James Prescott Joule was an English physicist, mathematician and brewer, born in Salford, Lancashire. Joule studied the nature of heat, and discovered its relationship to mechanical work. This led to the law of conservation of energy, which in turn led to the development of the first law of thermodynamics. The SI derived unit of energy, the joule, is named after him. He worked with Lord Kelvin to develop an absolute thermodynamic temperature scale, which came to be called the Kelvin scale. Joule also made observations of magnetostriction, and he found the relationship between the current through a resistor and the heat dissipated, which is also called Joule's first law. His experiments about energy transformations were first published in 1843.
| Born: | December 24, 1818, Salford, Lancashire, England |
| Died: | October 11, 1889, Sale, Cheshire, England |
| Citizenship: | British |
| Fields: | Physics |
| Known for: | First law of thermodynamics, Disproving caloric theory |
| Influences: | John Dalton, John Davies |
| Notable awards: | Royal Medal (1852), Copley Medal (1870), Albert Medal (1880) |
| Children: | Benjamin Arthur, Alice Amelia, Henry |
About James Prescott Joule
Scientist whose discoveries in heat and energy led to the Law of conservation of energy and the First law of thermodynamics.
James Prescott Joule Before Fame
In 1845, he published a paper observing that mechanical power can be turned into heat.
Achievement of James Prescott Joule
The international unit of movement and heat was named "joule" after his advancements in science and thermodynamics.
James Prescott Joule Family Life
He married Amelia Grimes.
Associations of James Prescott Joule
He used discoveries by Sir Isaac Newton to help understand his findings.
Information related to James Prescott Joule
- James Prescott Joule Category
- Joule expansion - The Joule expansion is an irreversible process in thermodynamics in which a volume of gas is kept in one side of a thermally isolated container, with the other side of the container being evacuated.
- Gough-Joule effect - The Gough–Joule effect is originally the tendency of elastomers to contract when heated if they are under tension. Elastomers that are not under tension do not see this effect.
- Magnetic reluctance - Magnetic reluctance, or magnetic resistance, is a concept used in the analysis of magnetic circuits. It is defined as the ratio of magnetomotive force to magnetic flux. It represents the opposition to magnetic flux, and depends on the geometry and composition of an object.
- Latent heat - Latent heat is energy released or absorbed, by a body or a thermodynamic system, during a constant-temperature process — usually a first-order phase transition.
- Sensible heat - Sensible heat is heat exchanged by a body or thermodynamic system in which the exchange of heat changes the temperature of the body or system, and some macroscopic variables of the body or system, but leaves unchanged certain other macroscopic variables of the body or system, such as volume or...
- Internal energy - The internal energy of a thermodynamic system is the energy contained within it. It is the energy necessary to create or prepare the system in any given internal state.
- People associated with electricity
- People associated with energy
- History of Greater Manchester
- Thermodynamicists
- Recipients of the Copley Medal
- English physicists
- Fluid dynamicists
- Royal Medal winners