Spectroscopic Observations of the Sun. Received February 2, Read March 19, 1874. Pp. 577-586 in The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Vol. 165, Pt. 2.,1876 [OFFPRINT of LOCKYER'S DISCOVERY OF HELIUM ON THE SUN. 6 PLATES] - Rare Book Insider
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Spectroscopic Observations of the Sun. Received February 2, Read March 19, 1874. Pp. 577-586 in The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Vol. 165, Pt. 2.,1876 [OFFPRINT of LOCKYER’S DISCOVERY OF HELIUM ON THE SUN. 6 PLATES]

RARE OFFPRINT OF JOSEPH LOCKYER'S DISCOVERY OF HELIUM ON THE SUN. ORIGINAL PAPER WRAPS, FINE CONDITION. 6 PLATES. An "offprint" is a separately published and bound issue of the journal paper in question. Usually these are printed for the given authors and for authors to give to colleagues. Because they are rare, offprints are considered more desirable that either the original issue of the journal in paper wraps or bound. Helium was the first chemical element discovered on an extraterrestrial body -- in this case, the sun -- prior to its discovery on the Earth. Lockyer's discovery of helium also represents the first element discovered via spectroscopy. Though rare on the Earth, helium is the second most abundant element in the universe, comprising 24% of known baryonic matter by weight. Lockyer discovered helium on the sun in 1868 when he adapted his 6-inch telescope to utilize a spectroscope and while using it to carry out electromagnetic spectroscopic observations of the sun during an eclipse, he discovered a yellow line never seen before in the laboratory. Unable to reproduce the line in his lab, Lockyer made the bold suggestion that the line was the 'fingerprint' of an element, an element he named 'helium' for Helios, the Greek God of the Sun. Lockyer's finding -- the only element to be discovered in space before it was discovered on Earth -- was the first element to be discovered by spectroscopy. As Lockyer tried to make sense of his initial discovery of a yellow line, he reasoned that "because the bright yellow line was close to the D1 and D2 lines of sodium, it [should be] designated D3. In order to identify the lines in his spectral data, Lockyer enlisted the help of the prominent British chemist, Edward Frankland. Their laboratory work showed that the majority of the observed solar lines were due to hydrogen, though often modified by changes in temperature and pressure. The D3 line, however, could not be reproduced in the laboratory" (Jensen, "Why Helium Ends in 'ium'?) . While Lockyer was ridiculed for his discovery for many years, in 1895, twenty-five years after Lockyer's initial discovery, William Ramsay confirmed the existence of Helium when he managed to isolate it from another mineral. In 1897, Lockyer was finally knighted for his discovery of helium. CONDITION & DETAILS: London: The Royal Society. Offprint from The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Vol. 165, Pt. 2. 1875. [Printed in 1876]. Continuously paginated, pp. 577-586. 4to. (300 x 225mm; 12 x 9 in.). ILLUSTRATIONS: 6 plates EXTERIOR: Bound in original paper wraps. Tightly bound. Near fine condition.
