Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1976 (SND Vol. X, list of scientific terms with Scottish connections).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
KELVIN. 1. Physics. Used as a measure for the consumption of electricity, a kilowatt hour (1892 Electrician XXIX. 1); also attrib. in Kelvin balance, -scale, the absolute scale of temperature with zero at -273C, Kelvin's law, by which the loss of electrical energy in circuit should not exceed the interest on the capital expended in its production; 2. Astron. The name of a mountain mass in the north-east part of the moon.
[After William Thomson, Lord Kelvin (1824–1907), graduate and Professor of Natural Philosophy at Glasgow, and inventor.]
