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The Austrian physicist Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann (1844–1906), educated at the University of Vienna, was appointed professor of mathematical physics at the University of Graz in 1869 at the age of only twenty-five. Boltzmann did important work in the fields of statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics; for instance, he contributed to the kinetic theory concerned with molecular speeds in gas. Boltzmann also promoted atomic theory, which at the time was still highly controversial. He was a member of the Imperial Austrian Academy of Sciences from 1885 and became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1888. This three-volume work, prepared in 1909 by the physicist Fritz Hasenöhrl, one of Boltzmann's students, comprises all his academic publications from 1865 to 1905. Volume 1 contains papers from 1865 to 1874, including work on the movement of electricity, the theory of heat, and atoms in gases.
The Austrian physicist Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann (1844–1906), educated at the University of Vienna, was appointed professor of mathematical physics at the University of Graz in 1869 at the age of only twenty-five. Boltzmann did important work in the fields of statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics; for instance, he contributed to the kinetic theory concerned with molecular speeds in gas. Boltzmann also promoted atomic theory, which at the time was still highly controversial. He was a member of the Imperial Austrian Academy of Sciences from 1885 and became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1888. This three-volume work, prepared in 1909 by the physicist Fritz Hasenöhrl, one of Boltzmann's students, comprises all his academic publications from 1865 to 1905. Volume 3 contains papers from 1882 to 1905, including work on gas diffusion and thermodynamics.
William Thomson, first Baron Kelvin (1824–1907), is best known for devising the Kelvin scale of absolute temperature and for his work on the first and second laws of thermodynamics, though throughout his 53-year career as a mathematical physicist and engineer at the University of Glasgow he investigated a wide range of scientific questions in areas ranging from geology to transatlantic telegraph cables. The extent of his work is revealed in the six volumes of his Mathematical and Physical Papers, published from 1882 until 1911, consisting of articles that appeared in scientific periodicals from 1841 onwards. Volume 2, published in 1884, includes articles from the period 1853–1856, and puts a special emphasis on the issue of the development of electric telegraphy. Also included is Thomson's Bakerian Lecture on the electro-dynamic qualities of metals.
Sir Charles Wheatstone (1802–75) was a shoemaker's son whose fascination with physics led him to become one of the most celebrated scientists and inventors of his time. Apprenticed to his uncle, a musical instrument manufacturer, Wheatstone studied the physics of sound, publishing his first scientific paper in 1823. He was the chief developer of telegraphy, inventing increasingly advanced instruments for transmitting and receiving information. Telegraphy revolutionized communication in the Victorian era, eventually making almost instantaneous global communication possible. This collection of Wheatstone's works, first published in 1879, spans his entire career and includes fully illustrated details of many of his pioneering inventions. His broad-ranging research led to numerous important advances; those in telegraphy and cryptography were still in military use as late as the Second World War. This collection is a valuable source for the history of science, and a fitting tribute to Wheatstone's 'industry and versatility'.
Self-taught chemist and inventor Sir Humphry Davy (1778–1829) was one of the first professional scientists of his age. President of the Royal Society from 1820 to 1827, he was also a brilliant lecturer whose popularising of science made him famous. He also pioneered electrochemistry, isolating potassium, sodium and calcium. But Davy is best known for creating the safety lamp when he was asked to address the frequent occurrence of explosions in coal mines. He realised that firedamp - flammable gases such as methane - was ignited at high temperature by the open flames of miners' lamps. In 1815, he devised a lamp with a mesh screen that prevented ignition of firedamp; this application of science allowed miners to work in greater safety. First published in 1818 and revised in 1825, this work details the invention that cemented Davy's position as a national hero and earned him the Royal Society's Rumford Medal.