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John Tyndall
John Tyndall was born on August 2, 1820, in Leighlin Bridge, Ireland. During his life, he studied various topics including earth atmosphere, Solar Radiation, Colour, and Scattering often referred to as the Tyndall Effect. -
Early Work
Worked as a surveyor in Ireland and England from 1839-1847. -
Higher Education
Tyndall attended the University of Marburg, Germany pursuing a Ph.D. from 1848 to 1850. -
Heat Radiation
Throughout the 1860’s he worked on radiant heat, or the ability of certain gases or vapors to transmit or absorb heat. He built the first ratio spectrophotometer, which he used to measure absorption by gases and vapors. -
Discoveries of Climatic Proportions - 1860's
Tyndall discovered the best absorbers of radiated heat were water vapor, carbon dioxide, and ozone determining that the balance of these vapors was responsible for maintaining the Earth’s surface temperature. -
Heat as a Mode of Motion
“In this collection of twelve lectures, first published in 1863, Tyndall discusses the general properties of heat and its associated physical processes, such as convection, conduction, and radiation.” -
The Tyndall Effect
Discovered and named after Tyndall, the effect is due to light scattering through small particles in a solution or even the air. The size of the particles dictates which color is visible. The effect is even present in molecular structures giving some flora and fauna their blue color. Although Tyndall isn't mentioned, this video gives some details and examples of the process and structure for the blue coloration. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g246c6Bv58 -
Controversy
As President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science Tyndall gave a speech where he suggested that scientific research should be used to try and explain the unknown rather than religious. -
Death
Tyndall died December 4, 1893, in Hindhead, England.
