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| Titel |
Lord Kelvin's atmospheric electricity measurements |
| VerfasserIn |
K. L. Aplin, R. G. Harrison |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
2190-5010
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: History of Geo- and Space Sciences ; 4, no. 2 ; Nr. 4, no. 2 (2013-09-03), S.83-95 |
| Datensatznummer |
250084965
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/hgss-4-83-2013.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Lord Kelvin (William Thomson) made important contributions to the study of
atmospheric electricity during a brief but productive period from 1859–1861.
By 1859 Kelvin had recognised the need for "incessant recording" of
atmospheric electrical parameters, and responded by inventing both the water
dropper equaliser for measuring the atmospheric potential gradient (PG), and
photographic data logging. The water dropper equaliser was widely adopted
internationally and is still in use today. Following theoretical
considerations of electric field distortion by local topography, Kelvin
developed a portable electrometer, using it to investigate the PG on the
Scottish island of Arran. During these environmental measurements, Kelvin may
have unwittingly detected atmospheric PG changes during solar activity in
August/September 1859 associated with the "Carrington event", which is
interesting in the context of his later statements that solar magnetic
influence on the Earth was impossible. Kelvin's atmospheric electricity work
presents an early representative study in quantitative environmental physics,
through the application of mathematical principles to an environmental
problem, the design and construction of bespoke instrumentation for real
world measurements and recognising the limitations of the original
theoretical view revealed by experimental work. |
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