Clive W. Kilmister
Encyclopedia
Clive W. Kilmister was a British applied mathematician who specialized in the mathematical foundations of physics, especially quantum mechanics and relativity. He was one of the discoverers of the combinatorial hierarchy, along with A. F. Parker-Rhodes
and E. W. Bastin
. Through the combinatorial hierarchy
, Kilmister contributed to the foundations of physics and collaborated with H. P. Noyes
and on bit-string physics
. He was the author of numerous books and research papers. He was strongly influenced by astrophysicist Arthur Eddington and was well known for his elaboration and elucidation of Eddington’s fundamental theory.
Kilmister attended Queen Mary College London for both his under- and postgraduate degrees. His PhD was supervised by cosmologist George McVittie http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Biographies/McVittie.html (himself a student of Eddington), and his dissertation was entitled ‘’The Use of Quaternions in Wave-Tensor Calculus’’ which related to Eddington’s work. Kilmister received his doctoral degree in 1950. His own students included Brian Tupper (1959, King’s College London, now professor emeritus of general relativity and cosmology at University of New Brunswick Fredericton http://www.unb.ca/fredericton/science/math/Graduate_Program.html), Samuel Edgar
(1977, University of London
), and Tony Crilly (reader in mathematical sciences at Middlesex University and author of The Big Questions: Mathematics http://www.amazon.com/dp/1849162409 (1981).
Kilmister was elected as a member of the London Mathematical Society
during his doctoral studies (March 17, 1949). Upon graduation, he began his career as an Assistant Lecturer in the Mathematics Department of King’s College in 1950. The entirety of his academic career was spent at King’s. In 1954, Kilmister founded the King’s Gravitational Theory Group, in concert with Hermann Bondi
and Felix Pirani, which focused on Einstein’s theory of general relativity. At retirement, Kilmister was both a Professor of Mathematics and Head of the King’s Mathematics Department.
Frederick Parker-Rhodes
Frederick Parker-Rhodes was an English linguist, plant pathologist, computer scientist, mathematician, mystic, and mycologist.-Background & education:...
and E. W. Bastin
Ted Bastin
Ted Bastin was a physicist and mathematician who held doctorate degrees in both physics and mathematics from Kings College, Cambridge University, to which he won an Isaac Newton studentship...
. Through the combinatorial hierarchy
Combinatorial hierarchy
Combinatorial hierarchy is a mathematical structure of bit-strings generated by an algorithm based on discrimination . It was originally discovered by A.F. Parker-Rhodes in the 1960s, and is interesting because of physical interpretations that relate it to quantum mechanics...
, Kilmister contributed to the foundations of physics and collaborated with H. P. Noyes
H. Pierre Noyes
H. Pierre Noyes is an American nuclear physicist. He has been a member of the faculty at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University since 1962...
and on bit-string physics
Bit-string physics
Bit-string physics is an emerging body of theory which considers the universe to be a process of operations on strings of bits. Bit-string physics is often associated with A.F. Parker-Rhodes' combinatorial hierarchy, which is notable for its relationship with the electromagnetic and gravitational...
. He was the author of numerous books and research papers. He was strongly influenced by astrophysicist Arthur Eddington and was well known for his elaboration and elucidation of Eddington’s fundamental theory.
Kilmister attended Queen Mary College London for both his under- and postgraduate degrees. His PhD was supervised by cosmologist George McVittie http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Biographies/McVittie.html (himself a student of Eddington), and his dissertation was entitled ‘’The Use of Quaternions in Wave-Tensor Calculus’’ which related to Eddington’s work. Kilmister received his doctoral degree in 1950. His own students included Brian Tupper (1959, King’s College London, now professor emeritus of general relativity and cosmology at University of New Brunswick Fredericton http://www.unb.ca/fredericton/science/math/Graduate_Program.html), Samuel Edgar
Samuel Edgar
Samuel James Edgar Samuel James Edgar Samuel James Edgar (born 23 September 1913 in Lisburn, County Antrim; died 31 January 1937 in Lisburn was an Irish cricketer.A right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler, he played twice for the Ireland cricket team against the MCC in 1934. He made...
(1977, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
), and Tony Crilly (reader in mathematical sciences at Middlesex University and author of The Big Questions: Mathematics http://www.amazon.com/dp/1849162409 (1981).
