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John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh

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Scientist

The Resume

    (November 12, 1842-June 30, 1919)
    Born in Langford Grove, Essex, England, United Kingdom
    Brother-in-law of Prime Minister Arthur Balfour
    Professor of Physics (1879-84) and Natural Philosophy (1887-1905) at the University of Cambridge
    Chancellor of Cambridge (1908-19)
    With William Ramsay, discovered the noble gas argon (1894)
    Made fundamental discoveries in the fields of acoustics and optics
    Discovered Rayleigh scattering: the scattering of light (or other electromagnetic radiation) by particles smaller than the wavelength of the light
    Namesake for Rayleigh waves, the Rayleigh criterion, Rayleigh flow, the Rayleigh-Plesset equation and Rayleigh-Taylor instability
    Recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics (1904)

Why he might be annoying:

    He had to drop out from both Eton and Harrow due to poor health.
    He wrote part of the textbook 'The Theory of Sound' while honeymooning with his wife on the Nile.
    Although he served in the House of Lords, he rarely spoke up on political issues.

Why he might not be annoying:

    His discovery of Rayleigh scattering answered the age-old child's question, 'Why is the sky blue?'
    He did most of his research in a private lab built on the family estate.
    His textbook 'The Theory of Sound' remains a standard for acoustic engineers.
    He was one of the twelve initial members of the Order of Merit (1902).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 11 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 6 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 6 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 20 Votes: 50.0% Annoying