The Little Book of Irish Science SFI Little Book of Irish Science | Page 22

15 1848
Belfast’s William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin
develops the Kelvin scale and postulates a
temperature for absolute zero of −273.15°C.
16 1861
County Carlow-born physicist John Tyndall
answers the age old question, “Why is the sky blue?”.
He also observed that moist air absorbs more heat
than dry air, contributing to the understanding of
the “greenhouse eff ect” phenomenon.