The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic each, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825, missing 1939–1942 because of the Second World War. The lectures present scientific subjects to a general audience, including young people, in an informative and entertaining manner. Michael Faraday initiated the Christmas Lecture series in 1825, at a time when organised education for young people was scarce. Faraday presented nineteen series of lectures in all.
History[edit]
The Royal Institution's Christmas Lectures were first held in 1825,[1] and have continued on an annual basis since then except during the Second World War.[2] They have been hosted each year at the Royal Institution itself, except in 1929 and between 2005–2006, each time due to refurbishment of the building.[3] They were created by Michael Faraday, who later hosted the lecture season on nineteen occasions. The Nobel laureate Sir William Bragg gave the Christmas lectures on four occasions, and his co-laureate son Sir Lawrence Bragg gave them twice. Other notable lecturers have included Desmond Morris (1964), Eric Laithwaite (1966 & 1974), Sir George Porter (1969 & 1976), Sir David Attenborough (1973), Heinz Wolff (1975), Carl Sagan (1977), Richard Dawkins (1991), Baroness Susan Greenfield (1994), Dame Nancy Rothwell (1998), Monica Grady (2003), Sue Hartley (2009), Alison Woollard (2013), Danielle George (2014), and Saiful Islam (2016).[4][5][6]
The props for the lectures are designed and created by the RI's science demonstration technician, a post which Faraday previously held. A popular technician, with the advent of television, serving from 1948 to 1986, was Bill Coates. The technician is informed of the general subject of the lectures during spring, but the specifics aren't settled until September, with the recordings made in mid-December.[4] By 2009, the lectures had expanded to a series of five sessions each year. However, in 2010 the Royal Institution cut back on costs as it had become over £2 million in debt. These cost-cutting measures included the budget allotted to the Christmas Lectures. This resulted in a reduction from five sessions to three.[7]
Television[edit]
A single Christmas Lecture, by G. I. Taylor, was the first to be televised, in 1936, on the BBC's fledgling Television Service.[8
List of Christmas lectures[edit]
1825 to 1965[edit]
The following is a complete list of the Christmas Lectures from 1825 to 1965:
| Year | Lecturer(s) | Title of series |
|---|---|---|
| 1825 | John Millington | Natural Philosophy |
| 1826 | John Wallis[14] | Astronomy |
| 1827 | Michael Faraday | Chemistry |
| 1828 | J. Wood | Architecture |
| 1829 | Michael Faraday | Electricity |
| 1830 | Thomas Webster | Geology |
| 1831 | James Rennie | Zoology |
| 1832 | Michael Faraday | Chemistry |
| 1833 | John Lindley | Botany |
| 1834 | William Thomas Brande | Chemistry |
| 1835 | Michael Faraday | Electricity |
| 1836 | William Thomas Brande | Chemistry of the Gases |
| 1837 | Michael Faraday | Chemistry |
| 1838 | John Wallis[14] | Astronomy |
| 1839 | William Thomas Brande | The Chemistry of the Atmosphere and the Ocean |
| 1840 | John Frederic Daniell | The First Principles of Franklinic Electricity |
| 1841 | Michael Faraday | The Rudiments of Chemistry |
| 1842 | William Thomas Brande | The Chemistry of the Non-Metallic Elements |
| 1843 | Michael Faraday | First Principles of Electricity |
| 1844 | William Thomas Brande | The Chemistry of the Gases |
| 1845 | Michael Faraday | The Rudiments of Chemistry |
