SRB12

From 1882 until his death, Ball held a post quite unrelated to Astronomy. This was as Scientific Advisor to the Irish Lights Board. It was his duty to advise and recommend improvements to the lighthouses and warning systems in Irish coastal waters. He enjoyed this work very much, particularly the annual 3 week round-trip in the cruiser Princess Alexandra. It was his main holiday, but involved a good deal of work as well. He carried out many tests with gas, oil and electricity to see which gave the best light in different conditions. One of the main problems was fog, and in later years he enlisted the help of Ernest Rutherford who at the time was experimenting with electromagnetic waves. He was very interested in all the flora around the Irish coast and would make frequent trips ashore to gather samples. Ball’s favorite lighthouse was Fastnet, which he described as the most beautiful light in the world.

He was also a member of the Royal Irish Yacht Club, founded in 1831, its first commander being the redoubtable Marquis of Anglesey, who some of you may remember was Wellington’s cavalry commander at Waterloo. When a shell shattered his right leg, he exclaimed to Wellington, who was close by, “By God Sir I’ve lost my leg”. Wellington removed the telescope from his eye, considered the mangled limb for a moment and said.......“By God sir, so you have”.
His final cruise was in 1912 just a year before his death

What did Robert Ball do in his spare time ? What spare time you might wonder. He admits he was no great sportsman, but whilst at Trinity he did enjoy cricket, claiming that he could hit the ball further than anyone else, evidenced by the fact that he was the only scholar ever to have to pay for a broken window in a street outside the grounds.
He also played golf, a pursuit he followed for many years, joining the Royston Golf Club whilst at Cambridge, claiming that it was the only outdoor sport that a one-eyed man could play. Asked if he found golf boring, he replied, “ When I tire of golf I work at screws, and when I tire of screws I play golf.

This Theory of Screws was to occupy much of his time throughout his life, and often whilst on holiday, when his family were out walking, he would find a quiet room and ponder over this complex area of mathematics. His liking of golf and maths can be seen in a letter he wrote to his friend Brindley thanking him for a birthday card.

He wrote “ I am 62 . I took 130 to go round Royston when I was 54,.... I can do a round now in 104...... By the time I am 90 I will have lowered the course record. .............He played his last game there on 15 January 1912.

Now some of you may be wondering what this screw business was all about. I know very little, but I have read and I quote:

Ball’s Treatise on the Theory of Screws is the definitive reference on screw theory. It gives a very complete geometrical treatment of the problems of small movements in rigid dynamics. In recent years the theory of screws has emerged as a novel mathematical resource for addressing complex engineering problems, with important applications to robotics, multibody dynamics, mechanical design, computational kinematics, and hybrid automatic control.

He did once raise a toast to maths at an after dinner speech saying: “Here’s to Pure Mathematics. May she never be of any use to any one”.

Ball enjoyed good health for most of his life, but did occasionally suffer from lumbago, and his son records that he wrote Story of the Heavens lying on the floor, as this was the only position he found comfortable.

He was also a devoted family man and despite his busy lecturing schedule he spent a good deal of his time at home with his wife and children, especially after his move to Cambridge, with its long holidays. He made several trips to the Continent, and visited Italy as part of a Grand Tour, where he was enthralled by a visit to Pompeii and a climb up Vesuvius, during a period when it was particularly active.

In 1890 and 1895 he took trips to Norway, the latter one for the purpose of observing the total eclipse. On the outward voyage onboard the SS Norse King he lectured to the passengers. Unfortunately on the morning of the eclipse, the sky was largely overcast and although the sun was visible for the early part, clouds obscured the 106 seconds of totality.

Every week at Cambridge he would hold a dinner party and invite up to 16 students, many of them sons of old friends and acquaintances. He would also scour the college registers to ensure that the offspring of eminent people of the day had a seat at his table.