Lord Kelvin and the age of the earth / Joe D. Burchfield ; with a new afterword.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Burchfield, Joe D.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kelvin, William Thomson, Baron, 1824-1907.

Kelvin, William Thomson.

Earth (Planet)--Age.

Earth (Planet).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (281 pages) : portraits

Edition:

University of Chicago Press edition.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1990.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Burchfield charts the enormous impact made by Lord Kelvin's application of thermodynamic laws to the question of the earth's age and the heated debate his ideas sparked among British Victorian physicists, astronomers, geologists, and biologists. "Anyone interested in geologic time, and that should include all geologists and a fair smattering of biologists, physicists and chemists, should make Burchfield's commendable and time-tested volume part of their personal library"-Brent Darymple, Quartely Review of Biology

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface

I. Introduction

II. Kelvin and the Physics of Time

III. Kelvin's Influence: The Initial Reception

IV/ The Triumph of Limited Time

V. Opposition and Controversy

VI. Radioactivity and the Age of the Earth

VII. Conclusion

Afterword

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Reprint. Originally published: New York : Science History Publications, 1975.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786613058133

9781283058131

1283058138

9780226080260

0226080269

OCLC:

695993895