| 1846 | John Wallis[14] | The Rudiments of Astronomy |
| 1847 | William Thomas Brande | The Elements of Organic Chemistry |
| 1848 | Michael Faraday | The Chemical History of a Candle |
| 1849 | Robert Walker | The Properties of Matter and the Laws of Motion |
| 1850 | William Thomas Brande | The Chemistry of Coal |
| 1851 | Michael Faraday | Attractive Forces |
| 1852 | Chemistry | |
| 1853 | Voltaic Electricity | |
| 1854 | The Chemistry of Combustion | |
| 1855 | The Distinctive Properties of the Common Metals | |
| 1856 | Attractive Forces | |
| 1857 | Static Electricity | |
| 1858 | The Metallic Properties | |
| 1859 | The Various Forces of Matter and their Relations to Each Other | |
| 1860 | The Chemical History of a Candle | |
| 1861 | John Tyndall | Light |
| 1862 | Edward Frankland | Air and Water |
| 1863 | John Tyndall | Electricity at Rest and Electricity in Motion |
| 1864 | Edward Frankland | The Chemistry of a Coal |
| 1865 | John Tyndall | Sound |
| 1866 | Edward Frankland | The Chemistry of Gases |
| 1867 | John Tyndall | Heat and Cold |
| 1868 | William Odling | The Chemical Changes of Carbon |
| 1869 | John Tyndall | Light |
| 1870 | William Odling | Burning and Unburning |
| 1871 | John Tyndall | Ice, Water, Vapour and Air |
| 1872 | William Odling | Air and Gas |
| 1873 | John Tyndall | The Motion and Sensation of Sound |
| 1874 | John Hall Gladstone | The Voltaic Battery |
| 1875 | John Tyndall | Experimental Electricity |
| 1876 | John Hall Gladstone | The Chemistry of Fire |
| 1877 | John Tyndall | Heat, Visible and Invisible |
| 1878 | James Dewar | A Soap Bubble |
| 1879 | John Tyndall | Water and Air |
| 1880 | James Dewar | Atoms |
| 1881 | Robert Stawell Ball | The Sun, the Moon and the Planets |
| 1882 | John Tyndall | Light and the Eye |
| 1883 | James Dewar | Alchemy in Relation to Modern Science |
| 1884 | John Tyndall | The Sources of Electricity |
| 1885 | James Dewar | The Story of a Meteorite |
| 1886 | The Chemistry of Light and Photography | |
| 1887 | Robert Stawell Ball | Astronomy |
| 1888 | James Dewar | Clouds and Cloudland |
| 1889 | Arthur Rücker | Electricity |
| 1890 | James Dewar | Frost and Fire |
| 1891 | John Gray McKendrick | Life in Motion; or the Animal Machine |
| 1892 | Robert Stawell Ball | Astronomy |
| 1893 | James Dewar | Air: Gaseous and Liquid |
| 1894 | John Ambrose Fleming | The Work of an Electric Current |
| 1895 | John Gray McKendrick | Sound, Hearing and Speech |
| 1896 | Sylvanus Phillips Thompson | Light, Visible and Invisible |
| 1897 | Oliver Lodge | The Principles of the Electric Telegraph |
| 1898 | Robert Stawell Ball | Astronomy |
| 1899 | Charles Vernon Boys | Fluids in Motion and at Rest |
| 1900 | Robert Stawell Ball | Great Chapters from the Book of Nature |
| 1901 | John Ambrose Fleming | Waves and Ripples in Water, Air and Aether |
| 1902 | Henry Selby Hele-Shaw | Locomotion : On the Earth, Through the Water, in the Air |
| 1903 | Edwin Ray Lankester | Extinct Animals |
| 1904 | Henry Cunynghame | Ancient and Modern Methods of Measuring Time |
| 1905 | Herbert Hall Turner | Astronomy |
| 1906 | William Duddell | Signalling to a Distance |
| 1907 | David Gill | Astronomy, Old and New |
| 1908 | William Stirling | The Wheel of Life |
| 1909 | William Duddell | Modern Electricity |
| 1910 | Sylvanus Phillips Thompson | Sound: Musical and Non-Musical |
| 1911 | Peter Chalmers Mitchell | The Childhood of Animals |
| 1912 | James Dewar | Christmas Lecture Epilogues |
| 1913 | Herbert Hall Turner | A Voyage in Space |
