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Lord Kelvin: Beyond Absolute Zero Exhibition

Saturday 08 June 2024 – Saturday 15 June 2024 – 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Advanced Research Centre (ARC), 11 Chapel Lane, Glasgow, G11 6EW

Mention Lord Kelvin and many people think of temperature and his discovery of absolute zero, the lowest temperature possible. However, Kelvin was a polymath, who made many pioneering contributions beyond thermodynamics, in areas of electromagnetism, geology, nautical engineering and chemistry, to name but a few.

Lord Kelvin was born William Thomson 200 years ago this year, and this special exhibition combines science, maths and art to offer a fascinating insight into some of his lesser-known achievements. Discover his work on ‘chirality’, crucial for life as we know it, and explore his solution for the most efficient space-filling shape (which held the record until only very recently!). The exhibition also spotlights his groundbreaking contributions to electrical standards, global communications and imagining atoms as knots in the aether.

The exhibition will include an immersive work by the artist Gregor Harvie, rarely seen artefacts from the University of Glasgow’s Special Collections and interactive displays created with current University of Glasgow researchers.

Please note: the exhibition will open at 09:00 at weekends and will close slightly earlier on Saturday 15 June at 16:00

Lord Kelvin 200

This year (2024) the University of Glasgow  is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of William Thomson, otherwise known as Lord Kelvin.  

Lord Kelvin is one of the most prominent figures in the University’s history, having held the chair of Natural Philosophy for 53 years, and his influence is still felt through the inventions, innovation and inspiration which shaped the world in which we live.  

The University will celebrate his life and legacy through a series of events and reflections over the course of this year. Lord Kelvin 200

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