Rumford Medal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rumford Medal
Count Rumford (Sir Benjamin Thompson), for whom the award is named.
Presented by	Britain's Royal Society
Date	1800 (1800)
Country	United Kingdom

The Rumford Medal is a special award given out by the Royal Society in Britain. It's given every two years to a scientist in Europe. The award celebrates "an outstandingly important recent discovery" in how heat (thermal properties) or light (optical properties) works.

This award started in 1800. It was created thanks to a generous gift of $5000 from a scientist named Benjamin Thompson. He was also known as Count Rumford, and the medal is named after him! Along with the medal, the winner also receives £1000. Since it began, 104 scientists have won this award, including Count Rumford himself in 1800.

Scientists from many countries have won the Rumford Medal. Most winners have been from the United Kingdom (sixty-one times). France has had fourteen winners, and Germany eight. The Netherlands has had seven winners, and Sweden four. The United States has had three winners, and Italy two. Once each, scientists from Australia, Hungary, Belgium, Luxembourg, and New Zealand have also received the medal.

Who Was Count Rumford?

The Rumford Medal is named after Benjamin Thompson, who later became known as Count Rumford. He was a very clever scientist and inventor. He was born in America but spent much of his life in Europe. He did important work on heat and light, which is why the award focuses on these areas.

What Does "Thermal or Optical Properties" Mean?

The award is for discoveries in "thermal or optical properties of matter."

• Thermal properties are all about heat. This includes how things get hot, how they cool down, how heat moves, and how different materials react to changes in temperature. For example, understanding how a thermos keeps drinks warm involves thermal properties.
• Optical properties are about light. This includes how light behaves, how it travels, how it interacts with different materials, and how we see things. Discoveries about lenses, lasers, or even how our eyes work are related to optical properties.

Scientists who win this medal have made big breakthroughs in these fields. Their work helps us understand the world better and often leads to new technologies.

Notable Winners and Their Discoveries

Many famous scientists have received the Rumford Medal for their amazing work.

• In 1816, Humphry Davy won for his studies on Combustion and flames.
• Michael Faraday received the medal in 1846 for discovering how magnets and electric currents affect light.
• Louis Pasteur was awarded in 1856 for his work on racemic acid and how it relates to polarized light.
• James Clerk Maxwell won in 1860 for his research on how colors are made and other light-related studies.
• In 1890, Heinrich Hertz was recognized for his work on Electromagnetic radiation, which led to radio waves.
• Wilhelm Röntgen received the medal in 1896 for his investigations into X-rays.
• Ernest Rutherford won in 1904 for his discoveries about radioactivity.
• More recently, Dennis Gabor was awarded in 1968 for creating the principles of holography.
• Richard Friend won in 1998 for his leading research in polymer-based electronics, which helps create flexible displays.
• In 2023, Polina Bayvel was recognized for her work on optical communication systems, which are key to the internet and information technology.

These are just a few examples of the incredible discoveries that have been honored by the Rumford Medal over the years.

Images for kids

• 

  Benjamin Thompson, also known as Count Rumford.

• 

  Sir John Leslie, a Scottish physicist.

• 

  William Murdoch, a Scottish engineer and inventor.

• 

  Étienne-Louis Malus, a French physicist.

• 

  Sir Humphry Davy, a British chemist.

• 

  Sir David Brewster, a Scottish physicist.

• 

  Augustin-Jean Fresnel, a French physicist.

• 

  John Frederic Daniell, a British chemist and meteorologist.

• 

  Macedonio Melloni, an Italian physicist.

• 

  James David Forbes, a Scottish physicist and glaciologist.

• 

  Jean-Baptiste Biot, a French physicist and astronomer.

• 

  William Fox Talbot, an English scientist and photography pioneer.

• 

  Michael Faraday, an English scientist.

• 

  Henri Victor Regnault, a French chemist and physicist.

