James Hopwood Jeans

Sir James Hopwood Jeans ( born September 11, 1877 in Ormskirk, Lancashire, † September 16, 1946 in Dorking, Surrey ) was an English physicist, astronomer and mathematician.

Life

James Jeans went to school in London at the Merchant Taylors ' School and the Grammar School Wilson 's School. He then studied in Cambridge, Trinity College.

He taught at Cambridge, but taught from 1904 to Princeton University in New Jersey as a Professor of Applied Mathematics. In 1910 he returned to Cambridge.

Jeans made ​​important contributions in many areas of physics, including quantum mechanics. His research on rotating body let him come to the conclusion that the report drawn up by Pierre- Simon Laplace theory that the solar system was formed from a single cloud of gas is wrong. Instead, he suggested as an alternative that the planets are formed when at a beinahen collision with a passing star matter was demolished by the sun. However, this theory could not be maintained.

Together with Arthur Eddington, he is a co-founder of British cosmology.

Jeans explored on astrophysical field the dynamics of stellar systems, the internal structure of stars and cosmological problems.

Awards

In 1922 Jeans received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society. In addition, a crater on the Moon and a crater on Mars were named after him.

Writings

  • The Dynamical Theory of Gases. 1904 - German: Dynamic Theory of Gases ( 1926).
  • Theoretical Mechanics. In 1906.
  • Mathematical Theory of Electricity and Magnetism. , 1908.
  • The Mysterious Universe. 1930 - German: The Space and its puzzles ( 1931).
  • The Stars in Their Courses. 1931 - German: The Wonderful World of Stars ( 1934).
  • Through Space and Time. 1934 - German: Through Space and Time (1936).
  • The New Background of Science. 1933 - German: The new foundations of natural science (1934 ).
  • Science and Music. 1937 - German: the music and its physical basis (1938).
  • Physics and Philosophy. 1942 - German: Physics and Philosophy ( 1944).
  • The Growth of Physical Science. 1947 - German: The career of the exact sciences (1948 ).
England Rayleigh–Jeans law Jeans instability Astrophysics Data System Integrated Authority File
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