| 1914 | Charles Vernon Boys | Science in the Home |
| 1915 | Herbert Hall Turner | Wireless Messages from the Stars |
| 1916 | Arthur Keith | The Human Machine Which All Must Work |
| 1917 | John Ambrose Fleming | Our Useful Servants : Magnetism and Electricity |
| 1918 | D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson | The Fish of the Sea |
| 1919 | William Henry Bragg | The World of Sound |
| 1920 | John Arthur Thomson | The Haunts of Life |
| 1921 | John Ambrose Fleming | Electric Waves and Wireless Telephony |
| 1922 | Herbert Hall Turner | Six Steps Up the Ladder to the Stars |
| 1923 | William Henry Bragg | Concerning the Nature of Things |
| 1924 | Francis Balfour-Browne | Concerning the Habits of Insects |
| 1925 | William Henry Bragg | Old Trades and New Knowledge |
| 1926 | Archibald Vivian Hill | Nerves and Muscles: How We Feel and Move |
| 1927 | Edward Andrade | Engines |
| 1928 | Alexander Wood | Sound Waves and their Uses |
| 1929 | Stephen Glanville | How Things Were Done in Ancient Egypt |
| 1930 | Arthur Mannering Tyndall | The Electric Spark |
| 1931 | William Henry Bragg | The Universe of Light |
| 1932 | Alexander Oliver Rankine | The Round of the Waters |
| 1933 | James Hopwood Jeans | Through Space and Time |
| 1934 | William Lawrence Bragg | Electricity |
| 1935 | Charles Edward Kenneth Mees | Photography |
| 1936 | Geoffrey Ingram Taylor | Ships |
| 1937 | Julian Huxley | Rare Animals and the Disappearance of Wild Life |
| 1938 | James Kendall | Young Chemists and Great Discoveries |
| 1939–1942 | No lectures due to the Second World War | |
| 1943 | Edward Andrade | Vibrations and Waves |
| 1944 | Harold Spencer Jones | Astronomy in our Daily Life |
| 1945 | Robert Watson-Watt | Wireless |
| 1946 | Hamilton Hartridge | Colours and How We See Them |
| 1947 | Eric Keightly Rideal | Chemical Reactions: How They Work |
| 1948 | Frederic Bartlett | The Mind at Work and Play |
| 1949 | Percy Dunsheath | The Electric Current |
| 1950 | Edward Andrade | Waves and Vibrations |
| 1951 | James Gray | How Animals Move |
| 1952 | F. Sherwood Taylor | How Science Has Grown |
| 1953 | John Ashworth Ratcliffe | The Uses of Radio Waves |
| 1954 | Frank Whittle | The Story of Petroleum |
| 1955 | Harry W. Melville | Big Molecules |
| 1956 | Harry Baines | Photography |
| 1957 | Julian Huxley and James Fisher | Birds |
| 1958 | John Ashworth Ratcliffe, James M. Stagg, Robert L. F. Boyd, Graham Sutton, George E. R. Deacon, Gordon de Quetteville Robin | International Geophysical Year |
| 1959 | Thomas Allibone | The Release and Use of Atomic Energy |
| 1960 | Vernon Ellis Cosslett | Seeing the Very Small |
| 1961 | William Lawrence Bragg | Electricity |
| 1962 | R. E. D. (Richard Evelyn Donohue) Bishop | Vibration |
| 1963 | Ronald King | Energy |
| 1964 | Desmond Morris | Animal Behaviour |
| 1965 | Bernard Lovell, Francis Graham-Smith, Martin Ryle, Antony Hewish | Exploration of the Universe |
Since 1966[edit]
The following is a list of televised Christmas Lectures from 1966 onward as of December 2021:
| Year | Lecturer(s) | Title of series | Lecture titles | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Eric Laithwaite | The Engineer in Wonderland[15] | 1. The White Rabbit 2. Only the Grin was Left 3. The Caucus Race 4. Curiouser and Curiouser 5. If only I were the right size to do it 6. It's the Oldest Rule in the Book | BBC Two |
| 1967 | Richard L. Gregory | The Intelligent Eye[16] | 1. Ancient Eyes and Simple Brains 2. Learning to See Things 3. Playing with Illusions 4. How Illusions Play Games with Us 5. Human Eyes in Space 6. The Future-Machines that See? | |
