William Donaldson (2)
Mathematician and Civil Engineer.
Obituary 1900
"...He was born in tho Lake District, of parents in comparatively humble life, and by his own talent and perseverance he attained at one time a considerable reputation as an engineer. He was a high Wrangler, and a very able mathematician. He devoted much attention to hydraulic work, and designed the turbine installation supplying Reading. Unfortunately for his own success, he took peculiar ideas on various subjects, and these, once formed, could not be changed. He held, for example, that about 66 per cent, was the maximum efficiency of a turbine, and wrote a well-known book to prove it. He held that most of tho formulae accepted in hydraulic work were wrong and his views on tho specific heat of gases..."[1]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Engineer 1900/05/18, p520.