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Wave Power in Nature 249, June 231, 1974. pp. 720-724 [Salter’s Duck. Energy Review Issue] and Modeling Tide and Surge Interaction, pp. 692-693 [Discovery of Interaction Between Astronomical Tides & Storm Surges]

FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS of Stephen Salter's influential paper on a wave energy converter (WEC) he invented known, the celebrated and eponymous "nodding duck," commonly called Salter's Duck. In the 1970s, alternative energy was beginning to gain a lot of hype due to the oil crisis, Salter's design was the most exciting possibility. Note: Information on Darbyshire's discovery appears at the end of this write-up. Stephen Salter is Emeritus Professor of Engineering Design at the University of Edinburgh and inventor of the eponymous Salter duck wave energy device. He is also a proponent of geoengineering and is responsible for creating the concept of the mechanical enhancement of clouds to achieve cloud reflectivity enhancement. Salter is responsible for the design and invention of the wide tank at the University of Edinburgh, the world's first multi-directional wave tank equipped with absorbing wavemakers. With the aim of providing a renewable and sustainable source of power, Salter's Duck was designed to harness energy from ocean waves and convert it into electricity. The Duck fells under a class of WECs known as terminators. Terminators are oriented perpendicular to the direction of the wave. When effective, they destroy the waves they face, leaving a calmer sea on the other side. The device itself is shaped like a large floating buoy or duck, and its design is optimized to efficiently capture and convert wave energy. The duck bobs up and down with the motion of the waves, and this movement is used to drive a hydraulic system, which in turn generates electricity. The key innovation of Salter's Duck was its ability to efficiently convert the linear motion of waves into rotational motion for electricity generation. While Salter's Duck was an innovative concept and faced challenges in terms of scalability and cost-effectiveness, "the funding for the project was cut off in the early 1980s after oil prices rebounded and the UK government moved away from alternative energy sources" (Wikipedia). OTHER PAPER OF NOTE: In Darbyshire's "Modeling tide and surge interaction," he presents his discovery that the interaction of astronomical tides and storm surges is nonlinear, and that this nonlinear interaction can form additional storm surges. CONDITION & DETAILS: London: Macmillan. 4to. (11 x 8.25 inches; 275 x 206mm). Original wraps. Inclusive of label & very light stamp on front wrap. Slight wear at the edge tips. Tightly bound & very clean inside & out. Very good condition.
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Sur les fonctions de n variables complexes. Publication No. D’order 817, Theses Presentees a la Faculte des Sciences de Paris Pour Obtenir le Grade de Docteur es Sciences Mathematiques, Stockholm, 1894. [COUSIN’S DOCTORAL THESIS. TWO COUSIN PROBLEM]

TRUE 1st edition of the French mathematician Pierre Cousin's doctoral thesis, published the following year in Acta Mathematica. Ownership stamp "F. Heymann," likely Franz Ferdinand Heyman (1924-2005), a British physicist who served as Quain Professor at University College London. He was featured in Who's Who in British Scientists, Who's Who in Atoms and Who's Who in Technology. Offered here is Cousin's thesis on the additive problem, or the two "Cousin problems," "two questions in several complex variables, concerning the existence of meromorphic functions that are specified in terms of local data" (Wikipedia). Cousin's work here has particular application to classical global function theory. Cousin who succeeded in solving it for products of planar domains by systemically iterating one variable techniques based on the Cauhy integral formula. in his honor the decomposition problem is often referred to as the additive cousin problem" (Range, Complex Analysis: A Brief Tour into Higher Dimensions). CONDITION & DETAILS: Stockholm: Central-Tryckeriet. 10 x 8 inches. 4to. [6], 61, [5]. Bears the ownership stamp of the physicist Franz Heyman and a small stamp on the rear of the title page reading "ad bibl. Univers. Monac." No other stamps whatsoever. Text illustrations throughout. Tightly bound in black cloth over marbled paper; tiny crease upper right corner. Bright and clean throughout. Very good + condition.
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Relativity The Special and The General Theory PERSONAL COPY OF BUCKMINSTER FULLER with SIGNATURE, ADDRESS, & DATE

The ownership signature, address of Buckminster Fuller appear on the front pastedown. Fuller also dated his entry (March 12th, 1948).This is his personal copy. Buckminster Fuller was a renowned inventor, philosopher, futurist architect, writer, social activist, designer, inventor, "intellectual outlaw," and author of more than thirty books (The New Yorker, In the Outlaw Area, Tomkins, 12.31.1965). Among many honors, Fuller (1895-1983), was selected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. EINSTEIN'S WRITING OF THIS BOOK: "After submitting the final version of his general theory of relativity in November 1915, Einstein began to write a comprehensive summary of the theory for the scientific community. At that time he was already thinking about writing a popular book on relativityâ??both the special and the generalâ??as he indicated in a letter to his close friend Michele Besso, quoted in the epigraph. Einstein completed the manuscript in December, and the booklet (as he referred to it) Relativity: The Special and the General Theory (A Popular Account) was published in German in the spring of 1917. Einstein believed that the laws of nature could be formulated in a number of simple basic principles, and this quest for simplicity characterized his scientific activities. He also believed that it was his duty to explain these principles in simple terms to the general public and to convey the happiness and satisfaction that understanding them can generate. As Einstein stated in the short introduction to his booklet, he "spared himself no pains in his endeavour to present the main ideas in the simplest and most intelligible form" (Einstein Papers, Princeton Press, 10). CONDITION & DETAILS: 8vo. Tightly and solidly bound in blue cloth, gilt-lettered on the front board and at the spine. The dust jacket is worn, but present. The volume and cover are protected with a mylar sheath.Frontispiece portrait. Full table-of-contents and index. Clean and bright throughout. Very good condition.