| 1968 | Philip Morrison | Gulliver's Laws: The Physics of Large and Small[17] | 1. The World of Captain Gulliver 2. Meat and Drink Sufficient... 3. A Prodigious Leap? 4. Lilliput and Brobdingnag since the Industrial Revolution 5. Dwarf and Giant Numbers 6. Beyond the Map | |
| 1969 | George Porter | Time Machines[18] | 1. In the Beginning... 2. Clockwork Harmony 3. The Tick of the Atom 4. Big Time, Little Time 5. Faster, Faster 6. To the Ends of Time | |
| 1970 | John Napier | Monkeys Without Tails: A Giraffe's Eye-view of Man[19] | 1. Man has a very short neck and no tail 2. Man comes in several different sizes and shapes 3. Fancy having to climb trees in order to eat 4. Man chooses a sensible place to live at last 5. Why choose to walk on two legs when it is much safer on four? 6. What's the idea of shooting at us? | |
| 1971 | Charles Taylor | Sounds of Music: The Science of Tones and Tune[20] | 1. Making and Measuring the Waves 2. From Small Beginnings 3. Growing and Changing 4. Craftsmanship and Technology 5. On the Way to the Ear 6. The End of the Journey | |
| 1972 | Geoffrey G. Gouriet | Ripples in the Ether: The Science of Radio Communication[21] | 1. How It All Began 2. Getting Rid of the Wires 3. The Sound of Broadcasting 4. Pictures With and Without Wires 5. But Electrons aren't Coloured! 6. Vision of the Future | |
| 1973 | David Attenborough | The Language of Animals | 1. Beware! 2. Be Mine 3. Parents and Children 4. Simple Signs and Complicated Communications 5. Foreign Languages 6. Animal Language, Human Language | |
| 1974 | Eric Laithwaite | The Engineer Through the Looking Glass | 1. Looking Glass House 2. Tweedledum and Tweedledee 3. Jam Yesterday, Jam Tomorrow 4. The Jabberwock 5. The Time has come the Walrus said 6. It's my own Invention | |
| 1975 | Heinz Wolff | Signals from the Interior | 1. You as an engine 2. Pumps pipes and flows 3. Spikes and waves 4. Probes, sondes and sounds 5. Looking through your skin 6. Signals from the mind | |
| 1976 | George Porter | The Natural History of a Sunbeam[22] | 1. First Light 2. Light and Life 3. A Leaf from Nature 4. Candles from the Sun 5. Making Light Work 6. Survival Under the Sun | |
| 1977 | Carl Sagan | The Planets | 1. The Earth as a Planet 2. The Outer Solar System and Life 3. The History of Mars 4. Mars before Viking 5. Mars after Viking 6. Planetary Systems Beyond Our Sun | |
| 1978 | Erik Christopher Zeeman | Mathematics into Pictures | 1. Linking and Knotting 2. Numbers and Geometry 3. Infinity and Perspective 4. Games and Evolution 5. Waves and Music 6. Catastrophe and Psychology | |
| 1979 | Eric M. Rogers | Atoms for Engineering Minds: A Circus of Experiments[23] | 1. Getting to Know Atoms 2. Molecules in Motion 3. Electrified Atoms 4. Atoms that Explode 5. Atoms and Energy 6. Seeing Atoms at Last | |
| 1980 | David Chilton Phillips with Max Perutz in Lecture 5 | The Chicken, the Egg and the Molecules | 1. What are chickens made of? 2. Machine tools of life 3. Muscle power 4. Eggs, genes and proteins 5. Haemoglobin: the breathing molecule 6. Molecules at work | |
| 1981 | Reginald Victor Jones | From Magna Carta to Microchip[24] | 1. Principles, Standards and Methods 2. The Measurement of Time 3. More and More About Less and Less 4. Onwards to the Stars 5. Measurement and Navigation in War 6. Some Impacts of Measurement on Life: And Can We Take it too Far? | |
