Aug 25– “The Tides” by William Thomson AKA Lord Kelvin (1882)
Summary: Tide goes in, tide goes out. Lord Kelvin can explain that.
Commentary: Not as interesting as some of the other scientific selections we've gotten, but I do know how tides work now. I didn't really grow up near an ocean, big river, etc. so it wasn't super relevant. Like, I knew they existed, but it was just one of those things you saw on the news (high tide is at 6:31 tonight) or in books (YOU FOOL! IT'S LOW TIDE! YOUR MERMEN ARE POWERLESS!). I vaguely knew the moon was involved, but that's about it. Now I know that the tide is caused by the moon "pulling" and that they're more extreme around the new moon. Now, I've gotten through life for 35 years without this knowledge, so maybe it's not the most important thing to know, but I am glad I know it now. I think Kelvin is overstating the effects of the sun, but I'm not entirely confident on that. His pictures are helpful though. Aside from that, I guess I wonder how hard it was to get into a lecture like this then vs now. Obviously we have the advantage of video now, but could you just walk into where he was speaking and listen? Were there tickets? Invite only?
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