Biography of James Prescott Joule
JAMES PRESCOTT JOULE
James Prescott Joule was one of the most famous physicists in England in the 17th Century. On the 24th day of December 1818, Joule was born near Manchester, England in a wealthy business-owning family with five children. As a child, he suffered from a spinal disorder which caused him to become shy and weak. Unlike those of his age, he preferred to stay indoors and learn, instead of playing in the field.
As expected by his parents, James and his brother were to inherit the family brewery business. This did not allow James many opportunities to focus on his passion; rather he was required to maintain the brewery. He was only educated at home until he was 15, but pursued to continue his education with tutors on his free time. He was taught by the famous scientist, John Dalton, who became an inspiration to Joule as he aspired to become a scientist himself.
James Prescott Joule is well known for his research and experiments involving electricity, heat and mechanical work. He sent his paper in 1840 entitled, On the Production of Heat by Voltaic Electricity to the Royal Society in London – a prestigious association of British scientists. They paid little attention to Joule’s paper, and only published a brief summary of it.
Three years later, Joule continued his research and determined a way to calculate the amount of mechanical work required to produce an equivalent amount of heat. He called this ‘the mechanical equivalent of heat,’ and presented a paper of his findings to the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Unfortunately for Joule, they didn’t believe his findings were interesting, along with other journals who refused to publish his paper.
Many British scientists were skeptical of his discovery because it contradicted the caloric theory, which stated that heat was a fluid substance. In addition to their skepticism, many were also disbelieving of his skill to measure substances in his experiments with great accuracy.
James Prescott Joule was one of the most famous physicists in England in the 17th Century. On the 24th day of December 1818, Joule was born near Manchester, England in a wealthy business-owning family with five children. As a child, he suffered from a spinal disorder which caused him to become shy and weak. Unlike those of his age, he preferred to stay indoors and learn, instead of playing in the field.
As expected by his parents, James and his brother were to inherit the family brewery business. This did not allow James many opportunities to focus on his passion; rather he was required to maintain the brewery. He was only educated at home until he was 15, but pursued to continue his education with tutors on his free time. He was taught by the famous scientist, John Dalton, who became an inspiration to Joule as he aspired to become a scientist himself.
James Prescott Joule is well known for his research and experiments involving electricity, heat and mechanical work. He sent his paper in 1840 entitled, On the Production of Heat by Voltaic Electricity to the Royal Society in London – a prestigious association of British scientists. They paid little attention to Joule’s paper, and only published a brief summary of it.
Three years later, Joule continued his research and determined a way to calculate the amount of mechanical work required to produce an equivalent amount of heat. He called this ‘the mechanical equivalent of heat,’ and presented a paper of his findings to the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Unfortunately for Joule, they didn’t believe his findings were interesting, along with other journals who refused to publish his paper.
Many British scientists were skeptical of his discovery because it contradicted the caloric theory, which stated that heat was a fluid substance. In addition to their skepticism, many were also disbelieving of his skill to measure substances in his experiments with great accuracy.
Cited: Famousscientists.org. (2014). James prescott joule - biography, facts and pictures. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.famousscientists.org/james-prescott-joule/ [Accessed: 6 Mar 2014]. Lamont, A. (2014). Great creation scientists: james joule (1818–1889) - answers in genesis. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/cm/v15/n2/james-joule [Accessed: 6 Mar 2014]. Makingthemodernworld.org.uk. (2014). Making the modern world - james prescott joule. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/people/BG.0096/ [Accessed: 6 Mar 2014]. Nndb.com. (2014). James prescott joule. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.nndb.com/people/275/000049128/ [Accessed: 6 Mar 2014].