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Uber quantentheoretische Umdeutung kinematischer und mechanischer Beziehungen in Zeitschrift fur Physik, 33, 1925, pp. 879 to 893. WITH: Born and Jordan Zur Quantenmechanik in Zeitschrift fur Physik, 34, 1925, pp. 858 to 888. WITH: Born, Heisenberg and Jordan Zur Quantenmechanik II in Zeitschrift für Physik, 35, 1926, pp.557 to 615

FIRST EDITIONS OF THREE LANDMARK PAPERS THAT TOGETHER FORMED THE THEORETICAL FOUNDATION OF QUANTUM MECHANICS. "In spite of its high-sounding name and its successful solutions of numerous problems in atomic physics, quantum theory, and especially the quantum theory of polyelectronic systems, prior to 1925, was, from the methodological point of view, a lamentable hodgepodge of hypotheses, principles, theorems, and computational recipes rather than a logical consistent theory. Every single quantum-theoretic problem had to be solved first in terms of classical physics; its classical solution had then to pass through the mysterious sieve of the quantum conditions or, as it happened in the majority of cases, the classical solution had to be translated into the language of quanta in conformance with the correspondence principle. In short, quantum theory still lacked two essential characteristics of a full-fledged scientific theory, conceptual autonomy and logical consistency" (Jammer, The Conceptual Development 196). The work of Heisenberg, Born, and Jordan in these papers began to rectify these issues and together marked the "starting point for the new quantum mechanics," also called matrix mechanics (DSB). "In May 1925, Heisenberg took on a new and difficult problem, the calculation of the line intensities of the hydrogen spectrum. Just as he had done with Kramers and Bohr, Heisenberg began with a Fourier analysis of the electron orbits. When the hydrogen orbit proved too difficult, he turned to the an harmonic oscillator. With a new multiplication rule relating the amplitudes and frequencies of the Fourier components to observed quantities, Heisenberg succeeded in quantizing the equations of motion for this system in close analogy with the classical equations of motion. In June Heisenberg returned to Göttingen, where he drafted his fundamental paper [the 1st paper], which he completed in July. In this paper Heisenberg proclaimed that the quantum mechanics of atoms should contain only relations between experimentally observable quantities. The resulting formalism served as the starting point for the new quantum mechanics, based, as Heisenberg's multiplication rule implied, on the manipulation of ordered sets of data forming a mathematical matrix. Born and his assistant, Pascual Jordan, quickly developed the mathematical content of Heisenberg's work into a consistent theory with the help of abstract matrix algebra [the 2nd paper].Their work, in collaboration with Heisenberg, culminated in their "three-man paper" ["Dreimännerarbeit", the 3rd paper] that served as the foundation of matrix mechanics. Confident of the correctness of the new theory, Heisenberg, Pauli, Born, Dirac, and others began applying the difficult mathematical formalism to the solution of lingering problems" (DSB). ALSO INCLUDED in ZfP Volume 33 is a major milestone in gravitational wave theory: the Czech physicist Guido Beck's discovery of a family of exact solutions to the equations of general relativity representing gravitational waves with cylindrical symmetry (called 'Beck vacua' or 'cylindrical gravitational waves'). His paper, "Zur Theorie Binärer Gravitationsfelder" appears on pp. 713-738. ALSO: We offer the Heisenberg paper (Volume 33) as a lone offering. Heisenberg, Werner "Über quantentheoretische Umdeutung kinematischer und mechanischer Beziehungen" in ZfP 33, 1925, pp. 879-893. ALSO, we offer Pauli's 1926 paper with the 1st significant application of & 1st validation of Heisenberg's new quantum mechanics. ("Über das Wasserstoffspektrum vom Standpunkt der neuen Quantenmechanik" in ZfP 36, 1926). CONDITION & DETAILS: In: ZfP 33 (1925), 34 (1925), 35 (1926). 8vo. (225 x 156mm). 3 full volumes. Volume 33 has no ex-libris stamps whatsoever; volumes 34 and 35 have some on the title page. Handsomely and uniformly rebound in grey linen, gilt-tooled and lettered at the spine. Tightly bound. Very clean inside and out. Near fine condition.
