RSVP: Joseph Evinger (jdevinger@comcast.net)
When:
Every 2nd Thursday of the month, 3:00-4:30 pm
Where: Zoom - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84801461083?pwd=elp5eDJ3V0F4bUhUVzFwS2MzWm1oZz09
Meeting ID: 848 0146 1083
Passcode: science
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Meeting ID: 848 0146 1083
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Science and Ideas Group Presents
Delusion, Fusion, and The Age of the Sun
How a collision between Darwin and Lord Kelvin (sort of) gave rise to modern cosmology
Sean Gavin
Associate Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy
at Wayne State University
Talk summary:
When he put forth the theory of evolution, Charles Darwin faced criticism from one of the greatest physicists of his day—the renowned Lord Kelvin.
According to Kelvin's state-of-the-art (for the Victorian era) calculations of the age of the Sun and the Earth, there hadn't been enough time for life to evolve like Darwin described!
In the years before Einstein, the public viewed Lord Kelvin as the iconic scientist, inventor, and guiding light of the Industrial Revolution. Indeed, his work in thermodynamics led to the notion of absolute zero and the temperature scale named in his honor.
Come hear how this leading mathematician and physicist became known as one of the great curmudgeons of history. And Kelvin wasn't the only one—we'll share more about the annoying but important role of other curmudgeons in the development of modern cosmology.
Professor Sean Gavin: Ph.D. Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1987