John Scott Russell
John Scott Russell (May 9, 1808, Glasgow - 8 June 1882) was a Scottish naval engineer who built the SS Great Eastern in collaboration with Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and made the discovery that gave birth to the modern study of solitons.
He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE). He was also elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) of London in 1849, as seen in Emmerson's book and also in his obituary published in the Proceedings of Royal Society (London), vol. 34 (1882-1883), pp. xv-xvii.
He was born in a village close to Glasgow of Scotland in 1808. His middle name was the maiden family name of his mother. He graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1825, and moved on to Edinburgh University where he taught mathematics and natural philosophy.
In 1834, while conducting experiments to determine the most efficient design for canal boats, he discovered a phenomenon that he described as the wave of translation. In fluid dynamics the wave is now called a Russell solitary wave or soliton. The discovery is described here in his own words:
"I was observing the motion of a boat which was rapidly drawn along a narrow channel by a pair of horses, when the boat suddenly stopped - not so the mass of water in the channel which it had put in motion; it accumulated round the prow of the vessel in a state of violent agitation, then suddenly leaving it behind, rolled forward with great velocity, assuming the form of a large solitary elevation, a rounded, smooth and well-defined heap of water, which continued its course along the channel apparently without change of form or diminution of speed. I followed it on horseback, and overtook it still rolling on at a rate of some eight or nine miles an hour, preserving its original figure some thirty feet long and a foot to a foot and a half in height. Its height gradually diminished, and after a chase of one or two miles I lost it in the windings of the channel. Such, in the month of August 1834, was my first chance interview with that singular and beautiful phenomenon which I have called the Wave of Translation".
In 1834 he designed a 26-seater steam coach. These vehicles were built by the Grove House Engine Works in Edinburgh. They were powered by a two-cylinder vertical engine with a square bore to stroke of 12 in. There were connecting rods to the crankshafts, one for each cylinder. the back axle was on semi-elliptical springs. Six of these vehicles entered service with the Steam Carriage Company of Scotland.
Russell moved to London in 1844, and organised the Royal Commission for the Great Exhibition of 1851. He worked on the design of yachts, boats, barges and ships, and he became a director of a ship-building company.
He was held in high regard by Isambard Kingdom Brunel who made him a partner in his project to build the SS Great Eastern. At its time, this was to be the largest moveable object man had ever created. The project was plagued with a number of problems - Russell was in financial difficulties and the two men disagreed on a number of aspects of the design and construction of the ship. The SS Great Eastern was eventually launched in 1858.
Sources of Information
[1] Wikipedia