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Allgemeine Relativitätstheorie und Bewegungsgesetz. Offprint from Sitzungsbericht der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. (THE PROBLEM OF MOTION IN GENERAL RELATIVITY). 6 January 1927, pp. 2-13

FIRST EDITION, OFFPRINT ISSUE IN ORIGINAL PAPER WRAPS, VERY GOOD CONDITION. "Einstein and Grommer's work [treats] the particle as a singularity in the field, and attempts[s] to obtain the equations of motion by imposing conditions on the exterior field in the neighborhood of the singularity" (Stachel, Einstein from â??B' to'Z', pp. 507). Weil 155. In 1927, Einstein's research "concentrated on a new approach to the problem of the motion of particles in a general field theory" (Mehra, The Golden Age of Theoretical Physics, 997). He presented his work, conducted with Jakob Grommer in this report. Einstein and Grommer here show that â??in the case of a pure gravitational field the mechanical behavior of singularities can be derived,' a result which in Einstein's opinion â??opened the possibility to obtain, on the basis of the field equations, a theory of matter characterized as discontinuities in space' (ibid, 997; Einstein and Grommer, 1927). "After Einstein had tried for years to obtain a theory of material particles in a generalized field theory by describing these objects with the help of continuous functions, Einstein and Grommer now proposed â??to consider elementary particles as singular points or singular world lines, respectively,' motivated by the observation â??that both the equations of the pure gravitational field and the equations augmented by Maxwell's electromagnetic field possess simple spherically-symmetric solutions which contain a singularity' (ibid). Finally they arrived at the result: In the approximation of the gravitational field obtained by solving linearized equations, the equation of motion for a singularity is completely determined - at least in the case of equilibrium - and corresponds to the law of a geodetic line" (ibid). CONDITION & DETAILS: Berlin: Verlag der Akademie der Wiss. Pp. 2-13. Offprint in original wraps. (10 x 7.25 inches; 250 x 181mm). Toning at the edges & bearing the ownership stamp of "Friedrich Wilhelm Ritter" (W. F. Ritter) 1839-1929. Ritter had a large library. Very good condition.