• 

  François Arago, a French physicist and astronomer.

• 

  Sir George Gabriel Stokes, a British mathematician and physicist.

• 

  Neil Arnott, a Scottish physician and inventor.

• 

  Louis Pasteur, a French biologist and chemist.

• 

  Jules Jamin, a French physicist.

• 

  James Clerk Maxwell, a Scottish mathematician and physicist.

• 

  Gustav Kirchhoff, a German physicist.

• 

  John Tyndall, an Irish physicist.

• 

  Hippolyte Fizeau, a French physicist.

• 

  Balfour Stewart, a Scottish physicist.

• 

  Alfred Des Cloizeaux, a French mineralogist.

• 

  Anders Jonas Ångström, a Swedish physicist.

• 

  Joseph Norman Lockyer, an English astronomer.

• 

  Jules Janssen, a French astronomer.

• 

  Alfred Cornu, a French physicist.

• 

  Sir William Huggins, an English astronomer.

• 

  Sir William de Wiveleslie Abney, an English astronomer and photographer.

• 

  Tobias Robertus Thalén, a Swedish physicist.

• 

  Samuel Pierpont Langley, an American astronomer and physicist.

• 

  Pietro Tacchini, an Italian astronomer.

• 

  Heinrich Hertz, a German physicist.

• 

  Nils Christoffer Dunér, a Swedish astronomer.

• 

  Sir James Dewar, a Scottish chemist and physicist.

• 

  Philipp Lenard, a Hungarian-German physicist.

• 

  Wilhelm Röntgen, a German physicist.

• 

  Sir Oliver Lodge, a British physicist.

• 

  Henri Becquerel, a French physicist.

• 

  Sir Charles Algernon Parsons, a British engineer.

• 

  Sir Ernest Rutherford, a New Zealand physicist.

• 

  Hugh Longbourne Callendar, a British physicist.

• 

  Hendrik Lorentz, a Dutch physicist.

• 

  Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, a Dutch physicist.

• 

  John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, a British physicist.

• 

  Sir William Henry Bragg, a British physicist.

• 

  Charles Fabry, a French physicist.

• 

  Alfred Perot, a French physicist.

• 

  Robert Strutt, 4th Baron Rayleigh, a British physicist.

• 

  Pieter Zeeman, a Dutch physicist.

• 

  Sir Charles Vernon Boys, a British physicist.

• 

  Sir Arthur Schuster, a British physicist.

• 

  Friedrich Paschen, a German physicist.

• 

  Peter Debye, a Dutch-American physicist and chemist.

• 

  Fritz Haber, a German chemist.

• 

  Wander Johannes de Haas, a Dutch physicist.

• 

  Robert W. Wood, an American physicist.

• 

  Manne Siegbahn, a Swedish physicist.

• 

  Sir Harry Ricardo, a British engineer.

• 

  Sir Francis Simon, a German-born British physicist.

• 

  Sir Frank Whittle, a British aeronautical engineer.

• 

  Frits Zernike, a Dutch physicist.

• 

  Alfred Gordon Gaydon, a British physicist.

• 

  Hendrik C. van de Hulst, a Dutch astronomer.

• 

  William Penney, Baron Penney, a British mathematician and physicist.

• 

  Dennis Gabor, a Hungarian-British physicist.

• 

  Ilya Prigogine, a Belgian physical chemist.

• 

  George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham, a British chemist.

• 

  Sir Richard Friend, a British physicist.

• 

  Sir David King, a British chemist.

• 

  J. Roy Taylor, a British physicist.

• 

  Jeremy Baumberg, a British physicist.

• 

  Miles John Padgett, a British physicist.

• 

  Patrick Gill, a British physicist.

• 

  Carlos Frenk, a Mexican-British cosmologist.

• 

  Raymond Pierrehumbert, an American atmospheric physicist.

• 

  Polina Bayvel, a British engineer.

See also

• List of physics awards