| 1982 | Colin Blakemore | Common Sense[25] | 1. Making Sense 2. The Sound of Silence 3. The Sixth Sense - and the Rest 4. Show Me the Way to Go Home 5. Vive la différence 6. Enchanted Loom | |
| 1983 | Leonard Maunder | Machines in Motion[26] | 1. Driving Forces 2. Gathering Momentum 3. Vibration 4. Under Control 5. Fluids and Flight 6. Living Machines | |
| 1984 | Walter Bodmer | The Message of the Genes[27] | 1. We're All Different 2. The Spice of Life 3. Genetic Engineering 4. Bodies and Antibodies 5. Normal Cells and Cancer Cells 6. When Will Pigs Have Wings? | |
| 1985 | John David Pye | Communicating[28] | 1. No Man is an Island 2. Animal Talk 3. The Bionic Bat 4. The Pace of Technology 5. The Integrated Body 6. Computers | |
| 1986 | Lewis Wolpert | Frankenstein's Quest: Development of Life[29] | 1. First Take an Egg... 2. The Medium and the Message 3. The Right Stuff 4. Genes and Flies 5. Chain of Command 6. Growing Up and Growing Old | |
| 1987 | John Meurig Thomas and David Phillips | Crystals and Lasers | 1. Introducing the characters 2. The architecture of crystals 3. Semiconductors, superconductors and catalysts 4. Constructing a laser 5. Applications of lasers 6. Crystals, lasers and the human body | |
| 1988 | Gareth Roberts | The Home of the Future[30] | 1. Appliance Science 2. Home, Safe Home 3. Electronics for Pleasure 4. Home, Smart Home 5. Mixers, Meters and Molecules | |
| 1989 | Charles Taylor | Exploring Music[31] | 1. What Is Music? 2. The Essence of an Instrument 3. Science, Strings and Symphonies 4. Technology, Trumpets and Tunes 5. Scales, Synthesisers and Samplers | |
| 1990 | Malcolm Longair | Origins[32] | 1. The Grand Design 2. The Birth of the Stars 3. The Origin of Quasars 4. The Origin of the Galaxies 5. The Origin of the Universe | |
| 1991 | Richard Dawkins | Growing Up in the Universe | 1. Waking Up in the Universe 2. Designed and Designoid Objects 3. Climbing Mount Improbable 4. The Ultraviolet Garden 5. The Genesis of Purpose | |
| 1992 | Charles J. M. Stirling | Our World Through the Looking Glass | 1. Man in the Mirror 2. Narwhals, Palindromes and Chesterfield Station 3. The Handed Molecule 4. Symmetry, Sensation and Sex 5. In the Hands of Giants | |
| 1993 | Frank Close | The Cosmic Onion | 1. A is for Atoms 2. To the Centre of the Sun 3. Invaders from Outer Space 4. Anti-Matter Matters 5. An Hour to Make the Universe | |
| 1994 | Susan Greenfield | Journey to the Centre of the Brain[33][34] | 1. The Electric Ape 2. Through a Glass Darkly 3. Bubble Bubble Toil and Trouble 4. The Seven Ages of the Brain 5. The Mind's I | |
| 1995 | James Jackson | Planet Earth, An Explorer's Guide | 1. On the Edge of the World 2. Secrets of the Deep 3. Volcanoes: Melting the Earth 4. The Puzzle of the Continents 5. Waterworld | |
| 1996 | Simon Conway Morris | The History in our Bones[35] | 1. Staring into the Abyss 2. The Fossils Come Alive 3. The Great Dyings: Life after Death 4. Innovations And Novelty 5. Feet on the Ground, Head in the Stars: The History of Man | |
| 1997 | Ian Stewart | The Magical Maze | 1. Sunflowers and Snowflakes 2. The Pattern of Tiny Feet 3. Outrageous Fortune 4. Chaos and Cauliflowers 5. Fearful Symmetry | |
| 1998 | Nancy Rothwell | Staying Alive | 1. Sense and Sensitivity 2. Fats and figures 3. Chilling out 4. Times of our lives 5. Pushing the limits | |
| 1999 | Neil F. Johnson | Arrows of Time[36] | 1. Back to the Future 2. Catching the Waves 3. The Quantum Leap 4. Edge of Chaos 5. Shaping the Future | |
| 2000 | Kevin Warwick | Rise of the Robots[37] | 1. Anatomy of an Android 2. Things That Think 3. Remote Robots 4. Bionic Bodies 5. I, Robot | Channel 4 |
