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Glasgow, Scotland
Absolute Zero Discovery Point
On this spot Lord Kelvin discovered absolute zero
atlasobscura.com/places/absolu…
Books by Lord Kelvin at PG:
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dave cykl
in reply to Project Gutenberg • • •Unus Nemo likes this.
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Unus Nemo
in reply to dave cykl • •@dave cykl @Project Gutenberg
Yep, just another merry prank?
National Institute of Standards and Technology
They have even fooled the NIST.
Okay, I am sorry, though I do agree with you that we should be skeptical of all information, not just that on the internet. This is not a spoof or prank it is a well documented part of history. They hide this information in books. Check out Project Gutenberg for a lot of them that you may find enlightening.
dave cykl
in reply to Unus Nemo • • •@unusnemo •Of course• Kelvin (River), Kelvin (Lord) and kelvin exist, but the “Absolute Zero Discovery Point” sign is a prank, although erected only a few hundred metres from the University of Glasgow campus itself.
(I have drunk in the coffee shop opposite which provided much better fluids for intellectual inspiration than the chilly waters of the Kelvin!)
There are numerous similar “official looking” signs around Glasgow which are very well known to local people 😉
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Unus Nemo
in reply to dave cykl • •@dave cykl @Project Gutenberg
So what are you actually disputing, that Lord Kelvin (William Thomas) the British mathematician calculated absolute zero or that it happened in Glasgow? All historical documentation suggests this is true. Please share the evidence that you have that either are false or both. Or am I missing your point altogether?
dave cykl
in reply to Unus Nemo • • •@unusnemo I’m referring to the “Absolute Zero Discovery Point” sign that was highlighted in PG’s original post. You presumably didn’t read the linked article?
Its story about Kelvin falling in the Kelvin and becoming “the coldest thing in the entire universe” is a lighthearted joke.
As I mentioned in my previous comment, the thinking and research will have been done nearby, however (or possibly not quite so very nearby as the Gilmorehill campus was not built until later).
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Unus Nemo
in reply to dave cykl • •@dave cykl @Project Gutenberg
Okay, you are referring to the sign proclaiming the spot that Absolute Zero was discovered being a prank. My apologies as I misunderstood you. I have no doubt you are correct in regards to the sign and I could not possibly care less about a sign 😉. I thought you were disputing Lord Kelvin calculated Absolute Zero in Glasgow. I should have read your comment closer.
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dave cykl
in reply to Unus Nemo • • •Unus Nemo likes this.
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Jeff Bronks
in reply to Unus Nemo • • •Your link says nothing about Lord Kelvin falling into a river.
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Unus Nemo
in reply to Jeff Bronks • •@Jeff Bronks @dave cykl @Project Gutenberg
I know that, if you read the whole thread you will see that I was mistaken and that Dave Cykl was not even talking about what I thought he was. I did not clearly read his comment or I would not have even referenced that link, because as you say, it has nothing to do with what he was talking about.
You will see that I have already apologized to him for jumping to conclusions and not paying attention to what he actually said before disagreeing with him.
Some times things on the Fediverse do not propagate as a whole, perhaps you cannot see the whole thread?
Jeff Bronks
in reply to Unus Nemo • • •No, I can't see the rest of the thread. It sounds like we are on the same page then. I withdraw my attempt to correct you.
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Unus Nemo
in reply to Jeff Bronks • •@Jeff Bronks @dave cykl @Project Gutenberg
No worries that happens a lot on the Fedi. Someday I suppose we will get used to it 😉
Jeff Bronks
in reply to Unus Nemo • • •First time it's happened to me. I shall have to be more circumspect. This is how wars start. 😀
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Unus Nemo
in reply to Jeff Bronks • •@Jeff Bronks @dave cykl @Project Gutenberg
If you notice, Project Gutenberg and Dave Cykl are on the same Instance. I am on a different Instance and you are on yet another Instance. To boot we are on two different types of Fedi Networks. It is not uncommon at all in this type of situation that only parts of the thread will propagate. If we were all on the same Instance this would likely not have happened, at least not the incomplete thread part 😉. I would have still put my boot in my mouth no doubt. Defending a fellow Mathematician and Project Gutenberg when they were not even under attack 😉.
Jeff Bronks
in reply to Unus Nemo • • •@unusnemo @davecykl
Thanks. I see. And now I have found Reddit posts referring to the problem. It looks like it's an unavoidable feature of the Fedi architecture, so I will have to learn a new way of conversing.
By the way, I'm a fan of Project Gutenberg, having contributed as an editor as well as read their books. However, this isn't the first time that I've seen them make a credulous post on Mastodon. I suppose it follows from their principle of staying true to the source even when it's wrong.
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Unus Nemo
in reply to Jeff Bronks • •@Jeff Bronks @dave cykl @Project Gutenberg
I have a passion for learning, which is why I do not mind being wrong. I have learned something. I often ponder 'what would I lose if technology took a nose dive?' So I have a keen interest in how we did things before we had this technology. I find so many books written in the 1700s and some times even earlier on Project Gutenberg that helps me answer these questions. It is okay if I never actually need the knowledge. I feel better having it 😉.
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Jeff Bronks
in reply to Unus Nemo • • •@unusnemo
Oh yes. In fact I read a bit about the history of absolute zero when this conversation started. It's fascinating to see how they estimated where the bottom of the scale was, and how they then refined that number over the centuries.
#OldBooks #ProjectGutenberg
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Jeff Bronks
in reply to Jeff Bronks • • •Gotta sign off now but I'll drop you a follow request. Perhaps we'll meet on the Post-Apocalypse Reconstruction Committee.
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Unus Nemo
in reply to Jeff Bronks • •@Jeff Bronks
Of course, and thank you.