William Crookes was born in London in 1832, the eldest of eight surviving children (eight others died young) of Joseph Crookes (1792–1889), a wealthy tailor and real estate investor of north-country origin, and his second wife, Mary (née Scott 1806–1884). He received many public and academic honours. His interests, ranging over pure and applied science, economic and practical problems, and psychic research, made him a well-known personality and earned him a substantial income. His experiments in chemistry and physics were known for the originality of their design, and he is considered a "superb experimentalist". He was considered remarkable for his industriousness and for his intellectual qualities. Crookes also invented a 100% ultraviolet blocking sunglass lens.įor a time, he was interested in spiritualism and became president of the Society for Psychical Research.Ĭrookes' life was one of unbroken scientific activity that extended over sixty-seven years. He was also the first to describe the spectrum of terrestrial helium, in 1865.Ĭrookes was the inventor of the Crookes radiometer but did not discern the true explanation of the phenomenon he detected. He is credited with discovering the element thallium, announced in 1861, with the help of spectroscopy. This was a foundational discovery that eventually changed the whole of chemistry and physics. He was a pioneer of vacuum tubes, inventing the Crookes tube which was made in 1875. Sir William Crookes OM FRS ( / k r ʊ k s/ 17 June 1832 – 4 April 1919) was a British chemist and physicist who attended the Royal College of Chemistry, now part of Imperial College London, and worked on spectroscopy.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |