Algorithmic Aspects of Graph Connectivity (Encyclopedia of Mathematics and its Applications)

ThemathematicianandphysicistWilliamThomson,1stBaronKelvin,(1824–1907)wasoneofBritain'smostinfluentialscientists,famousforhisworkonthefirstandsecondlawsofthermodynamicsandfordevisingtheKelvinscaleofabsolutetemperature.SilvanusP.Thompson(1851–1916)beganthisbiographywiththeco-operationofKelvinin1906,buttheprojectwasinterruptedbyKelvin'sdeaththefollowingyear.Thompson,himselfarespectedphysicslecturerandscientificwriter,decidedthatamorecomprehensivebiographywouldbeneededandspentseveralyearsreadingthroughKelvin'spapersinordertocompletethesetwovolumes,publishedin1910.Volume1coversKelvin'slifeto1871,includinghisstudentdays,hiselection(aged22)asprofessorinGlasgow,hisground-breakingtheoreticalresearchonthermodynamics,hisappliedworkontelegraphsincludingtheAtlanticcable,andhisinvolvementinageologicalcontroversyabouttheageoftheearth.