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Esperienze Intorno alla Generazione Deglinsetti Fatte da Francesco Redi Accademia della Crusca, e scritte in una letters, 1674 [MASTERPIECE REFUTING SPONTANEOUS REGENERATION; 39 COPPERPLATE ENGRAVINGS]

THIRD EDITION OF FRANCESCO REDI'S MASTERPIECE REFUTING SPONTANEOUS REGENERATION, first published in 1668. "A milestone in the history of modern science," Redi's book outlines the first series of experiments to disprove 'spontaneous generation' -- "a theory also known as Aristotelian abiogenesis" (Wikipedia). Francesco Redi was an Italian physician, naturalist, and poet. Redi's seminal work includes 39 particularly gorgeous copperplate engravings. "At the time, [the] prevailing wisdom was that maggots arose spontaneously from rotting meat"; in other words, that nonliving matter could generate the production of living organisms" (ibid). In his experiments, Redi captured maggots and waited for them to metamorphose, becoming flies. "Also, when dead flies or maggots were put in sealed jars with dead animals or veal, no maggots appeared, but when the same thing was done with living flies, maggots did" (Wikipedia). Redi compared two groups of meat: "the first left exposed to insects, and the second group covered by a barrier of gauze. In the exposed meat, flies laid eggs, which quickly hatched into maggots. On the gauze-covered meat, no maggots appeared, but Redi observed fly eggs on the outer surface of the gauze" (Benecke, A Brief History of Forensic Entomology). Knowing full well the terrible fates of out-spoken scientists like Giordino Bruno and Galileo Galilei, Redi was careful to express his new views in a manner that would not contradict to theological tradition of the Church; hence, his interpretations were always based on biblical passages, such as his famous adage: omne vivum ex vivo ('All life comes from life')" (Wikipedia). CONDITION & DETAILS: Florenz: Onofri. 1674. Quarto (9.5 x 7 inches; 238 x 175mm). Complete. [4], 136, [39], 1. 39 copperplate engravings in near fine condition (29 numbered; 10 unnumbered; 3 large folding). Vellum bound with the title written on the spine in an early hand. A large section of the vellum has been cut from the rear board and is missing. The binding and its stitching, however, remain very solid. Vellum has some creasing, but is still handsome. Two early ownership signatures; see photos. Consistent with its age, slight toning within.
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Calcul Mecanique — Machine a calculer fondee sur l’emploi de la numeration binaire (Valtat, pp. 1745-1748) WITH Sur l’emploi de la numeration binaire dans les machines a calculer et les instruments nomomecaniques (Couffignal, 1970-1972) in Comptes Rendus 202, 1936, [VALTAT’S IMPORTANT DESCRIPTION OF HIS PATENTED CALCULATING MACHINE ALSO: COUFFIGNAL ON ELECTRICAL CALCULATORS]

Full volume. FIRST EDITION OF VALTAT'S DESCRIPTION OF HIS PATENTED CALCULATING MACHINE FOUNDED ON THE CONVERSION OF DECIMAL INPUT INTO BINARY INPUT PRIOR TO CALCULATION. Valtat here notes "that binary digits could be represented either mechanically or electrically. He also stated that in an electric circuit the switch "on" would equal 1 and the switch "off" would equal 0" (Jeremy Norman, History of Science). As noted below, some instead credit Louis Couffignal who in 1936 and in this same volume, wrote of employing binary notation in a calculating machine. Couffignal "argues the utility of representing numbers by binary notation in computers and discusses the design of electrical calculators" (Aiken, Proposed Automatic Calculating Machines, 10). A Frenchman, Raymond Valtat (1898-1986) patented his calculator in 1932, but this 1936 paper is his first written account of his invention. In this paper, Valtat finally explains his thought and methodology, strongly advocating for the usage of the binary system in calculating apparatus over that of the decimal system. The scholarship on the invention of the first binary-based calculating machine is confusing. The discovery is sometimes credited to Claude Shannon's master's thesis published in 1938 but written in 1937. Some credit Konrad Zuse who working in Germany, applied for a patent on a binary calculating machine in 1936. Others credit Louis Couffignal who in 1936 also wrote of employing binary notation in a calculating machine. Valtat, however, "may have been the first to propose a binary-based calculating machine" - this because though he did not publish until 1936, he applied for his patent in 1932, thus predating both Zuse and Shannon (Norman; Ptak). Randell 1982a, 519-20. Origins of Cyberspace 397. CONDITION & DETAILS: Complete volume. Ex-libris stamp on the rear of the first page; slight ghosting at the spine where a spine level has been removed. Illustrated throughout, including the Pouillet paper. 4to (11 x 8 inches; 275 x 200mm). Continuously paginated: pp. 1225-2331. Full blue cloth binding, gilt-lettered at the spine; ghosting from the removal of a label at the spine; stamp on the rear of the title page.
