EuropaWorld 17/11/2000 John Tyndall

John Tyndall was born Aug 2 1820, at Leighlin Bridge, County Carlow, Ireland, the son of a member of the Irish Constabulary. He left school at 17 to join the Irish Ordnance Survey and
established an early career first as a practical surveyor and draftsman and later as a mathematics teacher.

His scientific career started in 1848 when, at the age of 28, he left the UK to study for a doctorate in Germany. Despite his limited knowledge of both science and German, he started
research into the magnetic properties of crystals and completed all the work required for a doctoral degree in less than 2 years.

Unable to finance further research once back in Britain, Tyndall returned to teaching

whilst supplementing his income by writing for a scientific magazine. A change of fortune came in 1853 when he was asked to present a lecture to the Royal Institute in London. His
competent and engaging style was so popular that he was invited to deliver a whole course of lectures. Three months later he was elected Professor of Natural Philosophy.

Whilst earning a reputation as a popular and respected lecturer, Tyndall continued his research in

the Institute's laboratories. In 1859 he began investigating the ability of various gases to absorb and radiate heat. These included water vapour, carbon dioxide and ozone (which he
demonstrated to be an oxygen cluster rather than a hydrogen compound). Tyndall identified that these gases, even in small quantities, absorb heat much more strongly than other gases
in the atmosphere thus creating the potential for a greenhouse effect. In the 1860's, Tyndall began suggesting that slight changes in the atmospheric composition could bring about
climatic variations - an observation of significant meteorological importance.

Tyndall's research extended to light beams and he discovered in 1869 the so-called Tyndall effect - the diffusion of light by large molecules and dust. He also performed experiments
demonstrating that the skys blue colour results from the scattering of the sun's rays by molecules in the atmosphere. He is credited with the first ever atmospheric pollution
measurements using infrared rays, numerous inventions including the fireman's respirator and he produced further

studies on glacier motion, sound, and the germ theory of disease. An outspoken advocate of Louis Pasteur -he delivered the final blow to the long-held theory of spontaneous
generation in 1881 by proving that germ-free air does not lead to food decay.

Alongside his own achievements, Tyndall was determined to make science more popular and accessible to the public, convinced that traditional British education was outdated and
uninspired. He gave animated 'working men's lectures' - which proved that science could be both understandable and entertaining - and contributed to science columns in a number of
popular periodicals. His greatest audience however was reached through his writing. In his lifetime he published more than 16 books and 145 papers.

In1887 he resigned from the Royal Institution due to ill health although he continued to be active within the spheres of science, education and politics. As his health worsened he
experimented more and more with drugs until tragically in 1893 Tyndall died from an overdose of chloral accidentally administered by his wife Louisa.

However his contributions to scientific understanding and scientific terms such as: Tyndalisation - a sterilisation process- and the Tyndall effect - remain permanent monuments to his
work.

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