Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-02-27
WHAT is A CAST
Well, Here is Lord kelvin,s Quantity
Eccentric Definition.

Eccentric Definition.
One of the late Lord kelvin's stu
dents at the University of Glasgow
writes Of some of the old scientists
pecul;arities:, ITO those who attended
the natural philosophy class at Glas-
gov university Lord Kelvin or. rather,
Sir Silly for To that length our IT,
reverent love of the genial old man
would go), is cherished memory-a
memory of a great man who gave ar
ticulate shape to the thoughts that
wander through eternity His appeal
to our humorous faculties was due
partly to some personal peculiarities.
partly to the sublimely unconscious
use Of very familiar objects and ex-
tremely colloquial phrases to illustrate
his great thoughts on great things.
Never blessed with powers Of clear
enunciation, he had way of wrestling
with certain words and giving them a
prolonged rolling intonation that added
point to those unintentionally humor-
GUS observations which he was ever
making and for which. thoughtless yet
not wholly ENJOYABLE crew that we
were. we were ever looking. Let me
cite some examples. Lecturing on the
nature of a gas one day. Lord Kelvin
thus delivered himself: Imagine a
thousand million students rushing with
incredible velocity in one direction and
q thousand million students rushing
with the same velocity in the opposite
direction and meeting. That is a gas
Doubtless. but the homely smile COM
PEELED laughter and at the same time
left us both mystifed and enlightened
s'But his greatest feat was the play
ing OF simple tune on huge from
bone. Conceive, IL you can, learned
professor Of silvered locks and beard
dressed in the black robes of his Office
and surrounded by scientific instru
ments, slowly squeezing from d CLAM
trombone some familiar air and yor
will understand why have said tha'
Lord Kelvin often made too stIons
appeal to our sense of the humorous
For himself he was sublimely uncon
scious Of the humorous picture which
he presented. He was too intent upol
his scientific triumph for the laughte
and 1t was laughter that literall,
held both its sides-to reach his ears.
Lord Kelvin was once in his usua
delightfully."- inconsequent way rambling
along and letting his great mind slow
ly unfold its great thoughts. One o
the many subjects on which he touch
ed was the transmission Of light fron
distant worlds. Here he said, Il hav
Q a calf's foot jelly made by Lady Thorn
J son. Observe the wabbly motion Q
: the Jelly there suiting the word by az
toni. Gentlemen, for aught we kno,
: to the contrary, interstellar space ma
!. be one vast calf's foot Jelly
HE was, as have said. singularl.
J. simple in many Of his ways. To sue
q cessive generations of students he illus
trated uniform motion In a straigh
e line In singularly characteristic fasl
|. ion. Lame in one leg. he always wall
q ed with a most marked limp, yet b
1 illustrated uniform motion in straigf
J. line by hobbling round his rostrum 1
I a circle. do not believe that he eve
e knew why his pathetically humorou
4 way Of illustrating simple fact i
i kinetics made his successive classe
d smile confoundedly loud" = Chicag
!, News.