John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, (; 12 November 1842 – 30 June 1919) was an English mathematician and physicist who made extensive contributions to

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

. He spent all of his academic career at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

. Among many honors, he received the 1904

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

"for his investigations of the densities of the most important gases and for his discovery of

argon Argon is a chemical element with the symbol Ar and atomic number 18. It is in group 18 of the periodic table and is a noble gas. Argon is the third-most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere, at 0.934% (9340 ppmv). It is more than twice as ...

in connection with these studies." He served as president of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

from 1905 to 1908 and as chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1908 to 1919. Rayleigh provided the first theoretical treatment of the elastic scattering of light by particles much smaller than the light's wavelength, a phenomenon now known as "

Rayleigh scattering Rayleigh scattering ( ), named after the 19th-century British physicist Lord Rayleigh (John William Strutt), is the predominantly elastic scattering of light or other electromagnetic radiation by particles much smaller than the wavelength of th ...

", which notably explains why the sky is blue. He studied and described transverse surface waves in solids, now known as "

Rayleigh wave Rayleigh waves are a type of surface acoustic wave that travel along the surface of solids. They can be produced in materials in many ways, such as by a localized impact or by piezo-electric transduction, and are frequently used in non-destructi ...

s". He contributed extensively to fluid dynamics, with concepts such as the

Rayleigh number In fluid mechanics, the Rayleigh number (, after Lord Rayleigh) for a fluid is a dimensionless number associated with buoyancy-driven flow, also known as free (or natural) convection. It characterises the fluid's flow regime: a value in a certai ...

dimensionless number A dimensionless quantity (also known as a bare quantity, pure quantity, or scalar quantity as well as quantity of dimension one) is a quantity to which no physical dimension is assigned, with a corresponding SI unit of measurement of one (or 1) ...

associated with

natural convection Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the convec ...

), Rayleigh flow, the

Rayleigh–Taylor instability The Rayleigh–Taylor instability, or RT instability (after Lord Rayleigh and G. I. Taylor), is an instability of an interface between two fluids of different densities which occurs when the lighter fluid is pushing the heavier fluid. Drazin ( ...

, and Rayleigh's criterion for the stability of

Taylor–Couette flow In fluid dynamics, the Taylor–Couette flow consists of a viscous fluid confined in the gap between two rotating cylinders. For low angular velocities, measured by the Reynolds number ''Re'', the flow is steady and purely azimuthal. This basic s ...

. He also formulated the circulation theory of

aerodynamic lift A fluid flowing around an object exerts a force on it. Lift is the component of this force that is perpendicular to the oncoming flow direction. It contrasts with the drag force, which is the component of the force parallel to the flow direc ...

. In

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultrav ...

, Rayleigh proposed a well-known criterion for angular resolution. His derivation of the

Rayleigh–Jeans law In physics, the Rayleigh–Jeans law is an approximation to the spectral radiance of electromagnetic radiation as a function of wavelength from a black body at a given temperature through classical arguments. For wavelength λ, it is: B_ (T) = \ ...

for classical black-body radiation later played an important role in the birth of

quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistr ...

(see

Ultraviolet catastrophe The ultraviolet catastrophe, also called the Rayleigh–Jeans catastrophe, was the prediction of late 19th century/early 20th century classical physics that an ideal black body at thermal equilibrium would emit an unbounded quantity of energy ...

). Rayleigh's textbook ''The Theory of Sound'' (1877) is still used today by acousticians and engineers.

Biography

Strutt was born on 12 November 1842 at Langford Grove in Maldon, Essex. In his early years he suffered from frailty and poor health. He attended

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and Harrow School (each for only a short period), before going on to the

in 1861 where he studied mathematics at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree (

Senior Wrangler The Senior Frog Wrangler is the top mathematics undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in England, a position which has been described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain." Specifically, it is the person who a ...

and 1st Smith's Prize) in 1865, and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

in 1868. He was subsequently elected to a fellowship of Trinity. He held the post until his marriage to Evelyn Balfour, daughter of

James Maitland Balfour James Maitland Balfour (5 January 1820 – 23 February 1856) was a Scottish land-owner and businessman. He made a fortune in the 19th-century railway boom, and inherited a significant portion of his father's great wealth. He was a Conservative ...

