Thomas ranken lyle biography definition

He graduated from Trinity College, Dublin in with the highest honours the college could award: gold medals in mathematics and experimental science and a university studentship in mathematics. He gained his MA in and continued his studies in advanced mathematics and physics. Lyle took up the chair of natural philosophy at the University of Melbourne in With the introduction of the Master of Science degree in , he embarked on a small research program.

Sir Thomas Ranken Lyle (), mathematical

Much of the apparatus he needed had to be made in the university, and Lyle was fortunate in that he was an expert glass-blower. He was also a skilled photographer. He is credited with taking both the first X-ray and the first published X-ray in Australia, in March In June of that year he was invited to take a photograph of a patient who had a needle embedded in his wrist.

The 'shadow photograph', clearly showing the needle's exact location, allowed the surgeon to make an incision at the correct point and extract the needle. Despite this ground-breaking medical work, Lyle's more active interest was in electrical power technology, in particular alternating currents and their associated magnetic effects. His most significant paper was a theoretical analysis of the alternating current generator.

Lyle was a member of numerous government bodies and inquiries. He held several directorships, including that of the Metropolitan Gas Company. Among other senior appointments he was one of the first three part-time commissioners of Victoria's State Electricity Commission and its first chairman. The ANRC recognised his outstanding contribution to scientific life in Australia in when it created the Thomas Ranken Lyle medal for distinguished Australian research in mathematics and physics.