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Shannon, Claude
TRUE FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL PRINTED WRAPS OF CLAUDE SHANNON'S MATHEMATICAL PROOF & REFINEMENT OF NYQUIST'S SAMPLING THEOREM (now Nyquist-Shannon), "THE BACKBONE OF MODERN COMMUNICATIONS" (Gran, Numerical Computing, 136). Following this publication, the paper appeared in Bell Telephone's Technical Publications. Shannon's paper, a manuscript first written in 1940 but held from publication until after WWII ended, "set the foundation of information theory. [It] is a masterpiece both in terms of achievement and conciseness. It is undoubtedly one of the theoretical works that has had the greatest impact on modern electrical engineering" (Unser, Sampling, 1). Note that we offer the Nyquist paper separately. An American mathematician and engineer, Claude Shannon is most often connected to the sampling theorem which bears his name. "Shannon is considered the father of information theory, which laid the foundation for digital communications and source compression, and ultimately, the information society as we know it" (Vetterli, Signal Processing, 498). The Nyquist-Shannon theorem is the principle by which engineers are able to digitize analog signals. In order that the analog-to-digital conversion produces a faithful reproduction of the original signal, slices - called samples - of the analog waves must be taken often, with the number taken per second known as the sampling rate. The samples are bridges that allow engineers to span analog signals (continuous) and digital signals (discrete). While working at Bell Labs in 1924, Harry Nyquist's work centered upon the obvious need to improve the speed with which data transmission was carried over the wires. Toward this end, Nyquist made two significant distinctions, one related to signal shaping and the second to the choice of codes (Norman). "The first is concerned with the best shape to be impressed on the transmitting medium so as to permit greater speed without undue interference either in the circuit under consideration or in those adjacent, while the latter deals with the choice of codes which will permit of transmitting a maximum amount of intelligence with a given number signal elements" (Nyquist, "Certain Factors." BSTJ 3, 1924, p. 324). Nyquist's 1924 paper established the principles by which continuous signals could be converted into digital signals. "According to the Sampling Theorem, an analog signal must be sampled. at twice the frequency of its highest-frequency component to be converted into an adequate representation of the signal in digital form. Thus, the "Nyquist frequency" is the highest frequency that can be accurately sampled. It represents one-half of the sampling frequency. Adhering to the Nyquist Sampling Theorem ensures no lost data upon reconstruction in the analog domain" (Maliniak, Electronic Design, Oct. 20, 2005). Shannon's paper presented the first formal proof of the concepts the Nyquist theorem proposed. In order to convert an analog signal into a sequence of numbers, Shannon devised a geometric proof of the theorem that establishes the famous formula W log (1 + S) for the capacity of a channel with bandwidth W, additive thermal (i.e., Gaussian) noise, and signal-to-noise ratio S" (History of Science: The Wenner Collection). With this, he was able to show that if the interval between the intensity measurements is less than half the period of the highest frequency in the signal, it will then be possible to faithfully reconstruct the original signal from the digital values recorded (Shannon, 1949). CONDITION AND DETAILS: New York: Institute of Radio Engineers. 4to. No institutional stamps. Original printed wrappers with some rubbing at the front wrap and spine (see photos). The interior is pristine. Very good condition. Housed in an archival quality custom clamshell case, gilt-lettered at the spine.
