Kelvin's clouds · HackerPapers discussions

Kelvin's clouds — mentioned by T-A

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 07:53:34 GMT

Poor Lord Kelvin gets maligned a lot: https://arxiv.org/abs/2106.16033 That aside, a distinction should be made between 1) claiming that physics is pretty much done (what he's often accused of) and 2) pointing out factual errors in claims about the current state of knowledge (what I am doing). If you absolutely must make flattering comparisons, may I suggest Feynman instead, especially on lying to laymen? https://calteches.library.caltech.edu/51/2/CargoCult.htm I should add that I am not in complete agreement with what he said in that speech: calling it "not essential to the science" strikes…

Paper and discussion history. A mention is not an endorsement.

Kelvin's clouds — mentioned by Maursault

Thu, 05 Jan 2023 12:17:09 GMT

> but was it lord Kelvin who said, physics just needs to figure out the ultraviolet catastrophe and it's done? This is apparently a common misconception regarding a lecture given by Lord Kelvin in 1900 concerning "two clouds" in physics.[1] In fact, Max Planck solved the ultraviolet catastrophe, also in 1900, by assuming electromagnetic radiation can only be emitted or absorbed in discrete packets of energy called quanta. Albert Einstein also solved the ultraviolet catastrophe in a paper he published in 1905, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1922, by, as always, standing on the…

Paper and discussion history. A mention is not an endorsement.