| 2001 | John Sulston | The Secrets of Life[38] | 1. What is life? 2. How do I grow? 3. What am I? 4. Can we fix it? 5. Future of life? | |
| 2002 | Tony Ryan | Smart Stuff[39] | 1. The Spider that Spun a Suspension Bridge 2. The Trainer That Ran Over The World 3. The Phone that Shrank the Planet 4. The Plaster that Stretches Life 5. The Ice Cream that Will Freeze Granny | |
| 2003 | Monica Grady | Voyage in Space and Time[40] | 1. Blast Off 2. Mission to Mars 3. Planet Patrol 4. Collision Course 5. Anybody Out There? | |
| 2004 | Lloyd Peck | Antarctica[40] | 1. Ice People 2. Ice Life 3. Ice World | |
| 2005 | John Krebs | The Truth About Food | 1. The ape that cooks 2. Yuck or yummy? 3. You are what you eat 4. When food goes wrong 5. Food for the future | Channel Five |
| 2006 | Marcus du Sautoy | The Num8er My5teries[41] | 1. The curious incident of the never-ending numbers 2. The quest to predict the future 3. The story of the elusive shapes 4. The case of the uncrackable code 5. The secret of the winning streak | |
| 2007 | Hugh Montgomery | Back from the Brink: The Science of Survival | 1. Peak Performance 2. Completely Stuffed 3. Grilled and Chilled 4. Fight, Flight and Fright 5. Luck, Genes and Stupidity | |
| 2008 | Christopher Bishop | Hi-tech Trek | 1. Breaking the Speed Limit 2. Chips with Everything 3. The Ghost in the Machine 4. Untangling the Web 5. Digital Intelligence | |
| 2009 | Sue Hartley | The 300-Million-Year War | 1. Plant Wars 2. The Animals Strike Back 3. Talking Trees 4. Dangerous to Delicious 5. Weapons of the Future | More4 |
| 2010 | Mark Miodownik | Size Matters | 1. Why Elephants Can't Dance but Hamsters Can Skydive 2. Why Chocolate Melts and Jet Planes Don't 3. Why Mountains Are So Small | BBC Four |
| 2011 | Bruce Hood | Meet Your Brain[42] | 1. What's in your head? 2. Who's in charge here anyway? 3. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? | |
| 2012 | Peter Wothers | The Modern Alchemist | 1. Air: the elixir of life 2. Water: the fountain of youth 3. Earth: the philosopher's stone | |
| 2013 | Alison Woollard | Life Fantastic | 1. Where do I come from? 2. Am I a Mutant? 3. Could I live forever? | |
| 2014 | Danielle George | Sparks will fly: How to Hack your Home | 1. The light bulb moment 2. Making contact 3. A new revolution | |
| 2015 | Kevin Fong | How to survive in space | 1. Lift off! 2. Life in Orbit 3. The next frontier | |
| 2016 | Saiful Islam | Supercharged: Fuelling the future | 1. Let there be light! 2. People Power 3. Fully charged | |
| 2017 | Sophie Scott | The Language of Life | 1. Say it with Sound 2. Silent Messages 3. The Word | |
| 2018 | Alice Roberts | Who am I?[43] | 1. Where Do I Come From? 2. What Makes Me Human? 3. What Makes Me, Me? | |
| 2019 | Hannah Fry | Secrets and Lies: The Hidden Power of Maths[44] | 1. How to Get Lucky 2. How to Bend the Rules 3. How Can We All Win? | |
| 2020 | Christopher Jackson | Planet Earth: A user's guide[45] | 1. Earth Engine 2. Water World 3. Up in the Air | |
| 2021 | Jonathan Van-Tam | Going viral: How Covid changed science forever[46] | 1. The Invisible Enemy 2. The Perfect Storm 3. Fighting Back |
──阿貝爾(Frederick Abel,1827-1902)
Frederick Abel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Abel
Sir Frederick Augustus Abel, 1st Baronet KCB, FRS (17 July 1827 – 6 September 1902) was an ... appointed lecturer in chemistry at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, succeeding Michael Faraday, who had held that post since 1829.