, in 1871. He had three sons with her.One son, Robert Strutt, 4th Baron Rayleigh, was also an eminent physicist and fellow of the Royal Society. In 1873, on the death of his father, John Strutt, 2nd Baron Rayleigh, he inherited the Barony of Rayleigh. He was the second Cavendish Professor of Physics at the

(following

James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and li ...

), from 1879 to 1884. He first described dynamic soaring by

seabirds Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same envi ...

in 1883, in the British journal ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

''. From 1887 to 1905 he was professor of

Natural Philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe. It was dominant before the development of modern science. From the ancient wo ...

at the Royal Institution. Around the year 1900 Rayleigh developed the ''duplex'' (combination of two) theory of human sound localisation using two binaural cues, interaural phase difference (IPD) and

interaural level difference Sound localization is a listener's ability to identify the location or origin of a detected sound in direction and distance. The sound localization mechanisms of the mammalian auditory system have been extensively studied. The auditory system us ...

(ILD) (based on analysis of a spherical head with no external

pinnae The auricle or auricula is the visible part of the ear that is outside the head. It is also called the pinna (Latin for "wing" or " fin", plural pinnae), a term that is used more in zoology. Structure The diagram shows the shape and location ...

). The theory posits that we use two primary cues for sound lateralisation, using the difference in the phases of sinusoidal components of the sound and the difference in amplitude (level) between the two ears. Lord Rayleigh Vanity Fair 21 December 1899

Lord Rayleigh Vanity Fair 21 December 1899

In 1904 he was awarded the

Nobel Prize for Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

"for his investigations of the densities of the most important gases and for his discovery of

in connection with these studies". During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was president of the government's Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which was located at the National Physical Laboratory, and chaired by

Richard Glazebrook Sir Richard Tetley Glazebrook (18 September 1854 – 15 December 1935) was an English physicist. Education and early career Glazebrook was born in West Derby, Liverpool, Lancashire, the son of a surgeon. He was educated at Dulwich College unt ...

. In 1919, Rayleigh served as president of the

Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to co ...

. As an advocate that simplicity and theory be part of the scientific method, Rayleigh argued for the

principle of similitude The principle of similitude is a supplement to the scientific method advocated by Lord Rayleigh, John Strutt (Lord Rayleigh) (1842–1919) that requires that any suggested scientific law be examined for its relationship to similar laws. The princi ...

. Rayleigh was elected fellow of the

on 12 June 1873, and served as president of the Royal Society from 1905 to 1908. From time to time he participated in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

; however, he spoke up only if politics attempted to become involved in science. Many of the papers that he wrote on lubrication are now recognized as early classical contributions to the field of

tribology Tribology is the science and engineering of interacting surfaces in relative motion. It includes the study and application of the principles of friction, lubrication and wear. Tribology is highly interdisciplinary, drawing on many academic f ...

. For these contributions, he was named as one of the 23 "Men of Tribology" by

Duncan Dowson Duncan Dowson (31 August 1928 – 6 January 2020) was a British engineer and Professor of Engineering Fluid Mechanics and Tribology at the University of Leeds. Biography Dowson's father, Wilfrid Dowson, was an ornamental blacksmith, and as ...

. He died on 30 June 1919, at his home in

Witham Witham () is a town in the county of Essex in the East of England, with a population ( 2011 census) of 25,353. It is part of the District of Braintree and is twinned with the town of Waldbröl, Germany. Witham stands between the city of Che ...

, Essex. He was succeeded, as the 4th Lord Rayleigh, by his son Robert John Strutt, another well-known physicist. Lord Rayleigh was buried in the graveyard of All Saints' Church in

Terling Terling (pronounced Tar-ling) is a village and civil parish in the county of Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, th ...

in Essex. There is a memorial to him by Derwent Wood in St Andrew's Chapel at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

Religious views

Rayleigh was an Anglican. Though he did not write about the relationship of science and religion, he retained a personal interest in spiritual matters. When his scientific papers were to be published in a collection by the

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

, Strutt wanted to include a religious quotation from the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

, but he was discouraged from doing so, as he later reported: Still, he had his wish and the quotation was printed in the five-volume collection of scientific papers. In a letter to a family member, he wrote about his rejection of materialism and spoke of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

as a moral teacher: He held an interest in

parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near ...

and was an early member of the

(SPR). He was not convinced of

spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and Mind-body dualism, dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (w ...

but remained open to the possibility of supernatural phenomena. Rayleigh was the president of the SPR in 1919. He gave a presidential address in the year of his death but did not come to any definite conclusions.

