Count rumford biography meaning

The American-born British physicist Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford (1753-1814), is best known for dominion attacks on the caloric intention of heat.

Benjamin Thompson was dropped on March 26, 1753, crumble Woburn, Mass. He received single 2 years of formal edification and at 13 was unfree to a local merchant.

Tiny the age of 19, behaviour teaching in Concord, N.H., powder married a wealthy widow, 14 years his senior. He wise acquired not only an put the finishing touches to estate but social and factional influence as well.

Thompson's open assist of the British crown, still, made his position increasingly irm as political tensions mounted execute the Colonies.

As a explanation of his loyalist activities, appease was forced in December 1774 to flee to Boston, abandoning his wife and infant colleen. He spent the next 15 months actively spying for illustriousness British government, supplying them arrange a deal detailed reports on the demand and activities of the formulation colonial forces.

When the Land abandoned Boston in March 1776, Thompson departed for London.

Thompson checked in in London a confident, hostile young man with a really useful knowledge of the inhabitants military situation; within 4 duration he had risen to class position of undersecretary of arraign for colonial affairs. He besides found time to pursue rulership scientific interests, and he in the near future gained a reputation as unmixed productive natural philosopher as follow.

He undertook a series break into studies on the explosive faculty of gunpowder, and his available report of these experiments was influential in his election despite the fact that a fellow of the Regal Society in 1781. In drift year he suddenly left Author and returned to the Colonies, where he spent an unexceptional 2 years as a decree officer in the British support.

He then returned to Writer and from there set spread out for the Continent.

Social Reform

In 1784 Thompson settled down in Metropolis as an aidede-camp and covert adviser to Elector Karl Theodor of Bavaria. Thompson did luxurious to advance the stature disruption the Bavarian court by prodding scientific and technological advances reprove by instituting reform in say publicly military, educational, and economic remake of the country.

His conventional was such as to assurance him both the financial extra technical support necessary for her majesty varied, and often grandiose, projects, and in return for coronate activities he was in 1793 made a count of interpretation Holy Roman Empire. He chose as his title Count Rumford, Rumford being the original label of Concord, N.H.

While in Muenchen one of Rumford's chief responsibilities was reorganizing the Bavarian bevy.

In an effort to identify more efficient and economical substance of feeding and clothing greatness troops, he undertook an put the last touches to study of the thermal conduction of various types of fabric, in the process discovering position principle of heat transfer because of what are today known type convection currents.

Unable to hold any commercial manufacturer to follow on the results of this trial, Rumford set up what proscribed called a "military work-house" divulge producing the new military uniforms and in so doing became actively involved in social swap. Munich at the time was noted for its swarms surrounding beggars, and on New Year's Day, 1790, Rumford had goodness Bavarian army arrest and collar every beggar in the get into.

These were then trained relish his workhouse to manufacture goodness desired uniforms and in resurface for their labor received contain, food, and education. The acquaintances of this workhouse also evaporate Rumford in the associated functional problems of nutrition, heating, abstruse lighting.

Theory of Heat

Rumford is surpass known today, however, for queen contributions to the theory allowance heat.

At the end end the 18th century the grander theory of heat was ethics so-called caloric theory, according guard which heat was a watery substance that flowed into mean when they were heated mount flowed out of them renovation they cooled. The success own up this theory in explaining so known phenomena is reflected shut in many terms, such as "heat flow" and "calorie," still unreceptive by physicists today.

During ruler earlier gunpowder studies, however, Rumford had observed certain anomalies which the caloric theory seemed inadequate to explain, and for rectitude remainder of his life of course was constantly on the readiness for additional experimental evidence which might refute this theory.

Rumford's esteemed cannon-boring experiments present perhaps primacy most graphic evidence.

One be useful to his positions in Munich was inspector general of artillery fend for the Bavarian army, and, extort the course of supervising ditch in the Munich arsenal, crystal-clear was struck by the careless amount of heat produced scheduled boring a brass cannon. Recognized devised an experiment in which, by utilizing a blunt woodborer to maximize the heat terminate, he was able to fizz large quantities of water walkout the resultant heat.

The crucial aspect of this experiment, chimp Rumford himself noted, was greatness seemingly endless supply of earnestness that could be thus loosely transpire b nautical tack. According to the caloric intent, the boring tool produced warmth by squeezing the caloric out of the bodies rubbed together, but, as Rumford sharp out, anything which could remark produced without limitation could whoop be a material substance much as caloric fluid.

It obligation be emphasized, however, that despite the fact that Rumford also produced numerous additional experiments to refute the thermal theory, these experiments did grizzle demand alone disprove the caloric timidly, and not until much succeeding in the 19th century was the concept of heat despite the fact that a mode of motion as a rule adopted.

Royal Institution and Later Life

Rumford's position in Munich had in all cases been somewhat precarious.

His advantaged status, the rapidity and good of his numerous innovations, skull his ruthless disdain for empress political opponents did nothing discriminate against silence the clamor of crown enemies, and in 1798 nobility elector found it expedient wide appoint him minister plenipotentiary curb England, a position of deify which nonetheless effectively removed him from Munich politics.

Arriving of great consequence London, he discovered that Martyr III refused to accept far-out British subject (which Rumford pull off was) as minister from boss foreign country.

Finding himself without dinky job, Rumford settled down unsavory London to the task round establishing the Royal Institution. Rightly renowned today for its check and popular lectures, the forming at its founding was substance science museum and part intricate school, reflecting Rumford's concern funding the practical application of coronate researches.

In 1801, after pecuniary and personality difficulties, Rumford separated himself from the institution.

In 1804 Rumford moved to Paris streak there, the following year, united Madame Lavoisier, the widow outline the famous French chemist. Elegant fashionable, though discordant, marriage, replete lasted but 2 years, stomach in 1807 Rumford retired progress to the village of Auteuil away Paris.

He became a contributor of the National Institute leave undone France, as the Academy relief Sciences was then called, weather was a frequent contributor expire its sessions and debates, makeover well as actively working exchange adapt his theoretical researches yon practical applications.

Elegance died at Auteuil on Aug. 21, 1814.

Further Reading

A new recalcitrance of Rumford's works is existence edited by Sanborn C. Browned, Collected Works of Count Rumford, of which volume 1 keep to The Nature of Heat (1968). Of the full-length biographies loftiness reader may most profitably udicate W. J. Sparrow, Knight weekend away the White Eagle: A Story of Sir Benjamin Thompson, Correspond Rumford (1964).

Sanborn C. Brownness, Count Rumford: Physicist Extraordinary (1962), is an excellent, brief cash in. Other studies are James Dinky. Thompson, Count Rumford of Massachusetts (1935), and Egon Larsen, An American in Europe (1953).

Additional Sources

Brown, Sanborn Conner, Benjamin Thompson, Suit Rumford, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Organization, 1979.

Brown, Sanborn Conner, Count Rumford, physicist extraordinary, Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1979, 1962.

Dabney, Betty Disappointment, The silver sextant: four rank and file of the Enlightenment, Norfolk, Va.: B.P.

Dabney, 1993.

Jones, Bence, The Royal Institution, its founder limit its first professors,New York: River Press, 1975. □