Bragg, Sir William
FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPS OF NATURE'S SPECIAL 11 PAGE SUPPLEMENT ON LIQUID CRYSTALS BY NOBEL PRIZE WINNER SIR WILLIAM BRAGG. This is the first time "a coherent story has been made of the optical principles [of liquid crystals] by which their characteristic behaviour is exhibited" (Editors, Nature Supplement, March 24, 1934). Included are 14 figures. In 1913-1914, William Bragg and his son Lawrence " founded a new branch of science of the greatest importance and significance, the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays. If the fundamental discovery of the wave aspect of X-rays, as evidenced by their diffraction in crystals, was due tovon Laueand his collaborators, it is equally true that the use of X-rays as an instrument for the systematic revelation of the way in which crystals are built was entirely due to the Braggs. This was recognized by the award of theNobel Prizejointly to father and son in 1915" (Nobel Prize Committee). In this Nature supplement, Bragg writes that "the examination and explanation of their behaviour links them on one hand to the large class of oriented liquid films, and suggests on the other hand that more regular structure which X-ray analysis is daily revealing to us in so many directions. "By means of new photographs, diagrams and drawings of models, Sir William Bragg has with appealing directness given us a statement of the problems which these bodies have yielded. The optical behaviour of the main groups is thus seen to be related to a varying degree of regularity of arrangement while in the mobile phase" (Editors, Nature). ALSO INCLUDED: Mendelssohn's letter "Persistent Currents in Supraconductors". This is the first report that "the magnetic induction in tin spheres, which were cooled in an external magnetic field until they became supraconductive, did not vanish entirely, but that part of the magnetic flux remained in the body. This result was confirmed by the 1934 magnetic experiments by Rjabinin and Shubnikowand by calorimetric measurements by Keesom and Kok" (Keeley, Experiments on Supraconductors, Nature 134, p. 773). CONDITION & DETAILS: 4to. (10.5 x 7.5 inches; 262 x 188mm). Bearing small institutional stamp on front and rear wrap (see image). Slight spotting to the left margin of the out wrap (remains of having been bound in larger volume), otherwise and bright inside and out. Very good condition.
Hamming, R. W. WITH Claude E. Shannon and J. Bardeen
FIRST EDITION, FULL VOLUME IN FINE CONDITION OF HAMMING'S SEMINAL ERROR DETECTING & CORRECTING CODES PAPERS; Hamming's method corrects single errors within blocks of transmitted data and is also capable of simultaneously detecting when two errors occur. "He further showed that, in a mathematical sense, these error correcting codes are the best possible codes [known also as â??perfect codes'; there are none shorter" (A. M. Turing Award Portal). The clarity of Hamming's thinking and methodology led to this paper, a work that soon created an entirely new field within information theory. Hamming was awarded the A. M. Turing Award in 1968. Richard Wesley Hamming (1915-1998) was an American mathematician whose work had profound and lasting implications for computing and telecommunications. After working on the Manhattan Project, Hamming accepted a position at the Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey. "Hamming was the first coding theorist to attract widespread interest in his work" (Hook & Norman "Origins of Cyberspace" 646). "It was an event in 1947 that prompted Hamming to undertake his most famous piece of work. One Friday, while working for Bell Laboratories, he set their pre-computer calculating machines to solving a complex problem and expected the result to be waiting for him when he began work on the following Monday. But when he arrived on Monday, he found that an error had occurred early on in the calculations and the relay-based calculators had been unable to proceed" (Turing Award Portal). Frustrated, "Hamming began developing the first error-correction codes (now known as Hamming codes), which enabled computers to find and correct single errors. Error correction has since been developed into a scientific discipline used in everything from extracting data transmitted from space probes, to recovering jammed communications, to guaranteeing high-quality music from a compact disk" (Hook & Norman). Simple parity codes, by contrast, are unable to correct errors and at best can detect only an odd number of bits in error. ALSO INCLUDED In discussing the memory requirements of a telephone exchange. Shannon derived a "separate memory" formula, M + 2S log N, which he interpreted in terms of information theory. (Hook & Norman "Origins of Cyberspace 883). The B-C-S theory of superconductivity by Bardeen Cooper & Schreiffer, was successful in explaining the properties of superconductive materials. This work won them the Nobel Prize in Physics (1972) for "Their jointly developed theory of superconductivity, usually called the BCS Theory" CONDITION & DETAILS: New York: American Telephone and Telegraph Company. Complete. 8vo. (9.25 x 6; 231 x 150mm). Tightly and solidly hardbound in blue cloth with gilt-lettered black spine label. Bright and very clean inside and out. Near fine condition.
