John Leslie (physicist)

Sir John Leslie ( born April 10, 1766 Largo, Fife, † November 3, 1832 at his country house near Largo ) was a Scottish mathematician and physicist, known for his studies on heat transfer and heat flow.

Life

Leslie worked as a private tutor. 1805 Leslie professor of mathematics at the University of Edinburgh. In 1819 he joined the faculty of natural philosophy.

Work

In 1804 he experimented with the transfer of heat from objects. To this end, he designed a cube-shaped vessel, which was filled with boiling water. A side face of the cube was made ​​of polished metal, two of uncut metal and one side was painted black. He was able to prove that the black surface best passes the heat flow. This apparatus is also known by the name " cube Leslie ".

In 1810 he was the first to artificially produce ice. He had developed an absorption refrigeration system with the fluid pair water and sulfuric acid.

In 1820 he first described the relationship between wind, heat and density, which are responsible for the stratification in lakes, and was beaten in recognition of his achievements in 1832 knighted.

His students included, among others, John James Waterston.

Writings

• An Experimental Inquiry into the Nature and Propagation of Heat. 1804
• A short account of experiments and instruments DEPENDING on the relation of air to heat and moisture. 1813ff.
• The Philosophy of Arithmetic. 1820
• Elements of natural philosophy. 1823