The New International Encyclopædia/Adams, William Grylls

ADAMS, William Grylls (1836—). An English physicist. He was born at Laneast, Cornwall, and was educated at Cambridge University, where he was made a fellow of St. John's College. In 1863 he was appointed professor of natural philosophy and astronomy in King's College, London, and has carried on many investigations in addition to giving instruction. Professor Adams has served as vice-president and president of the Physical Society of London, as president of the Society of Electrical Engineers, as president of the mathematical and physical section of the British Association, and is a member of the Royal Society. He devised a new form of polariscope which could be used to measure the optical axes of crystals. Among his more important investigations which have been published are those on Simultaneous Magnetic Disturbances, Action of Light on Selenium, Alternate Current Machines, and the Testing of Dynamo Machines.