Einstein, Albert
FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE of two important 1906 Einstein papers. Einstein wrote two papers on the photoelectric effect, his revolutionary 1905 paper and "Zur Theorie der Lichterzeugung und Lichtabsorption," his continuation of it. In them, Einstein employed Planck's theory that luminous energy can be absorbed or emitted only in discrete amounts (called quanta) and proposed a theory of light quanta involving particles with no mass (photons) whose energy depended on frequency. All of Einstein's experimental results confirmed that light actually consisted of discrete energy packets. "Based on this theory, Einstein wrote an equation describing how the photoelectric effect works. The energy of individual electrons emitted by a photocell is a function of the frequency of the light hitting the photocell, and the rate of electron emission is a function of the light source's intensity (number of photons with sufficient energy being emitted). This is contrary to what is predicted by classical physics" (History of Physics: The Wenner Collection). In this, Einstein's second paper on photoelectrics, he revisited Planck's theory and from it, developed his ideas to show that an electromagnetic wave such as light could be described as a particle (photon) with discrete quanta of energy that was dependent on its frequency. In the long history of quantum mechanics, this would lead to a theory of unity between subatomic particles and electromagnetic waves called wave-particle duality in which particles and waves were neither one nor the other, but had certain properties of both. At first Einstein believed that light-quantum hypothesis was merely 'heuristic': that it behaved only as if it consisted of discontinuous quanta. But in this paper and others to follow, Einstein used his statistical mechanics to demonstrate that when light interacts with matter, Planck's entire formula can arise only from the existence of light quanta -- not from waves. In other words, in explaining the photoelectric effect by extending Planck's concept of quantum of energy, had Einstein "demonstrated that his own 'light-quantum hypothesis' was implicit in Planck's earlier work" (Honner, The Description of Nature, 31). ALSO included in this volume is "Daz Prinzip von der Erhaltung." (The Principle of Conservation of Motion of the Center of Gravity and the Inertia of Energy). In this "ingenious thought experiment involving energy transport in a hollow cylinder, Einstein returned to the relationship between inertial mass and energy, giving more general arguments for their complete equivalence" (Calaprice, The Einstein Almanac, 18). This was the first statement that the conservation of mass is a special case of the conservation of energy. CONDITION & DETAILS: Leipzig: Barth, 1906. Octavo. (8.75 x 6 inches); 222 x 152mm. Ex-libris bearing minimal markings (only a small stamp on the title page). Illustration: 6 plates and figures throughout. Entire volume in black cloth, gilt-lettered at the spine. The cloth is a bit rubbed and scuffed and there is fading at the spine. Solidly and tightly bound. Bright and clean throughout.
Adams, W. G. and R. E. Day
PRISTINE EXTRACT, 1st edition of the INVENTION OF THE SOLAR CELL. This printing is the true first and preceeds the Proceedings of the Royal Society printing which we offer separately]. ADAMS' & DAYS DEMONSTRATION THAT ELECTRICITY COULD BE PRODUCED FROM LIGHT WITHOUT MOVING PARTS AND LED TO THE MODERN SOLAR CELL" (Wikipedia). William Grylls Adams and Richard Evans Day write of their discovery of a completely new phenomenon - "that light had caused a flow of electricity through a solid material. Adams and Day called current produced by light "photoelectric." Today, we call it "photovoltaic." (Perlin). Community Environmental Council, From Selenium to Silicon and Beyond). Note that this paper was also published in The Philosophical Transactions just prior to this publication. The field of solar photovoltaics began in 1872 when British engineer Willoughby Smith published a paper on the photo-sensitivity of selenium. The dream of harnessing the near limitless energy of the sun attracted a great deal of scientific attention. Many scientists began to experiment with selenium, but it wasn't until three years later (and presented in this paper) that Adams and Day discovered and proved that â??illuminating a junction between selenium and platinum has a photovoltaic effect', or, more simply said, selenium produces electricity when exposed to light (Wikipedia). Together, Adams and Day "subjected selenium to many experiments, including one in which they passed a battery-generated current through it. "After the selenium was detached from the battery, Adams and Day discovered to