From 1854 until 1888 Abel served as ordnance chemist at the Chemical Establishment of the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich,[2] establishing himself as the leading British authority on explosives. Three years later was appointed chemist to the War Department[2] and chemical referee to the government. During his tenure of this office, which lasted until 1888, he carried out a large amount of work in connection with the chemistry of explosives.
The British Library
Scientist Michael Faraday, famous for establishing the field of electromagnetism and inventor of the electric motor, transformer and generator, died #onthisday in 1867.
Faraday rose from laboratory assistant to become Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution in 1833. In this letter written in 1859, he comments on William Thomson's experiments and uses diagrams to discuss problems of electromagnetic induction with reference to various metals and substances. Faraday also makes reference to his own approach to science. He wrote: 'I never can judge an experiment and make up my mind about it without doing it.' http://bit.ly/2bJpRJn
Michael Faraday's Telegraphy Letter
This letter from Michael Faraday to Thomson is written at a critical period in William Thomson’s studies of problems in telegraphy.
BL.UK
British Museum
Scientist Michael Faraday was born #onthisday in 1791. He used to be on the back of the Bank of England's £20 note. Here's a portrait of him from the Museum's collection http://ow.ly/BKYh4
書名：電學之父－法拉第的故事，語言：繁體中文，ISBN：9576632463，頁數：208，出版社：文經社，作者：張文亮著，出版日期：1999/10/31，類別：童書/青少年文學.
法拉第传
[美] 阿盖西 著 鲁旭东，康立伟 译
出版社：北京商務印書館2002
精彩書評
現在出版的關於法拉第的傳記甚至比牛頓和愛因斯坦的傳記還要多。①眾多傳記作者之所以對法拉第情有獨鍾，其主要原因在於，他們把他看作是科學界的灰姑娘。這至少首先有一個明顯的因素，即他身為倫敦貧民區一個窮鐵匠的兒子，但卻成長為一個著名的人物--他那個時代最偉大的實驗物理學家、皇家研究所受歡迎的所長。在我的這部傳記裡，我則認為他是一個醜小鴨，他是一位具有高度思辨和大膽探索精神的思想家而不是實驗家。儘管他是作為一個實驗家而受到崇高尊敬的，但他深感失望的是，他發現作為一個思想家他是被他那個時代的科學共同體排斥的。現在我們能夠明白，他的思想是如何重要。
除了 皮爾斯·威廉斯所寫的《邁克爾·法拉第傳》(1965年)以外，所有關於法拉第的作品不論長短，都在仿效法拉第的第一部傳記《發現者法拉第》(1868年)。這部傳記的作者約翰·廷德耳是法拉第為數不多的私人朋友之一，並且曾經是惟一最有資格成為法拉第的學生和繼承者的人。正如他的這部書的標題所表明樣，廷德耳認為法拉第是偉大的，因為他從一個微不足道的小人物一舉成名，成為自然界重要事實的發現者。這個論點是無可爭議的。法拉第本人極其重視經驗性的發現，並且為能成為一個發現者而感到非常自豪，對於那些有知識的國民對他的讚揚他懷有許多感激之情。然而，廷德耳的書還是在很大程度上把他歪曲了。法拉第並不認為自己是一個發現者，而是一個理論家和實驗家，他希望自己能作為一名哲學家而聞名於世；對他來說任何成敗都是他對於物理事物的本質思考的成敗，是能否獲得同行決定性關注的成敗。在他去世時，這個問題仍無定論，他是否成功地引起了他的同行對他的推論的關注?廷德耳對這些推論依然採取漠視的態度。但是不久推測者的成功就天下聞名了。
現在法拉第的大多數觀點在物理學界已屬平常了，他已經達到了他的目標，儘管這是在他去世以後的事。然而，人們並沒有把他的大部分觀點歸功於他。許多偶然對歷史感興趣的科學家認為，他的研究與直觀的以太模式有著密切聯繫，但他們吃驚地發現，早在電磁學歷史初期，即十九世紀的三十年代，法拉第就確實否認了以太的存在。我詳細地說明，他的許多發現是如何與他關於作為力場的物質的觀點、與他關於作為真空中兩個磁極的力場的觀點相聯繫的。有很多理由認為，所有這些都是奇特的。從歐幾里得到牛頓的那些思想家都認為空問是均勻的和各向同性的，即沒有優先的位置和方向。這是與所有實際的例證相一致的，同樣與所有的哲學和邏輯的觀念也是一致的：虛空是沒有性質的；把物質看作具有真空的性質是荒謬的。沒有證據可以支持法拉第的幻想，而在科學中則要求，在提出理論之前，先要找出支持這些理論的事實，然後這些理論得到進一步的印證，因此科學不會理會法拉第的幻想。
目錄
第一章引言
第二章成長的歲月
第三章場論序幕
第四章最初的收穫
第五章法拉第的方法論
第六章發現者法拉第
第七章法拉第的世界觀
第八章物質的帶電狀態
第九章物質的磁化
第十章結論
人名索引
主題索引
精彩書摘
苦難是化了妝的祝福國語日報家庭版國語日報社網站
一個人成不成功是在自己，不是在顯赫的學歷，法拉第的一生非常值得我們的學生效法，其中，最值得效法的就是他作筆記的方法。在當時的倫敦，晚上有給一般市民進修的課，叫「都市哲學會」，交一先令就能成為會員去上化學、電學、光學、機械學、地質學等課程。但是法拉第連一先令都沒有，他躊躇再三之後，向他做鐵匠的哥哥開口。這一先令對一般人是不多，但是他哥哥得多捶一百下鐵錘才賺得到，因此他非常珍惜這個機會。
他去上課時把一張紙折成一半，把帽子放在膝蓋上，再把紙打開，用帽子當桌子寫字，左邊的紙是記上課的主題、關鍵字句，右邊紙寫的是當時在他腦中迅速一閃而過的反應和看法。下課後，他立刻回家，趁著記憶猶新，將筆記完整有次序的謄寫下來，因為他是用自己的語氣來寫，這個經過他轉換成他的句子出來的知識就很容易保持。他後來成為化學家戴維（Hunphrey Davry）的研究助理，因為他拿了他上戴維四小時課所寫的三百八十四頁筆記去找戴維，戴維很驚訝一個人的筆記可以做得這麼出色，於是就收了他，讓他進了皇家學院，開始他研究生涯的第一步。所以作筆記實在很重要，它絕對不是老師說話的錄音帶，而是上課內容消化後的成果。
法拉第在日記中寫道：「人生有苦難，有重擔，人性有邪惡，有欺凌，但是到後來這些都對我有益處，苦難竟是化了妝的祝福。人生在一連串不完美中，最後總是完美。」
*拼字錯誤，應該是the19th century scientist Sir Humphry Davy 漢弗萊 戴維1778-1829 who invented the miners safety lamp.
