Lord Kelvin (William Thomson), arguably Britain's most eminent scientist after Newton, spent much of his life in work which led to the development of today's electrical units and standards. Despite his influence, there are few biographies of stature (largely due to the abstruse nature of much of his technical research). This treatment concentrates upon his work in three phases; discovery of the fundamental concepts and coding them into universal laws, leading the adoption of the metric system, and securing worldwide use of units and standards (now the IEC system).

• Chapter 1: Kelvin and electrical science
• Chapter 2: Kelvin and the metric system
• Chapter 3: Metric controversy in Britain and the USA
• Chapter 4: Electrical measurements
• Chapter 5: Kelvin and the British Association Electrical Units
• Chapter 6: International Electrical Congresses
• Chapter 7: Units and standards for the electrical century
• Chapter 8: Kelvin, Crompton and the electrical industry
• Appendix A: James Watt and the metric system
• Appendix B: Kelvin and screwthread standards
• Appendix C: Metrication in Britain
• Appendix D: International electrotechnical terminology
• Appendix E: A letter by William Thomson on the 'Thomson Effect'
• Appendix F: Crompton's Patents 1878-1899