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Remarque à propos de la découverte du gallium in Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de L’Academie des Sciences 81, 1875, pp. 969-972

FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST OF MENDELEEV'S PREDICTED ELEMENTS TO BE IDENTIFIED, thereby confirming "the validity of the periodic system of elements" Mendeleev had designed (Niaz, Critical Appraisal of Physical Science, 62). "The confirmation of this prediction may certainly be called the culminating point in the history of the periodic system" (ibid). In 1869 "Mendeleev published a periodic table. Mendeleev also arranged the elements known at the time in order ofrelative atomic mass, but he did some other things that made his table much more successful. He realised that the physical and chemical properties of elements were related to their atomic mass in a 'periodic' way, and arranged them so that groups of elements with similar properties fell into vertical columns in his table. "Sometimes this method of arranging elements meant there were gaps in his horizontal rows or 'periods'. But instead of seeing this as a problem, Mendeleev thought it simply meant that the elements which belonged in the gaps had not yet been discovered. He was also able to work out the atomic mass of the missing elements, and so predict their properties. And when theywerediscovered, Mendeleev turned out to be right. "The discovery of the three elements predicted by Mendeleev was of decisive importance in the acceptance of his law. In 1875 Lecoq de Boisbaudran, knowing nothing of Mendeleev's work, discovered by spectroscopic methods a new metal, which he named gallium. Both in the nature of its discovery and in a number of its properties gallium coincided with Mendeleev's prediction for eka-aluminum, but its specific weight at first seemed to be less than predicted. "Although Lecoq de Boisbaudran objected to this interpretation, he made a second determination of the specific weight of gallium and confirmed that such was indeed the case. From that moment the periodic law was no longer a mere hypothesis, and the scientific world was astounded to note that Mendeleev, the theorist, had seen the properties of a new element more clearly than the chemist who had empirically discovered it. From this time, too, Mendeleev's work came to be more widely known" (Dictionary of Scientific Biography). CONDITION & DETAILS: Complete volume. Ex-libris bearing only a deaccessioned stamp on the back of the title page and slight ghosting at the spine where a spine level has been removed. 4to (11 x 8 inches; 275 x 200mm). [6], 1450, [2]. Bound in clean full blue cloth, gilt-lettered at the spine. Solidly and tightly bound. Very occasional toning, otherwise clean and bright throughout.
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The Quantum Theory of Optical Coherence in Physical Review 130, 1963, pp. 2529-2539 [BOUND VOLUME w/ FULL EXPLANATION OF QUANTUM THEORY OF OPTICAL COHERENCE.]

BOUND FULL VOLUME FIRST EDITION OF GLAUBER'S NOBLE PRIZE WINNING QUANTUM THEORY OF OPTICAL COHERENCE, the quantum mechanical basis of different types of light. Glauber's announcement of his theory was published in a letter to Physical Review Letters the same year. Offered here is the longer explanation of the theory. "[Glauber's] theory uses the formalism of quantum electrodynamics to describe the absorption of a photon in a detector. By correlating several such detectors, [Glauber showed how] one may obtain higher order correlations, which [then] display clearly the characteristic features of quantum radiation" (Nobel Prize Website). Glauber's work formed the basis for the development of Quantum Optics when it was written and still does to this day. Glauber was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in optical coherence in 2005. Glauber's seminal theory, at first controversial but now widely used in the field of quantum optics, differentiates between laser (coherent) light and normal (blackbody) light. Arguing that photon correlation experiments must be based on a consistent application of quantum electrodynamics, Glauber showed how the quantum theory has to be formulated in order to describe the detection process. "This also served to bring out the distinction between the behaviour of thermal light sources and presently common coherent sources such as lasers and quantum amplifiers. CONDITION & DETAILS: Lancaster: American Institute of Physics. 4to (10.25 x 8 inches; 256 x 200mm). Entire volume, continuously paginated pp. 1639-2622. Glauber paper: pp.2529-2538. Ex-libris with minimal markings (pictorial plate on paste down and no spine markings whatsoever). Illustration: In-text figures throughout. Exterior: Bound in gold buckram with a gilt-lettered spine. Tight, solid. Near fine. Interior: Bright and very clean throughout. Near fine condition.