Honours and awards

The lunar crater '' Rayleigh'' as well as the Martian crater '' Rayleigh'' were named in his honour. The asteroid

22740 Rayleigh 22740 Rayleigh, provisional designation , is a Zhongguo asteroid from the outermost region of the asteroid belt, approximately in diameter. It was discovered on 20 September 1998, by Belgian astronomer Eric Elst at the La Silla Observatory in Ch ...

was named after him on 1 June 2007. A type of surface waves are known as

s. The rayl, a unit of specific acoustic impedance, is also named for him. Rayleigh was also awarded with (in chronological order): * Smith's Prize (1864) * Royal Medal (1882) *Member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

(1886) *

Matteucci Medal The Matteucci Medal is an Italian award for physicists, named after Carlo Matteucci from Forlì. It was established to award physicists for their fundamental contributions. Under an Italian Royal Decree dated July 10, 1870, the Italian Society ...

(1894) * Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (1897) * Copley Medal (1899) *

(1904) * Elliott Cresson Medal (1913) * Rumford Medal (1914) Lord Rayleigh was among the original recipients of the Order of Merit (OM) in the

1902 Coronation Honours The 1902 Coronation Honours were announced on 26 June 1902, the date originally set for the coronation of King Edward VII. The coronation was postponed because the King had been taken ill two days before, but he ordered that the honours list shou ...

list published on 26 June 1902, and received the order from King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

at Buckingham Palace on 8 August 1902. He received the degree of ''Doctor mathematicae ( honoris causa)'' from the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

on 6 September 1902, when they celebrated the centennial of the birth of

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

Niels Henrik Abel Niels Henrik Abel ( , ; 5 August 1802 – 6 April 1829) was a Norwegian mathematician who made pioneering contributions in a variety of fields. His most famous single result is the first complete proof demonstrating the impossibility of solvin ...

. ''(in Norwegian)'' Sir

William Ramsay Sir William Ramsay (; 2 October 1852 – 23 July 1916) was a Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous element ...

, his co-worker in the investigation to discover argon described Rayleigh as "the greatest man alive" while speaking to Lady Ramsay during his last illness. H. M. Hyndman said of Rayleigh that "no man ever showed less consciousness of great genius".

Bibliography

Rayleigh, John William Strutt – Theory of sound, 1894 – BEIC 6738003

*
The Theory of Sound vol. I
' (London : Macmillan, 1877, 1894) (alternative link
Bibliothèque Nationale de France
OR (Cambridge: University Press, reissued 2011, ) *
The Theory of Sound vol.II
' (London : Macmillan, 1878, 1896) (alternative link
Bibliothèque Nationale de France
OR (Cambridge: University Press, reissued 2011, ) *
Scientific papers (Vol. 1: 1869–1881)
' (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, ) *
Scientific papers (Vol. 2: 1881–1887)
' (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, ) *
Scientific papers (Vol. 3: 1887–1892)
' (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, ) *
Scientific papers (Vol. 4: 1892–1901)
' (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, ) *
Scientific papers (Vol. 5: 1902–1910)
' (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, ) *
Scientific papers (Vol. 6: 1911–1919)
' (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, )

References

External links

*

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rayleigh, John William Strutt, 3rd Baron 1842 births 1919 deaths 20th-century British physicists Acousticians Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom British Nobel laureates Chancellors of the University of Cambridge De Morgan Medallists Discoverers of chemical elements English Anglicans Experimental physicists Faraday Lecturers Optical physicists Fluid dynamicists Lord-Lieutenants of Essex Members of the Order of Merit Nobel laureates in Physics Eldest sons of British hereditary barons Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences Members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Members of the French Academy of Sciences Parapsychologists People educated at Eton College People educated at Harrow School People from Maldon, Essex Presidents of the Physical Society Presidents of the Royal Society Recipients of the Copley Medal Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Royal Medal winners Senior Wranglers

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...