In this groundbreaking two-volume textbook first published in 1867, Lord Kelvin and Peter Guthrie Tait offer a unified scientific explanation of the physical world through the laws of energy. They defined much of what today is considered physics, covering such realms as liquid motion, instantaneous velocity, and the motion of a rigid body around a fixed point. From simple movement to fluid dynamics the authors provide readers with the necessary science and mathematics to describe complex systems of motion. Irish scientist, engineer, and author LORD WILLIAM THOMSON KELVIN (1824-1907) is considered an foundational thinker of modern physics. He invented the Kelvin temperature scale and also helped develop the first transatlantic telegraph cable. Scottish physicist PETER GUTHRIE TAIT (1831-1901) was educated at Cambridge. Among his writings is the scientific and religious text The Unseen Universe (1901).
G. G. Stokes and Lord Kelvin helped bring about conceptual and institutional changes that transformed the science of physics. Indeed, they and their Victorian colleagues constituted one of the most significant groups of scientists in the whole history of science. This collection of letters was first published in 1990, and provides, therefore, invaluable insight and information for a period of major historical importance. Stokes and Kelvin corresponded for over fifty years as professors in Cambridge and Glasgow, respectively, thus amassing what is easily the largest extant correspondence between two Victorian physicists. The letters range widely over the people, ideas, and institutions of the age. They illuminate the histories of Cambridge and Glasgow Universities and the Royal Society of London, for example, as well as developments in electromagnetism, hydrodynamics, elasticity, optics, and X-rays. The editor's introduction describes the context of the pair's careers, while guiding the reader into their correspondence.
William Thomson, Baron Kelvin (1824-1907), was educated at Glasgow and Cambridge. While only in his twenties, he was awarded the University of Glasgow's chair in natural philosophy, which he was to hold for over fifty years. He is best known through the Kelvin, the unit of measurement of temperature named after him in consequence of his development of an absolute scale of temperature. These volumes collect together Kelvin's lectures for a wider audience. In a convivial but never condescending style, he outlines a range of scientific subjects to audiences of his fellow scientists. The range of topics covered reflects Kelvin's broad interests and his stature as one of the most eminent of Victorian scientists. Volume 2 is mainly concerned with geology and was actually published last, in 1894. It includes additional lectures given between 1866 and 1893 that were not included in the other two volumes.
This collection of the correspondence between G.G. Stokes and Lord Kelvin provides invaluable insight and information on a period of major historical importance. Stokes and Kelvin helped to bring about conceptual and institutional changes that transformed the science of physics. They and their Victorian colleagues constituted one of the most significant groups of scientists in the history of science. Stokes and Kelvin corresponded for more than fifty years as professors in Cambridge and Glasgow respectively, thus amassing what is easily the largest extant correspondence between two Victorian physicists. The letters range widely over the people, ideas, and institutions of the age, illuminating the histories of Cambridge and Glasgow Universities and the Royal Society of London, as well as developments in electromagnetism, hydrodynamics, elasticity, optics, and X-rays. This collection is well indexed and fully annotated. It will serve as a primary resource for historians, physicists, and researchers in nineteenth century British science and the history of physics.
In this groundbreaking two-volume textbook first published in 1867, Lord Kelvin and Peter Guthrie Tait offer a unified scientific explanation of the physical world through the laws of energy. They defined much of what today is considered physics, covering such realms as liquid motion, instantaneous velocity, and the motion of a rigid body around a fixed point. From simple movement to fluid dynamics the authors provide readers with the necessary science and mathematics to describe complex systems of motion. Irish scientist, engineer, and author LORD WILLIAM THOMSON KELVIN (1824-1907) is considered an foundational thinker of modern physics. He invented the Kelvin temperature scale and also helped develop the first transatlantic telegraph cable. Scottish physicist PETER GUTHRIE TAIT (1831-1901) was educated at Cambridge. Among his writings is the scientific and religious text The Unseen Universe (1901).
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