Difference between revisions of "George FitzGerald" - New World Encyclopedia
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[[Image:George Francis FitzGerald.jpg|thumb|George FitzGerald]] | [[Image:George Francis FitzGerald.jpg|thumb|George FitzGerald]] | ||
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| − | FitzGerald was born at No 19 Lower Mount Street in [[Dublin]] on | + | <<'''This article is too short. Please expand it and divide it into sections. Add a section on Legacy.'''>> |
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| + | '''George Francis FitzGerald''' (3 August 1851 – 22 February 1901) was a professor of "natural and experimental philosophy" (i.e., physics) at [[Trinity College, Dublin|Trinity College]], [[Dublin]], in the late nineteenth century. | ||
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| + | FitzGerald was born at No 19 Lower Mount Street in [[Dublin]] on 3 August 1851 to the Reverend William FitzGerald and his wife Anne Francis Stoney. Professor of Moral Philosophy in Trinity and vicar of St Anne's, Dawson Street at the time of his son's birth, William FitzGerald was consecrated Bishop of Cork in 1857 and translated to [[Diocese of Killaloe|Killaloe]] in 1862. George returned to Dublin and entered Trinity as a student at the age of 16. He became a Fellow of Trinity in 1877 and spent the rest of his career at the College. | ||
Along with [[Oliver Lodge]], [[Oliver Heaviside]], and [[Heinrich Hertz]], FitzGerald was a leading figure among the group of 'Maxwellians" who revised, extended, clarified, and confirmed [[James Clerk Maxwell]]'s theory of the [[electromagnetic field]] in the late 1870s and 1880s. | Along with [[Oliver Lodge]], [[Oliver Heaviside]], and [[Heinrich Hertz]], FitzGerald was a leading figure among the group of 'Maxwellians" who revised, extended, clarified, and confirmed [[James Clerk Maxwell]]'s theory of the [[electromagnetic field]] in the late 1870s and 1880s. | ||
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In 1883, following from [[Maxwell's equations]], he suggested a device for producing rapidly oscillating electric current, to generate [[electromagnetic wave]]s, a phenomenon first shown experimentally by [[Heinrich Hertz]]. | In 1883, following from [[Maxwell's equations]], he suggested a device for producing rapidly oscillating electric current, to generate [[electromagnetic wave]]s, a phenomenon first shown experimentally by [[Heinrich Hertz]]. | ||
| − | However, he is better known for his conjecture in | + | However, he is better known for his conjecture in 1889 that if all moving objects were foreshortened in the direction of their motion, it would account for the curious result of the [[Michelson-Morley experiment]]. FitzGerald based this idea in part on the way electromagnetic forces were known to be affected by motion; in particular, he drew on equations that had been derived a short time before by his friend [[Oliver Heaviside]]. The Dutch physicist [[Hendrik Lorentz]] hit on a very similar idea in 1892 and developed it more fully in connection with his theory of electrons. The so-called [[FitzGerald-Lorentz contraction]] or [[Lorentz-FitzGerald contraction hypothesis]] later became an important part of [[Albert Einstein]]'s [[special relativity|special theory of relativity]], published in 1905. |
| − | Long a sufferer from digestive problems, George Francis FitzGerald succumbed to a perforated ulcer at home on | + | Long a sufferer from digestive problems, George Francis FitzGerald succumbed to a perforated ulcer at home on 22 February 1901. |
| − | FitzGerald was the nephew of [[George Johnstone Stoney]], the Irish physicist who invented the term "electron" | + | FitzGerald was the nephew of [[George Johnstone Stoney]], the Irish physicist who invented the term "electron." |
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| + | == See also == | ||
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| + | * [[Heinrich Hertz]] | ||
| + | * [[Hendrik Lorentz]] | ||
| + | * [[James Clerk Maxwell]] | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
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* {{MacTutor Biography|id=FitzGerald}} | * {{MacTutor Biography|id=FitzGerald}} | ||
* [http://www.tcd.ie/Physics/history/fitzgerald/ Millenium Trinity Monday Memorial Discourse by Professor J. M. D. Coey] | * [http://www.tcd.ie/Physics/history/fitzgerald/ Millenium Trinity Monday Memorial Discourse by Professor J. M. D. Coey] | ||
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{{DEFAULTSORT:FitzGerald, George Francis}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:FitzGerald, George Francis}} | ||
Revision as of 06:11, 30 July 2007
<<This article is too short. Please expand it and divide it into sections. Add a section on Legacy.>>
George Francis FitzGerald (3 August 1851 – 22 February 1901) was a professor of "natural and experimental philosophy" (i.e., physics) at Trinity College, Dublin, in the late nineteenth century.
FitzGerald was born at No 19 Lower Mount Street in Dublin on 3 August 1851 to the Reverend William FitzGerald and his wife Anne Francis Stoney. Professor of Moral Philosophy in Trinity and vicar of St Anne's, Dawson Street at the time of his son's birth, William FitzGerald was consecrated Bishop of Cork in 1857 and translated to Killaloe in 1862. George returned to Dublin and entered Trinity as a student at the age of 16. He became a Fellow of Trinity in 1877 and spent the rest of his career at the College.
Along with Oliver Lodge, Oliver Heaviside, and Heinrich Hertz, FitzGerald was a leading figure among the group of 'Maxwellians" who revised, extended, clarified, and confirmed James Clerk Maxwell's theory of the electromagnetic field in the late 1870s and 1880s.
In 1883, following from Maxwell's equations, he suggested a device for producing rapidly oscillating electric current, to generate electromagnetic waves, a phenomenon first shown experimentally by Heinrich Hertz.
However, he is better known for his conjecture in 1889 that if all moving objects were foreshortened in the direction of their motion, it would account for the curious result of the Michelson-Morley experiment. FitzGerald based this idea in part on the way electromagnetic forces were known to be affected by motion; in particular, he drew on equations that had been derived a short time before by his friend Oliver Heaviside. The Dutch physicist Hendrik Lorentz hit on a very similar idea in 1892 and developed it more fully in connection with his theory of electrons. The so-called FitzGerald-Lorentz contraction or Lorentz-FitzGerald contraction hypothesis later became an important part of Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity, published in 1905.
Long a sufferer from digestive problems, George Francis FitzGerald succumbed to a perforated ulcer at home on 22 February 1901.
FitzGerald was the nephew of George Johnstone Stoney, the Irish physicist who invented the term "electron."
See also
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- G.F. Fitzgerald, The ether and the earth's atmosphere, Science 13, 390 (1889).
External links
- John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson. George FitzGerald at the MacTutor archive
- Millenium Trinity Monday Memorial Discourse by Professor J. M. D. Coey
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