engineering

John Aitken (meteorologist)

John Aitken (meteorologist) is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand John Aitken (meteorologist) rather than just read about it. In short: John Aitken, FRS, FRSE LLD (18 September 1839 – 14 November 1919) was a Scottish meteorologist, physicist and marine engineer. He was one of the founders of cloud physics and aerosol science, who built the first apparatus to measure the number of dust and fog particles in the atmosphere, a koniscope.

Key takeaways

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Reproduce the core statement of John Aitken (meteorologist) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

John Aitken, FRS, FRSE LLD (18 September 1839 – 14 November 1919) was a Scottish meteorologist, physicist and marine engineer. He was one of the founders of cloud physics and aerosol science, who built the first apparatus to measure the number of dust and fog particles in the atmosphere, a koniscope.

Life Aitken was born at Darroch House in Falkirk on 18 September 1839, one of eight children of Henry Aitken of Darroch, a Falkirk lawyer in the firm of Russell & Aitken. John was educated at Falkirk Grammar School and studied marine engineering at Glasgow University, undertaking his engineer training with Messrs Napier & Sons, the Glasgow shipbuilder. He returned to his home town of Falkirk, where he carried out his various experiments. In 1875 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, Edward Sang, James Thomson Bottomley and Allen Thomson. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1889 and was awarded the Royal Medal in 1917. He also received the Keith Medal (1883-1885) and Gunning Victoria Jubilee Prize (1893-6) from the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In April 1902 he received an honorary doctorate (LL.D.) from the University of Glasgow.

He died at "Ardenlea", his villa on Redding Road in Falkirk 13 November 1919.

Work He carried out experiments on atmospheric dust in relation to the formation of clouds and mists (1882), on the formation of dew (1885) and on the laws of cyclones (1891). His instrument for counting the dust particles in the air has been used in principle by many later workers. He also invented new forms of thermometer screens which aided the development of meteorology. One of his experiments conducted with a self-designed apparatus provided the first evidence of new particle formation in the atmosphere. This work was documented in an article titled "On some nuclei of cloudy condensation", in the 39th volume of the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh published in 1898. John Aitken was the author of a number of important pioneering discoveries "On Dust, Fogs and Clouds" (the title of an 1880 article he penned). As early as 1874, Aitken had concluded that when water vapour in the atmosphere condenses, it must condense on some solid particle, and thus, without the presence of dust and other aerosol particles in the air, there would be no formation of fog, clouds, or rain (that was however experimentally disproven by C. T. R. Wilson in 1895, who later discovered that ions created by cosmic rays also work). In 1884, he concluded that the brilliant colours often seen in the sunset are due to the refraction of light by dust particles in the upper atmosphere. Today, his name is given by atmospheric scientists to the smallest atmospheric aerosol particles (Aitken nuclei), those with a radius less than 0.1 micrometres. This size range include the newly nucleated particles whose existence Aitken demonstrated. Cargill Gilston Knott assembled and edited Aitken's works for the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and contributed an introductory Memoir:

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John Aitken (meteorologist)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John Aitken (meteorologist) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to John Aitken (meteorologist) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about John Aitken (meteorologist) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of John Aitken (meteorologist)

In research: John Aitken (meteorologist) appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses John Aitken (meteorologist) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: John Aitken (meteorologist) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1839 births, 1919 deaths, 19th-century British physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John Aitken (meteorologist) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study John Aitken (meteorologist) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what John Aitken (meteorologist) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain John Aitken (meteorologist) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is John Aitken (meteorologist) in simple terms?

Why does John Aitken (meteorologist) matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study John Aitken (meteorologist)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on John Aitken (meteorologist).