Géologie, théologie et inquiétudes eschatologiques : William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) et les débats suscités par la thermodynamique à l’époque victorienne
William Thomson (1824-1907), an eminent physicist who contributed to the formulation of the second law of thermodynamics, was also at the origin of a largely forgotten controversy concerning the ages of the Sun and the Earth. He used the laws of thermodynamics to calculate the age of our planet and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée
2010-06-01
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| Series: | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/cve/2860 |
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| author | Jean-Michel Yvard |
| author_facet | Jean-Michel Yvard |
| author_sort | Jean-Michel Yvard |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | William Thomson (1824-1907), an eminent physicist who contributed to the formulation of the second law of thermodynamics, was also at the origin of a largely forgotten controversy concerning the ages of the Sun and the Earth. He used the laws of thermodynamics to calculate the age of our planet and he concluded that it was probably from 100 to 500 million years old, which was much lower than the estimations currently accepted by geologists, and threatened to put into question the darwinian theory of evolution. Moreover, thermodynamics did not only announce a gradual exhaustion of the resources of the Sun or of our planet, but also the heat death of the universe as a whole. This paper explores the uncertainties and the debates which were caused by such conceptions, which were also used, in a more imaginative way, by H. G. Wells in his famous novel The Time Machine. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-194feb3e5e184798ac8d5329db6f1bbc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0220-5610 2271-6149 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2010-06-01 |
| publisher | Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
| spelling | doaj-art-194feb3e5e184798ac8d5329db6f1bbc2025-01-30T10:21:45ZengPresses Universitaires de la MéditerranéeCahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens0220-56102271-61492010-06-017123725210.4000/cve.2860Géologie, théologie et inquiétudes eschatologiques : William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) et les débats suscités par la thermodynamique à l’époque victorienneJean-Michel YvardWilliam Thomson (1824-1907), an eminent physicist who contributed to the formulation of the second law of thermodynamics, was also at the origin of a largely forgotten controversy concerning the ages of the Sun and the Earth. He used the laws of thermodynamics to calculate the age of our planet and he concluded that it was probably from 100 to 500 million years old, which was much lower than the estimations currently accepted by geologists, and threatened to put into question the darwinian theory of evolution. Moreover, thermodynamics did not only announce a gradual exhaustion of the resources of the Sun or of our planet, but also the heat death of the universe as a whole. This paper explores the uncertainties and the debates which were caused by such conceptions, which were also used, in a more imaginative way, by H. G. Wells in his famous novel The Time Machine.https://journals.openedition.org/cve/2860 |
| spellingShingle | Jean-Michel Yvard Géologie, théologie et inquiétudes eschatologiques : William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) et les débats suscités par la thermodynamique à l’époque victorienne Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
| title | Géologie, théologie et inquiétudes eschatologiques : William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) et les débats suscités par la thermodynamique à l’époque victorienne |
| title_full | Géologie, théologie et inquiétudes eschatologiques : William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) et les débats suscités par la thermodynamique à l’époque victorienne |
| title_fullStr | Géologie, théologie et inquiétudes eschatologiques : William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) et les débats suscités par la thermodynamique à l’époque victorienne |
| title_full_unstemmed | Géologie, théologie et inquiétudes eschatologiques : William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) et les débats suscités par la thermodynamique à l’époque victorienne |
| title_short | Géologie, théologie et inquiétudes eschatologiques : William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) et les débats suscités par la thermodynamique à l’époque victorienne |
| title_sort | geologie theologie et inquietudes eschatologiques william thomson lord kelvin et les debats suscites par la thermodynamique a l epoque victorienne |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/cve/2860 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jeanmichelyvard geologietheologieetinquietudeseschatologiqueswilliamthomsonlordkelvinetlesdebatssuscitesparlathermodynamiquealepoquevictorienne |