John Tyndall was an Irish-born physicist who was one of the most influential scientists in the United Kingdom during the Victorian era. Due to his rigor for scientific experiments as well as a thorough understanding of the apparatus employed, he was regarded as one of the top experimental scientists of his time. John Tyndall was schooled in his native Ireland and even began working as a youth, but after taking a job as a mathematics teacher at a boarding school in Hampshire, he decided to continue his study in Germany. He learned the sciences and many processes required in successful experiments from top scientists of the time in Germany, which gave him a solid foundation. Tyndall is credited with nearly 150 papers published over a three-decade period. In addition, he authored a variety of textbooks that not only promoted natural sciences but also assisted students in gaining a deeper grasp of various scientific phenomena. Tyndall conducted substantial research on the earth’s atmosphere, glacier movements, ozone, and a variety of other topics, making him one of the most active scientists of his day.
Childhood and Adolescence
John Tyndall was born on August 2, 1820, in the Irish town of Leighlinbridge, in the county of Garlow. John Tyndall, his father, was a police policeman in the town. Sarah Tyndall was his mother’s name. He had a sister who was older than him.
He had his early education at the schools in his hometown of Leighlinbridge, where he remained until he was well into his teens. He had also studied land surveying in school, in addition to mathematics.
John Tyndall began working as a draftsman for the Ordnance Survey of Ireland in 1839, and three years later, he began working for the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain.
He also worked as a mathematics teacher at Queenswood College, a boarding institution in the south of England. The school’s future chemist, Edward Frankland, was also a teacher, and on his suggestion, both Tyndall and Frankland enrolled at the University of Marburg in Germany in 1848.
Robert Bunsen, Hermann Knoblauch, and Heinrich Gustav Magnus were among the giants of the time who taught Tyndall in Germany. In 1951, he completed his education and returned to England.
After returning to England, John Tyndall was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1851, and the Royal Institute in London appointed him Professor of Natural Philosophy or Physics the following year. At the institute, Tyndall met the bright scientist Michael Faraday, with whom he developed a successful connection.
Tyndall began his career researching the earth’s atmosphere, focusing on the amount of radiant heat that various gases in the atmosphere can absorb. In 1859, he succeeded in determining the absorptive capacities of several gases. He is also credited with inventing the Tyndall Effect, which is the method of demonstrating particles in the air by bathing it in bright light.
John Tyndall also invented a mechanism for measuring the amount of carbon dioxide in an isolated sample of human breath in around 1864, and his system is being used in modern medical science by anaesthetic professionals to monitor the condition of patients who are under anaesthesia. In the same year, he discovered that Ozone is nothing more than oxygen clumped together.
Starting in 1850, Tyndall worked on a range of research projects for more than 30 years, publishing 147 publications on topics ranging from the earth’s atmosphere to how the sun’s rays passing through air molecules cause the sky to seem blue.
Tyndall spent some time in the Alps in 1856 researching glacier movement and flow. He also became a mountaineer in the process. Tyndall also put in a lot of effort to make science more accessible to the general population by giving public lectures. He also wrote a number of books on basic science. He left the company at the age of 66.
Major Projects of John Tyndall
He was responsible for popularizing natural sciences among the general people, in addition to the tireless research he undertook over three decades as an academic. His most important study, however, was on studies of the earth’s atmosphere, which laid the groundwork for future research on the issue.
Achievements & Awards
John Tyndall received the Royal Medal in 1853.
The Rumford Medal was bestowed upon him by the Royal Society in 1864.
Personal History and Legacy
In 1876, when he was 55 years old, John Tyndall married Louisa Hamilton. The couple didn’t have any children.
John Tyndall died on December 4, 1893, at the age of 73, from an inadvertent overdose of cholera hydrate, a drug he used to treat his insomnia.
Estimated Net Worth
The estimated net worth of John Tyndall is $5 Million.