Michael Faraday Prize
英國皇家學院有他的完整檔案：
英國大科學家法拉第（Michael Faraday）在電磁學、光學及化學上的貢獻，二百年來一直受到舉世推崇。電磁學四大定律之一的法拉第定律，講到如何由磁場變化產生電場，這定律導致馬 達與發電機的發明。在光學上，法拉第效應講的是磁場可以如何改變光的行進，即所謂的磁光效應。在化學上，法拉第發現氣體的液化行為並在電解及電化學等領域 有極大的貢獻，他還製造出許多當時頗為新奇的物質，如四氯乙烯、合金鋼、苯等。有人推崇他是最偉大的實驗家，為了尊敬這位偉人，英國皇家化學學會中設有法 拉第學會（Faraday Society）。
法拉第也是一位傑出的科學教育者，他在一八四○至一八六○年間以蠟燭為主題，對青少年發表的一系列演講尤其著名。演講的內容後來被編成一本書──《蠟燭的化學史》（Chemical History of a Candle），書中篇章包括蠟燭的組成、蠟燭的燃燒，以及氫、氧、水、二氧化碳的物理化學性質，還有大氣的組成。
這一本基礎物理化學通俗讀物在西方十分流行，在此書中，法拉第利用蠟燭將自然的奧祕揭示給世人看，由這本書可以看出法拉第在科學上的素養，以及他 在推廣通俗科學上的努力。法拉第關於蠟燭的第一次演講，是在一八四八年的聖誕節，聽眾是青少年朋友，最後一次則是在一八六○年的聖誕節。
蜡烛的故事(法拉第).pdf_免费高速下载_
Keeper of the Flame
Michael Faraday is one of the most beguiling and lovable figures in the history of science. Though he could not understand a single equation, he deduced the essential structure of the laws of electromagnetism through visualization and physical intuition. (James Clerk Maxwell would later give them mathematical form.) Albert Einstein kept a picture of Faraday over his desk, for Einstein also thought of himself primarily as a visual and physical thinker, not an abstract mathematician.
Working in London as an apprentice book-binder in the early 1800s, Faraday started to read the books he was binding and to attend popular lectures on science delivered by Humphry Davy, the celebrated chemist. Faraday was so enthralled that he wrote Davy and offered to be his assistant, enclosing the notes he had taken on Davy's lectures. Davy was so impressed that he offered Faraday the job. In time, Faraday succeeded Davy as a professor at the Royal Institution in London, making many crucial discoveries in physics and chemistry.
Chemical History of a Candle
By Michael FaradayOxford, 152 pages, $24.95
Faraday was not only a wizard of experimental skill but a deep thinker and theorist. He noticed during one of his lectures that a moving magnet would induce a current in a coil though a stationary magnet would not. This induction effect is essential to the functioning of every motor, generator or electromagnetic device currently in operation.
Faraday was also a wonderful lecturer. In the 1820s he originated the Christmas Lectures at the Royal Institution, which continue to this day. They were popular presentations meant primarily for young people, but princes and politicians also flocked to hear him. "The Chemical History of a Candle," perhaps Faraday's most famous series of lectures, has remained in print since first delivered in 1861. This edition, including a facsimile of Faraday's original handwritten notes, was produced to celebrate the 150th anniversary.
Faraday's text is still charming and rich, a judgment that few popular works on science could sustain after so many years. Though he addresses himself to an "auditory of juveniles," he calls for his audience to follow a close chain of reasoning presented through a series of experiments and deductions. Not many current popularizations ask or offer as much. To be sure, Faraday treated his hearers to plenty of explosions and chemical wonders, but in so doing he let them experience the authentic scientific process of thoughtful questioning.ndrew Unangst/Getty Images
At every turn, Faraday surprises us with the hidden facets of the candle's burning, such as how its seemingly immaterial flame derives its brilliance from the combustion of solid, dirty soot. In his exposition, the abstract names of oxygen, hydrogen and carbon dioxide take on fullness and character, as if they were the protagonists of an amazing drama in which we also find ourselves: "In every one of us there is a living process of combustion going on very similar to that of a candle," as Faraday illustrates in his experiments.
In his closing, he turns from our metabolic resemblance to a candle to his deeper wish that "you may, like it, shine as lights to those about you."
Frank James, Faraday's successor at the Royal Institution, has written an introduction that will be useful to those curious about the origins and reception of this classic text, but I wish he had included more of the general background about Faraday himself that would help a wider public appreciate the book. Captions would have helped readers understand the drawings; more detailed notes would have helped clarify the text. Though we are told that what Faraday calls carbonic acid we know as carbon dioxide, we are left in the dark about "coal-gas." Readers might well wonder what, if anything, modern chemistry can add anything to Faraday's account.
Faraday thought of himself as a "philosopher," not a "physicist" (a new-fangled term he disliked). Addressing us as "we philosophers," he adds that "I hope that I may class you and myself together in this case." By philosophy he means not abstract speculation but intense questioning of the things of this world: "Why does the ice float [upon water]? — Think of that, and philosophize. Because the ice is larger than the quantity of water which can produce it, and therefore the ice weighs the lighter and the water is the heaver." We philosophers should all rejoice to see his little classic shedding its gentle light again.
—Mr. Pesic is the author of "Sky in a Bottle."
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