Sir Robert Ball
| Robert Stawell Ball | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
1 July 1840 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 25 November 1913 (aged 73) Cambridge, England |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Fields |
Astronomy Mechanics Mathematics |
| Institutions |
University of Dublin Cambridge Observatory and University of Cambridge |
| Alma mater | University of Dublin |
| Known for | Screw theory |
Sir Robert Stawell Ball FRS (1 July 1840 – 25 November 1913) was an Irish astronomer who founded the screw theory.
He was the son of naturalist Robert Ball and Amelia Gresley Hellicar. He was born in Dublin.
Ball worked for Lord Rosse from 1865 to 1867. In 1867 he became Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Royal College of Science in Dublin. There he lectured on mechanics and published an elementary account of the science.
In 1874 Ball was appointed Royal Astronomer of Ireland and Andrews Professor of Astronomy in the University of Dublin at Dunsink Observatory.
Ball contributed to the science of kinematics by delineating the screw displacement:
Ball's treatise The Theory of Screws (1876) is now in the public domain. His work on screw dynamics earned him in 1879 the Cunningham Medal of the Royal Irish Academy.
In 1882 Popular Science Monthly carried his article "A Glimpse through the Corridors of Time". The following year it carried his two-part article on "The Boundaries of Astronomy".
Ball expounded the tides in Time and Tide: a Romance of the Moon In 1892 he was appointed Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry at Cambridge University at the same time becoming director of the Cambridge Observatory. He was a fellow of King's College, Cambridge.
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