There was another important influence on Rayleigh during his undergraduate years at Cambridge, namely that of Stokes who was the Lucasian professor of mathematics at the time. Stokes inspired Rayleigh with his lectures which combined theory and practice in a novel way with many physical experiments being carried out during the lectures.
Nagkaroon ng isa pang mahalagang impluwensiya sa Rayleigh sa panahon ng kanyang undergraduate years sa Cambridge, namely na ng Stokes na ang Lucasian propesor ng matematika at ang oras. Stokes inspirasyon Rayleigh sa kanyang mga lektura na kung saan pinagsama teorya at pagsasanay sa isang nobela paraan sa maraming mga pisikal na mga eksperimento na natupad sa panahon ng lektura.