in physical science," as he called theéliteof American men of science, twenty-one in number, assembled to hear him. These accomplished physicists he also affectionately called his "twenty-one coefficients."

The subject was the wave-theory of light, and the object of the lecturer was to show how far the phenomena of light, such as its transmission, refraction and dispersion, could be explained within the limits of the elastic solid theory of the ether, which makes that hypothetical medium rigid, highly elastic and non-gravitational. From the very first lecture, Sir William assumed a cold and diffident attitude toward the rival theory of Clerk Maxwell, which makes light an electromagnetic phenomenon; and though his own presented formidable difficulties, and its rival was universally accepted, the veteran Professor assured his hearers that the elastic solid theory is the "only tenable foundation for the wave-theory of light in the present (1884) state of our knowledge."

Despite the energy which he displayed, his luminous argumentation and close logic, Kelvin made no converts among his "twenty-one coefficients"; and it soon became evident that he was championing a lost cause. Newton did the same when he held tenaciously to the corpuscular theory of light; and in doing so, let it be said, that he retarded the acceptance of the wave-theory and the advance of science by a hundred years.

A few years after the Baltimore lectures, official recognition of his distinguished services and of his eminence in science came to Sir William Thomson when, in 1892, he was raised to the peerage, with the title of Baron Kelvin of Netherhall, Kelvin being the name of a stream which passes near the buildings of the University of Glasgow and flows into the Clyde, while Netherhall is that of his country-seat at Largs, in Ayrshire, 40 miles from Glasgow.

As to the structure of matter, Kelvin lived to see the "atom" of his youth and mature years shattered into fragments, and the atomic theory of matter rapidly yielding to the electronic. Though he maintained an open mind toward the new school of physics, he was reserved and conservative toward the revolutionary doctrine of extreme radio-activists. He did not believe in the transformation of one elementary form of matter into another; and he strenuously combated the theory of the spontaneous disintegration of the atom.

Notwithstanding a long life devoted to the study of mathematical and experimental physics, during which Kelvin unraveled many a difficult problem in electricity and magnetism and added many a beautiful skein to the texture of our knowledge in electrostatics and electrokinetics, that illustrious man, the acknowledged leader in physical science, made a public admission in 1896 which caused a great stir throughout the scientific world. It was on the occasion of the celebration of the golden jubilee of his professorship of natural philosophy in the University of Glasgow. Delegates had come from all parts of the world; kings and princes had sent their representatives; universities and learned societies of every country of the Old World and the New vied with one another in doing honor to the scientist who had figured so long and so conspicuously in the advances of the age. It was on that solemn occasion and in presence of such a notable assembly that Kelvin made the astonishingadmission that, although he had been a diligent student of electricity and magnetism for a period exceeding fifty years, and although he had pondered every day for forty years over the nature of the ether and the constitution of matter, he knew no more about their essence, about what they really are, than he knew at the beginning of his professional work.

This confession, remarkable by reason of the man who made it and the circumstances in which it was made, has always appeared to the writer of these lines as having more of the ring of disappointment in it than of blank failure. Kelvin's great analytical mind early and persistently strove to penetrate the closely guarded secrets of nature; and because Dame Nature did not yield to his open sesame, but persisted in her reticence, the philosopher grew pessimistic and disappointed; and, under the sway of such feelings, he summed up the result of his life-quest after the ultimate problems in science and pronounced it a "failure."

A "failure" it was not, if science is the discovery and registration of the laws of God as revealed in the universe of mind and matter; for few men of his generation, if any, made more contributions of the first order to the theory of electrostatics, to the doctrine of energy, to hydrodynamics and the thermo-electric properties of matter. This note of disappointment, or wail of despondency, had been sounded before by Faraday, who said that, the more he studied electrical phenomena, the less he seemed to know about electricity itself. Was not Laplace animated by a kindred feeling when he spoke about the infinitude of our ignorance? Lastly, was not this intense feeling of our limited powers precisely that which, after all his discoveries in mathematics, in optics and in celestial mechanics, made Newton compare himself to a child standing on the beach with the vast ocean of truth before him, unfathomed and unexplored?

Kelvin gave a beautiful example to the world when, after resigning the chair which he had occupied for fifty-five years in the University of Glasgow, he immediately proceeded to enter his name on the undergraduate list, intimating by such an act that, whether a man is a professor-in-ordinary of natural philosophy or a professor emeritus, he must ever be a student, in close touch with nature.

Lord Kelvin had the happiness of enjoying good health throughout all the years of his long career, a happiness due in part to nature, and in part also to the simplicity, frugality and regularity of his life.

As already said, he was fond of cruising in European waters in his yachtLalla Rookhduring the summer months, and even venturing out on the Atlantic as far as Madeira, for,

He loved the sea, and what is more,He loved it best when far from shore.