Kilmister was elected as a member of the London Mathematical Society
London Mathematical Society
-See also:* American Mathematical Society* Edinburgh Mathematical Society* European Mathematical Society* List of Mathematical Societies* Council for the Mathematical Sciences* BCS-FACS Specialist Group-External links:* * *...
during his doctoral studies (March 17, 1949). Upon graduation, he began his career as an Assistant Lecturer in the Mathematics Department of King’s College in 1950. The entirety of his academic career was spent at King’s. In 1954, Kilmister founded the King’s Gravitational Theory Group, in concert with Hermann Bondi
Hermann Bondi
Sir Hermann Bondi, KCB, FRS was an Anglo-Austrian mathematician and cosmologist. He is best known for developing the steady-state theory of the universe with Fred Hoyle and Thomas Gold as an alternative to the Big Bang theory, but his most lasting legacy will probably be his important...
and Felix Pirani, which focused on Einstein’s theory of general relativity. At retirement, Kilmister was both a Professor of Mathematics and Head of the King’s Mathematics Department.
Honors, Positions, and Titles
- Member, London Mathematical Society, 1949-2010
- President, British Society for the History of MathematicsBritish Society for the History of MathematicsThe British Society for the History of Mathematics was founded in 1971 to promote research into the history of mathematics at all levels and to further the use of the history of mathematics in education....
, 1974-6 - President, British Society for the Philosophy of ScienceBritish Society for the Philosophy of ScienceThe British Society for the Philosophy of Science is a philosophical society based in England whose purpose is to promote the study of philosophy of science....
, 1981-2 - President, Mathematical AssociationMathematical AssociationThe Mathematical Association is a professional society concerned with mathematics education in the UK.-History:It was founded in 1871 as the Association for the Improvement of Geometrical Teaching and renamed to the Mathematical Association in 1897. It was the first teachers' subject organisation...
, 1979-80 - Gresham Professor of GeometryGresham Professor of GeometryThe Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1596 / 7, when it appointed seven professors; this has since increased to eight and in addition the college now has visiting professors.The...
, 1972-88 - Committee Member, International Society on General Relativity and GravitationInternational Society on General Relativity and GravitationThe International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation is a learned society with the goal to promote research on general relativity and gravitation. To that end, it encourages communication between relativity researchers, in particular by organizing the triennial international GR...
, 1971-4 - Founding Member, Alternative Natural Philosophy AssociationANPAANPA is an acronym for:*Atrial natriuretic peptide receptor*American Native Press Archives*American Newspaper Publishers Association*Association of National Park Authorities*Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas...
Publications (arranged by year of publication)
- ”Eddington’s Statistical Theory (Oxford Mathematical Monographs) ” (1962)
- ”Hamiltonian Dynamics” (1964)
- ”The Environment in Modern Physics: A Study in Relativistic Mechanics” (1965)
- ”Men of Physics: Sir Arthur Eddington” (1966)
- ”Rational Mechanics” (1966)
- ’’Language, Logic, and Mathematics’’ (1967)
- ’’Exploring University Mathematics 2: Lectures Given at Bedford College’’. (1968)
- ’’Nature of the Universe (World of Science) ’’ (October 18, 1971)
- ’’General Theory of Relativity (Selected Readings in Physics) ’’ (November 1973)
- ’’Relativistic Mechanics, Time and Inertia (Fundamental Theories of Physics) ’’ (December 31, 1984)
- ’’Disequilibrium and Self-Organisation’’ (July 1, 1986)
- ”Russell (Philosophers in Context” (August 21, 1986)
- ’’Radiation from Relativistic Electrons (American Institute of Physics Translation Series) ’’ (October 1986)
- ’’Special Relativity for Physicists’’ (December 1987)
- ’’Schrodinger: Centenary Celebration of a Polymath’’ (March 31, 1989)
- ’’Combinatorial Physics’’ (October 1995)
- ’’Lagrangian Dynamics: An Introduction for Students’’ (December 31, 1995)
- ”Special Theory of Relativity” (January 2000)
- ’’Eddington’s Search for a Fundamental Theory: A Key to the Universe’’ (July 7, 2005)
- ’’The Origin of Discrete Particles (Series on Knots and Everything) ’’ (August 7, 2009)