John Aitken (scientist)
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John Aitken (scientist)
John Aitken, FRS, FRSE LLD (18 September 1839 – 14 November 1919) was a Scottish meteorologist, physicist and marine engineer. He was one of the founders of cloud physics and aerosol science, who built the first apparatus to measure the number of dust and fog particles in the atmosphere, a koniscope. Life Aitken was born at Darroch House in Falkirk on 18 September 1839, one of eight children of Henry Aitken of Darroch, a Falkirk lawyer in the firm of Russell & Aitken. John was educated at Falkirk Grammar School and studied marine engineering at Glasgow University, undertaking his engineer training with Messrs Napier & Sons, the Glasgow shipbuilder. He returned to his home town of Falkirk, where he carried out his various experiments. In 1875 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, Edward Sang, James Thomson Bottomley and Allen Thomson. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1889 and was ...
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Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 UK Census. The population of the town had risen to 34,570 according to a 2008 estimate, making it the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, 20th most populous settlement in Scotland. Falkirk is the main town and administrative centre of the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area, which has an overall population of 156,800 and inholds the nearby towns of Grangemouth, Bo'ness, Denny, Falkirk, Denny, Camelon, Larbert and Stenhousemuir, and the cluster of Falkirk Braes, Braes villages. The town is at the junction of the Forth and Clyde Canal, Forth and Clyde and Union Canal (Scotland), Union Canals, a location which proved key to its growth as a centre o ...
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The Royal Society Of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established in 1783. , there are around 1,800 Fellows. The Society covers a broader selection of fields than the Royal Society of London, including literature and history. Fellowship includes people from a wide range of disciplines – science & technology, arts, humanities, medicine, social science, business, and public service. History At the start of the 18th century, Edinburgh's intellectual climate fostered many clubs and societies (see Scottish Enlightenment). Though there were several that treated the arts, sciences and medicine, the most prestigious was the Society for the Improvement of Medical Knowledge, commonly referred to as the Medical Society of Edinburgh, co-founded by the mathematician Colin Maclaurin in 1731. Maclaurin was unhappy ...
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Atmospheric Particulate Matter
Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The term '' aerosol'' commonly refers to the particulate/air mixture, as opposed to the particulate matter alone. Sources of particulate matter can be natural or anthropogenic. They have impacts on climate and precipitation that adversely affect human health, in ways additional to direct inhalation. Types of atmospheric particles include suspended particulate matter; thoracic and respirable particles; inhalable coarse particles, designated PM, which are coarse particles with a diameter of 10 micrometers (μm) or less; fine particles, designated PM, with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less; ultrafine particles, with a diameter of 100 nm or less; and soot. The IARC and WHO designate airborne particulates as a Group 1 carcinogen. Particula ...
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Atmospheric Science
Atmospheric science is the study of the Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere and its various inner-working physical processes. Meteorology includes atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics with a major focus on weather forecasting. Climatology is the study of atmospheric changes (both long and short-term) that define average climates and their change over time, due to both natural and anthropogenic climate change, climate variability. Aeronomy is the study of the upper layers of the atmosphere, where dissociation (chemistry), dissociation and ionization are important. Atmospheric science has been extended to the field of planetary science and the study of the atmospheres of the planets and natural satellites of the Solar System. Experimental instruments used in atmospheric science include satellites, rocketsondes, radiosondes, weather balloons, radars, and lasers. The term aerology (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἀήρ, ''aēr'', "air"; and -λογία, ''-logy, -logia'') is ...
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Cloud Condensation Nuclei
Cloud condensation nuclei (CCNs), also known as cloud seeds, are small particles typically 0.2  µm, or one hundredth the size of a cloud droplet. CCNs are a unique subset of aerosols in the atmosphere on which water vapour condenses. This can affect the radiative properties of clouds and the overall atmosphere. Water requires a non-gaseous surface to make the transition from a vapour to a liquid; this process is called condensation. In the atmosphere of Earth, this surface presents itself as tiny solid or liquid particles called CCNs. When no CCNs are present, water vapour can be supercooled at about for 5–6 hours before droplets spontaneously form. This is the basis of the cloud chamber for detecting subatomic particles. The concept of CCN is used in cloud seeding, which tries to encourage rainfall by seeding the air with condensation nuclei. It has further been suggested that creating such nuclei could be used for marine cloud brightening, a climate engineering techni ...