In later years, however, owing to facial neuralgia, he was accustomed to spend a month or so every summer with Lady Kelvin at Aix-les-Bains, from which visits he always derived much benefit.

While making some experiments in a corridor of his beautiful home at Netherhall, he caught a chill on November 23d, 1907, from which he never rallied, despite the cares and attentions that were fondly lavished upon him. The bulletins that were issued concerning his condition were read all the world over with moreconcern than if they referred to a reigning sovereign or an heir apparent. Every teacher of physics, mathematical or experimental; every man interested in the advance of science and the spread of knowledge, anxiously awaited news from the sick-room of the illustrious patient—news that was transmitted to the ends of the earth by the siphon-recorder invented by the dying scientist in the heyday of his life; and when the word came that Kelvin had breathed his last, that cablegram brought universal sorrow for the quenching of the brightest light of the age and the loss of the leading scientist, the model man and faithful Christian.

It was in the fitness of things that the man who was considered the greatest since Newton should be buried in Westminster Abbey, and that the mortal remains of Lord Kelvin should find a resting-place next to the grave of the genius who thought out thePrincipiaand discovered the gravitational law which governs the planetary as well as the stellar universe.

If asked to say what impressed me most in Lord Kelvin, I would mention the cordial manner in which he welcomed those who sought advice; the encouragement which he held out to students; his absolute devotion to truth; his fair-mindedness and candor; his reverence in dealing with the problems of the soul and the destiny of man; and the uniform, tranquil happiness of his life, due, under God, to his profound religious belief and noble Christian life.

A man of strong convictions, Kelvin did not, however, wear his religion on his sleeve, but treasured it in the depths of his heart, where it was never disturbed by the tossing and ever-changing wave-forms of individual opinion. He quietly but uniformly maintainedthat physical science demands the existence and action of creative power; and he did not shrink from affirming this conviction whenever circumstances seemed to require it, as was the case on the memorable occasion of his Presidential address to the members of the British Association in 1871. In concluding that brilliant discourse, he said: "But strong, overpowering proofs of intelligent and benevolent design lie all around us; and if ever perplexities, whether metaphysical or scientific, turn us away from them for a time, they come back upon us with irresistible force, showing to us, through nature, the influence of free will, and teaching us that all living beings depend on one ever-acting Creator and Ruler."

Once when particularly disgusted with the materialistic views of those who, while denying the existence of a Creator, attributed the wonders of nature, animate and inanimate, to the potency of a fortuitous concourse of atoms, he wrote to Liebig, asking him if a leaf or a flower could be formed or even made grow by chemical forces, to which he received the significant reply from the famous chemist of Giessen: "I would more readily believe that a book on chemistry or on botany could grow out of dead matter by chemical processes."

We have already referred to the custom which obtained in the University of Glasgow, of beginning the daily sessions by invoking the blessing of heaven on the work about to be undertaken. Having liberty in the matter of choice, Prof. Thomson selected for this purpose a prayer from the morning service of the Church of England, which reads: "O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day; defend us inthe same with Thy mighty power; and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all our doings may be ordered by Thy governance, to do always what is righteous in Thy sight; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen."

Academical honors were showered upon Lord Kelvin by seats of learning, ancient and modern; he was a D. C. L. Oxford, LL. D. Cambridge, and a D. Sc. London; he was President of the Royal Society from 1890 to 1895; President of the British Association in 1871; Knight of the Prussian OrderPour le Mérite, and Foreign Associate of theInstitut de France.

His published works include a "Treatise on Natural Philosophy," 2 vols., written in collaboration with Prof. Tait, of Edinburgh (the two authors were often referred to as T and T'); "Contributions to Electrostatics and Magnetism"; "Collected mathematical and physical Papers," 3 vols.; "Popular Lectures and Addresses," 3 vols.; and the "Baltimore Lectures." These, as well as the instruments which he devised for navigation, for the finest work of the laboratory, as well as for the commercial measurement of current, potential, and energy, form a monument to Lord Kelvin that will beaere perennius.

Brother Potamian.

FOOTNOTES:[35]Water was decomposed in 1789 by Van Troostwijk and Cuthberson, by means of sparks from an electrical machine. Prof. Ostwald considers this the first instance of the decomposition of a chemical compound by electricity.[36]The thimble was borrowed from Miss Fitzgerald, daughter of the Knight of Kerry, who was living at Valentia.[37]Broken up a few years ago for scrap iron.

[35]Water was decomposed in 1789 by Van Troostwijk and Cuthberson, by means of sparks from an electrical machine. Prof. Ostwald considers this the first instance of the decomposition of a chemical compound by electricity.

[36]The thimble was borrowed from Miss Fitzgerald, daughter of the Knight of Kerry, who was living at Valentia.

[37]Broken up a few years ago for scrap iron.

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