PHYSICIST

James Prescott Joule

1818 - 1889

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James Prescott Joule (; 24 December 1818 – 11 October 1889) was an English physicist. Joule studied the nature of heat and discovered its relationship to mechanical work. This led to the law of conservation of energy, which in turn led to the development of the first law of thermodynamics. The SI unit of energy, the joule (J), is named after him. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. James Prescott Joule is the 19th most popular physicist (down from 13th in 2019), the 54th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 33rd in 2019) and the 5th most popular British Physicist.

James Prescott Joule was most famous for his work in thermodynamics. He was the first to calculate the mechanical equivalent of heat, which is the amount of work that can be done by a certain amount of heat.

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Among PHYSICISTS

Among physicists, James Prescott Joule ranks 19 out of 851. Before him are Pierre Curie, André-Marie Ampère, Evangelista Torricelli, Erwin Schrödinger, Henri Becquerel, and J. J. Thomson. After him are Ernest Rutherford, Edward Victor Appleton, Werner Heisenberg, William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, Enrico Fermi, and John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1818, James Prescott Joule ranks 2. Before him is Karl Marx. After him are Christian IX of Denmark, Alexander II of Russia, Ignaz Semmelweis, Emily Brontë, Ivan Turgenev, Charles Gounod, Jacob Burckhardt, Marius Petipa, Lewis H. Morgan, and Tewodros II. Among people deceased in 1889, James Prescott Joule ranks 1. After him are Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, Antonio Meucci, Jefferson Davis, Baroness Mary Vetsera, Lucy Webb Hayes, Yohannes IV, Luís I of Portugal, Michel Eugène Chevreul, Father Damien, Alexandre Cabanel, and Mihai Eminescu.

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, James Prescott Joule ranks 54 out of 8,785. Before him are Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (1947), Thomas Hardy (1840), Bernard Montgomery (1887), James Cook (1728), Mary, Queen of Scots (1542), and J. J. Thomson (1856). After him are Anthony Hopkins (1937), John Major (1943), Mary of Teck (1867), Margaret Thatcher (1925), Ecgberht, King of Wessex (800), and Edward Victor Appleton (1892).

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Among PHYSICISTS In United Kingdom

Among physicists born in United Kingdom, James Prescott Joule ranks 5. Before him are Isaac Newton (1643), Stephen Hawking (1942), Michael Faraday (1791), and J. J. Thomson (1856). After him are Edward Victor Appleton (1892), William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (1824), John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh (1842), Robert Hooke (1635), Charles Thomson Rees Wilson (1869), Owen Willans Richardson (1879), and James Clerk Maxwell (1831).

British born Physicists

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