Institute of Physics
History of Physics Group
THE RAYLEIGH LABORATORIES
The laboratories and equipment used by the Third Baron Rayleigh (John
William Strutt) and his son, the Fourth Baron Rayleigh (Robert John Strutt),
remain largely as they were when used by these great scientists. This
unique inheritance from an earlier age provides a fascinating insight into
the way that science was conducted at the end of the nineteenth and the
beginning of the twentieth centuries.
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A half-day meeting of the History of Physics to be held at the Institute of
Physics headquarters in London will provide an opportunity to hear about
these laboratories and to learn about the scientific contributions made by
the Third Baron Rayleigh.
These include theoretical and experimental work in virtually every field of
physics known at the time, including electricity, magnetism, thermodynamics,
acoustics, fluid dynamics and optics. Many effects he discovered are known
by his name; for example Rayleigh scattering, the Rayleigh-Jeans law, the
Rayleigh criterion, Rayleigh waves, Rayleigh damping etc. Surprisingly he
is less well remembered for one of his greatest achievements, namely the
discovery of argon for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize.
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THURSDAY 17 JULY 2008 at 2.00 pm
INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS
76 PORTLAND PLACE LONDON W1B 1NT
The programme will consist of three illustrated presentations:
2.00pm My Forebears by the 6th Baron Rayleigh
2.30pm The Laboratories and Work of the 3rd Baron Rayleigh
by Professor E A Davis
3.30pm Tea
3.45pm The Discovery of Argon by Sir John Meurig Thomas
4.45pm Close of programme
To register for this meeting or for further information please contact
P.J.Ford@bath.ac.uk
Note from the webeditor
I first encountered Lord Rayleigh's work in his two volumes on
"The Theory of Sound" 1877. It has excellent descriptions of wave
motion still useful for today's physics students.
Those interested in church bell ringing may like to look at his paper in the
Philosophical Magazine January 1890 "On the Tones of Bells"
which has been mounted on the Internet at URL
www.hibberts.co.uk/rayleigh.htm.
Page last updated 17 April 2008