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Early Life
Tyndall was born in Leighlinbridge, Ireland. Throughout his education from the local schools, he drew inspiration from the teacher John Conwill to pursue mathematics, English composition, drawing, and surveying. Tyndall served as a draftsman for Ireland and Great Britain as a young man, then later served as a railway construction planner ("About John Tyndall"). -
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Scientific Work
Tyndall received a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Marburg. Tyndall contributed to a variety of fields, such as the physics of magnetism, the properties of light, the study of air and germ theory, the geology of glaciers, and the investigation of greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect (Davidson). He often related his experiences in mountaineering with his scientific research ("About John Tyndall"). -
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As and Educator and Experimentalist
Tyndall became popular throughout Europe and America because of his vocation for educating the public, as well as his inventions. For instance, he engaged his audience in an 1865 lecture about the physics of sound resonance (see video by Taylor). Tyndall later showed his brilliance by inventing the light pipe which contributed to future fiber optics (see videos by Knott; Donnelly) and the ratio spectrophotometer which contributed to our knowledge of greenhouse gases (Graham). -
Tyndall's Spectrophotometer
This is a picture showing the apparatus Tyndall invented to investigate radiative transfer of gases (James). -
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His Philosophy of Science
Tyndall had a philosophy best described by one reference as this: "[Tyndall argued] that only naturalistic explanations should figure in science, and that theistic explanations therefore had no role to play" ("About John Tyndall"). In contrast to scientists like James Clerk Maxwell, Tyndall believed that science and religion were not harmonious, and that rationality was exclusive to science. Tyndall was also involved in Irish politics by opposing the Irish Home Rule Movement of 1870. -
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Final Years
Tyndall, 55, married Louisa Hamilton, 30, in 1876. They were a happy couple and had no children. Tyndall had amassed a good portion of money and donated much of it to American schools. He died from an accidental overdose of medicine in 1893 ("About John Tyndall"). Tyndall is remembered as one of the greatest scientists of the 1800s , and his work helped launch science into a greater future. -
References #1
"About John Tyndall." The John Tyndall Correspondence Project, https://tyndallproject.com/about-john-tyndall/
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Davidson, Michael. "John Tyndall." Molecular Expressions, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, 2015 November 13, https://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/optics/timeline/people/tyndall.html
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Donnelly, Judy. "John Tyndall's Light Fountain." YouTube, uploaded by PBL Projects, 9 APril 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1o3JPxnDEI -
References #2
Graham, Steve. "John Tyndall (1820-1893)." Earth Observatory, NASA Earth Observatory, 1999 October 8, https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Tyndall
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Hurley, Paul. "John Tyndall: The Physicist Who Proved the Greenhouse Effect - with Paul Hurley." YouTube, uploaded by The Royal Institution, 20 November 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1thc8JDgfXo -
References #3
James, Frank. "John Tyndall's discovery of the 'greenhouse effect'." EnvChemGroup, https://www.envchemgroup.com/john-tyndallrsquos-discovery-of-the-lsquogreenhouse-effectrsquo.html
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Knott, Will. "John Tyndall - Total Internal Reflection of Light." YouTube, uploaded by Tyndallweb, 2 August 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNp-uM3fvR8 -
References #4
Taylor, Charles. "Tyndall's Experiments on Resonance - Christmas Lectures with Charles Taylor." YouTube, uploaded by The Royal Institution, 14 December 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agFBsON_Fpc