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Thermometer
A thermometer is a device that temperature measurement, measures temperature or a temperature gradient (the degree of hotness or coldness of an object). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb of a mercury-in-glass thermometer or the pyrometric sensor in an infrared thermometer) in which some change occurs with a change in temperature; and (2) some means of converting this change into a numerical value (e.g. the visible scale that is marked on a mercury-in-glass thermometer or the digital readout on an infrared model). Thermometers are widely used in technology and industry to monitor processes, in meteorology, in medicine, and in scientific research. History While an individual thermometer is able to measure degrees of hotness, the readings on two thermometers cannot be compared unless they conform to an agreed scale. Today there is an absolute thermodynamic temperature scale. Internationally agreed temperature scales are designed to ...
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Cyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anticyclone). Cyclones are characterized by inward-spiraling winds that rotate about a zone of low pressure. The largest low-pressure systems are polar vortices and extratropical cyclones of the largest scale (the synoptic scale). Warm-core cyclones such as tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones also lie within the synoptic scale. Mesocyclones, tornadoes, and dust devils lie within smaller mesoscale. Upper level cyclones can exist without the presence of a surface low, and can pinch off from the base of the tropical upper tropospheric trough during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. Cyclones have also been seen on extraterrestrial planets, such as Mars, Jupiter, and Neptune. Cyclogenesis is the process of cyclone formation and ...
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University Of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , mottoeng = The Way, The Truth, The Life , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £225.2 million , budget = £809.4 million , rector = Rita Rae, Lady Rae , chancellor = Dame Katherine Grainger , principal = Sir Anton Muscatelli , academic_staff = 4,680 (2020) , administrative_staff = 4,003 , students = () , undergrad = () , postgrad = () , city = Glasgow , country = Scotland, UK , colours = , website = , logo ...
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Honorary Doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad honorem '' ("to the honour"). The degree is typically a doctorate or, less commonly, a master's degree, and may be awarded to someone who has no prior connection with the academic institution or no previous postsecondary education. An example of identifying a recipient of this award is as follows: Doctorate in Business Administration (''Hon. Causa''). The degree is often conferred as a way of honouring a distinguished visitor's contributions to a specific field or to society in general. It is sometimes recommended that such degrees be listed in one's curriculum vitae (CV) as an award, and not in the education section. With regard to the use of this honorific, the policies of institutions of higher education generally ask that recipients ...
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Keith Medal
The Keith Medal was a prize awarded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy, for a scientific paper published in the society's scientific journals, preference being given to a paper containing a discovery, either in mathematics or earth sciences. The Medal was inaugurated in 1827 as a result of a gift from Alexander Keith of Dunnottar, the first Treasurer of the Society. It was awarded quadrennially, alternately for a paper published in: Proceedings A (Mathematics) or Transactions (Earth and Environmental Sciences). The medal bears the head of John Napier of Merchiston. The medal is no longer awarded. Recipients of the Keith Gold Medal Source (1827 to 1913)Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh;19th century *1827–29: David Brewster, ''on his Discovery of Two New Immiscible Fluids in the Cavities of certain Minerals'' *1829–31: David Brewster, ''on a New Analysis of Solar Light'' *1831–33: Thomas Graham, ''on the Law of the Diffusion of Gases' ...
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Allen Thomson
Allen Thomson Royal Society of London, FRS FRSE FRCSE (2 April 1809 – 21 March 1884) was a Scottish physician, known as an anatomist and embryologist. Life The only son of John Thomson (physician), Dr John Thomson by his second wife, Margaret, daughter of John Millar (philosopher), John Millar, he was born at Brown Square in Edinburgh on 2 April 1809, and was named after his father's friend, John Allen (historian), John Allen, secretary and confidential friend of Lord Holland. Margaret Mylne was his sister and William Thomson (physician), William Thomson his half-brother. Allen Thomson was educated at the high school and University of Edinburgh, and then in Paris. He graduated doctor of medicine at the University of Edinburgh in August 1830. At the time of his graduation he was president of the Royal Medical Society in Edinburgh. He became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1831. Thomson travelled in the Netherlands and Germany, visiting anatomical a ...
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James Thomson Bottomley
James Thomson Bottomley (10 January 1845 – 18 May 1926) was an Irish-born British physicist. He is noted for his work on thermal radiation and on his creation of 4-figure logarithm tables, used to convert long multiplication and division calculations to simpler addition and subtraction before the introduction of fast calculators. Background He was born in Fort Breda, County Down in Ireland, on 10 January 1845, the son of William Bottomley JP, a merchant in nearby Belfast. His mother, Anna Thomson, was the sister of William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, a connection which served him well throughout his life. He was educated at Queens College, Belfast and then Trinity College, Dublin, originally studying natural philosophy and chemistry. Career His first employment was as assistant to scientist Thomas Andrews in Belfast. He then became a Demonstrator at King's College London, first in chemistry and then in physics. In 1870 he became a Demonstrator in Physics at Glasgow Univers ...
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