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Peter Guthrie Tait
Peter Guthrie Tait was a Scottish mathematical physicist and early pioneer in thermodynamics. He is best known for the mathematical physics textbook Treatise on Natural Philosophy, which he co-wrote with Lord Kelvin, and his early investigations into knot theory.
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science · Scottish mathematical physicist (1831–1901) · mathematician · physicist · also Peter Guthrie Tait, Peter Tait, P. G. Tait, Tait
Born 28 April 1831 · Died 4 July 1901 · Q742536
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2026· 1 entry
1901· 1 entry
Died 1901-07-04.
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1891· 1 entry
Tait invoked the Magnus effect to explain the influence of spin on the flight of a golf ball
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1887· 1 entry
Awarded Gunning Victoria Jubilee Prize (1887).
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1886· 2 entries
Won Royal Medal (1886).
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Honorary degrees by the University of Glasgow and the University of Ireland
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1880· 1 entry
Worked on the Four color theorem and proved that it was true if and only if no snarks were planar
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1875· 1 entry
Awarded honorary degree presented by Queen's University Belfast (1875).
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1873· 1 entry
Took thermoelectricity for the subject of his discourse as Rede lecturer at Cambridge, and in the same year he presented the first sketch of his well-known thermoelectric diagram before the Royal Society of Edinburgh
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1871· 2 entries
Won Keith Medal (1871).
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Emphasised the significance and future importance of the principle of the dissipation of energy (second law of thermodynamics)
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1864· 1 entry
Published a short paper on thermodynamics, and from that time his contributions to that and kindred departments of science became frequent and important
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1861· 1 entry
Awarded Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1861).
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1860· 1 entry
Tait succeeded his old master, James D
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1857· 1 entry
Tait married Margaret Archer Porter (1839–1926)
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1856· 1 entry
Was on the dynamics of a particle; and afterwards there followed a number of treatises on thermodynamics, heat, light, properties of matter and dynamics, together with a volume of popular lectures on Recent Advances in P
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1854· 1 entry
Awarded Smith's Prize (1854).
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1852· 1 entry
Studied at Peterhouse (1848–1852).
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1848· 1 entry
Studied at University of Edinburgh (1847–1848).
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1847· 1 entry
Studied at Edinburgh Academy (1841–1847).
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1831· 1 entry
Born 1831-04-28.
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