John Henry Poynting

Infobox Scientist
name = John Poynting
box_width = 300px

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image_width = 240px
caption = John Henry Poynting (1852-1914)
birth_date = birth date|1852|09|09
birth_place = Monton, Lancashire, England
death_date = death date and age|1914|03|30|1852|09|09
death_place = nowrap|Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
residence = England
citizenship =
nationality = English
ethnicity =
field = Physicist
work_institutions = Mason Science College
alma_mater = University of Cambridge
Owens College
doctoral_advisor =
academic_advisors = James Clerk Maxwell
doctoral_students =
notable_students = Francis William Aston
known_for = Poynting vector
Poynting effect
Poynting's theorem
Poynting-Robertson effect
author_abbrev_bot =
author_abbrev_zoo =
influences = Edward Routh
influenced =
awards = Adams Prize (1893)
Hopkins Prize (1893)
Royal Medal (1905)
religion = Unitarian [ [http://www.ioppublishing.co.uk/activity/groups/subject/hp/Blue_Plaques/page_7843.html Blue Plaques ] at www.ioppublishing.co.uk]
footnotes =

John Henry Poynting (Parsonage, Monton, Manchester, Lancashire, England September 9,1852 [GRO Register of Births: DEC 1852 8c 391 BARTON - John Henry Poynting, mmn = unknown] – Birmingham, Warwickshire March 30,1914 [GRO Register of Deaths: MAR 1914 6d 128 KING'S N. - John Henry Poynting, aged 61] ) was an English physicist. He was a professor of physics at Mason Science College (now the University of Birmingham) from 1880 until his death.

He was the developer and eponym of the Poynting vector, which describes the direction and magnitude of electromagnetic energy flow and is used in the Poynting theorem, a statement about energy conservation for electric and magnetic fields. This work was first published in 1884. He performed a measurement of Newton's gravitational constant by innovative means during 1893. In 1903 he was the first to realise that the Sun's radiation can draw in small particles towards it. It was later coined the Poynting-Robertson effect.

In the year 1884 he analysed the futures exchange prices of commodities using statistical mathematics.

Works by J. H. Poynting

* " [http://www.archive.org/details/collectedscienti00poynuoft Collected scientific papers] " (Cambridge University Press, 1920).
* " [http://www.archive.org/details/textbookofphysi00poynuoft A text-book of physics: electricity and magnetism. Pts. I and II. Static electricity and magnetism] " (London, C. Griffin, 1914).
*" [http://www.archive.org/details/textbookofphysic00poynuoft A text-book of physics: volume III, Heat] " (London, C. Griffin, 1911).
* " [http://www.archive.org/details/earthitsshapesiz00poynrich The earth; its shape, size, weight and spin] " (Cambridge University Press, 1913).
* "A Comparison of the Fluctuations in the Price of Wheat and in the Cotton and Silk Imports into Great Britain", Journal of the Royal Statistical Society 47, 1884, p34-64.

Craters on Mars and the Moon are named in his honour, as is the main Physics building at the University of Birmingham.

External links

* [http://royalsociety.org/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Persons&dsqPos=2&dsqSearch=((text)=%27Poynting%27) Poynting's Royal Society biography]
* [http://www.iop.org/activity/groups/subject/hp/Archive/Newsletters/page_22101.html Poynting's IOP biography]
* [http://www.plasma.org/activity/groups/subject/hp/Archive/Newsletters/page_22061.html Poynting bio]

References

Persondata
NAME=Poynting, John Henry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Physicist
DATE OF BIRTH=1852-09-09
PLACE OF BIRTH=Parsonage, Monton, Manchester, Lancashire, England
DATE OF DEATH=1914-03-30
PLACE OF DEATH=Birmingham, Warwickshire, England