James and William Thomson: the creation of thermodynamics

Abstract

In his Belfast notebooks, James Thomson demonstrated deep thinking about the nature of heat and work, and his analysis of the lowering of the freezing point of water under pressure was a crucial step towards a complete theory. Throughout this period, James and William Thomson worked together, but when this theory emerged as thermodynamics, it was credited to William, and to Rudolf Clausius and MacQuorn Rankine. James’s claim to be added to the list of founders of the theory is discussed.