Earl of Lunford's original name was Benjamin Thompson (1753-1814), who was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, USA. His life is a little strange, though not noble enough, but it is really interesting. When he was young, he almost died by making fireworks to celebrate the abolition of the stamp duty bill, when he was working in a retail store in Salem. After his recovery, he worked in another retail store in Boston for a while. At the age of 19, Thompson married a wealthy widow and went to Renford, New Hampshire (now Concord), where his wife inherited a property. However, because the revolutionary war broke out, Thompson began to serve the British and spy on his neighbors, so the situation became complicated. Perhaps it was not pleasant to stay in his hometown. He left his wife and children and left Boston with the British army.
in Britain, Thompson worked for the British colonial secretariat (his knowledge of the United States made him very appreciated), and later he met Sir Joseph Banks (1743-182), president of the Royal Society. Through Banks, he met the famous scientists at that time.
before the end of the war, he returned to the American colony as a lieutenant colonel of the British army. Unfortunately, however, Britain lost. He was forced into permanent exile and had to return to England. In Britain, his speculative character was once again exposed. He not only took bribes, but even worked as a spy for the French and dealt with the British.
In p>1783, he was allowed by George III to go to the European continent, where he was the elector of Bavaria. The effectiveness of Karl Theodor (1724-1799). Thompson is more than adequate for all kinds of administrative work, and he has been a secretary of war and a member of parliament. He set up a workshop for the homeless, introduced Watt steam engine and potatoes, and did other good things. The elector was very satisfied, so Thompson became the count of the Holy Roman Empire in 1791, named Renford, perhaps out of nostalgia for the real estate left in New Hampshire.
Thompson, later known as Earl of Lunford, lived a prodigal life, starting in America and ending in England and France. He is best known for his exploration of the nature of heat. When Lunford was in Bavaria, he was very interested in science and deeply concerned about the nature of heat. In 1798, he was in charge of the boring of artillery in Munich, and noticed that when the drill was drilling, the metal would become very hot-so hot that it had to be cooled with water. In this regard, caloric theory's supporters will explain that during the cutting process, weightless thermal fluid is continuously released from the metal. But Lunford noticed that as long as the drilling continued, heat would be released continuously, and if the amount of heat released during the process was measured, it would be enough to melt the metal, if it was poured back into the empty shell. He also noticed that if the drilling machine he used was too dull to cut metal, at this time, the metal would become hotter, at least not lower than the heat mass released in this case-that is, if it was the cutting process that caused the heat mass to be released.
So Lunford put forward the thermal theory, that is to say, the mechanical motion of the drilling machine is transformed into heat. So he said that heat is a form of exercise. Before him, Bacon, Boyle and Hooke all hinted at this idea.
Lunford's thought soon gained strong support from some people, who abandoned caloric theory and supported the theory of heat. But at the end of 18th century, caloric theory was still favored by most physicists and chemists. They were undoubtedly influenced by lavoisier's authoritative opinions and believed that mathematics supported caloric theory. It was not until Joule (James Prescot Joule, 1818-1889) provided a mathematical quantitative explanation, that is, how much heat would be generated by a certain amount of mechanical work, that Lunford was proved to be correct.
doing experiments with electricity is both entertaining-there is no danger-and instructive. In Bavaria, his opportunistic character finally stopped showing. Renford returned to England in 1798. In view of his achievements, he was admitted to the Royal Society in England and founded the Royal Institute in the same year. Thomas Young (1773-1829) and David, two emerging young physicists, became the speakers of this institute, especially David, who was enthusiastic about Lunford's theory and published an experimental result supported by him. But most physicists were still unconvinced until 1871, when James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) finally established the theory of molecular motion, which was 7 years later.
In p>184, Lunford (his first wife had died) married lavoisier's widow, Mary Anne, who was rich and famous (after marrying Lunford). She still keeps lavoisier's surname). He is 5 years old and she is about 47 years old. However, their married life was not smooth. As soon as they got married, they began to quarrel and only spent four years together. Renford privately thought that lavoisier was lucky to be guillotined compared with himself. As a historian said, Lunford was not outstanding, but he did his utmost to show forbearance, at least in Lunford's own view-he left with only half of Mary-Anne lavoisier's property.
Lunford's American daughter, born to his first wife, came to him in 1811 to take care of his old age. Although he is rude and often unscrupulous, he has made many practical inventions besides his contribution to science, including double-layer steamer, drip coffee pot and cooking set. He deliberately didn't apply for a patent so that people could use it for free. When he died in 1814, he left most of his legacy to the United States and donated a professorship in applied science to Harvard University.