their surprise that the current running inside the selenium had reversed itself. To find out why the selenium had changed the direction of the electrical flow, they repeated the experiment with on e variation. After removing the selenium from the battery, they let a flame shine onto the selenium. The flame forced the current to flow in the direction opposite to that in the previous experiment. â??Here there seemed to be a case of light actually producing an electromotive force within the selenium, which in this case was opposed to and could overbalance the electromotive force' of the battery, the amazed scientists observed. "This unexpected result led Adams and Day to alter their course of investigation and to immediately examine â??whether it would be possible to start a current in the selenium merely by the action of light.' The next morning, they lit a candle an inch away from the same piece of selenium. " (Perlin, The Story of Solar Electricity, 16). The needle to their measuring device reacted immediately. Screening the selenium from light caused the needle to drop to zero. These rapid responses ruled out the possibility that the heat of the candle flame had produced the current (a phenomenon known as thermal electricity), because when heat was applied or withdrawn in thermoelectric experiments, the needle would always rise or fall slowly. "â??Hence,' the investigators concluded, â??it was clear that a current could be started in the selenium by the action of the light alone.' They therefor felt confident that they had discovered something completely new: that light caused â??a flow of electricity' in a solid material. Adams and Day called current produced by light â??photoelectric'" (Perlin, 17). CONDITION & DETAILS: London: The Royal Society. 8.5 by 5.5 inches (213 x 138mm). Bright and clean throughout. Near fine condition in every way.
Aharonov, Y. and Bohm, D.
FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPS OF THE FIRST PAPER ON THE AHARANOV-BOHM EFFECT, the assertion that a that a magnetic field affects the quantum properties of an electron in a way that is forbidden by classical physics. Aharonov and Bohm wrote, ".contrary to the conclusions of classical mechanics, there exist effects of potentials on charged particles, even in the region where all the fields (and therefore the forces on the particles) vanish" (PR 115, 1959). The American physicist David Bohm, and his Israeli graduate student Yakir Aharonov discovered "a quantum phenomenon in which a particle is effected by electromagnetic fields even when traveling through a region of space in which both electric and magnetic field are zero" (Kregar, Aharonov-Bohm, 1). More specifically, their work demonstrated that "an electrically charged particle is affected by an electromagnetic field, despite being confined to a region in which both the magnetic field and electric field are zero. The underlying mechanism is the coupling of the electromagnetic potential with the complex phase of a charged particle's wavefunction" (Wikipedia). CONDITION & DETAILS: First edition in original wraps. Lancaster: American Physical Society. Very slight wear and light creasing at the edges of the wraps. Very good condition.
Larmor, J. [Joseph]
OFFPRINT, FIRST SEPARATE EDITION IN ORIGINAL PRINTED WRAPPERS OF JOSEPH LARMOR'S "EXTENSIVE SURVEY OF ATOMIC THEORY" (Kragh, Niels Bohr and the Quantum Atom, 111). Scarce with OCLC listing only two copies. The lecture was given on March 3rd, 1908 in receipt of the Wilde Medal the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. Joseph Larmor (1857-1942) was an Irish physicist and mathematician who made significant contributions in a wide variety of fields. Armor was "the first to calculate the rate at whichenergyis radiated by an accelerated electron, and the first to explain the splitting of spectrum lines by amagnetic field. His theories were based on the belief thatmatterconsists entirely of electric particles moving in the ether" (Wikipedia). Larmor was awarded the Wilde Medal in recognition of the breadth of his understanding of and innovations in electricity, dynamics, chemistry, thermodynamics, and the electron theory of matter. CONDITION & DETAILS: 8vo. 54 pp. Offprint, first separate edition in original printed wrappers from Volume 52, No. 10 of Memoirs and Proceedings of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, Session 1907-1908. Small label on front cover, slight chip at the top of the front wrap, very slight toning at the edges. Inscribed "with kind remembrance" in an unknown hand. Bright and clean throughout. Very good condition.
Brans, Carl H. and Robert H. Dicke
FIRST EDITION OF THE BRANS-DICKE THEORY OF GRAVITY, "the best-known example of the class of theories called "scalar-tensor" theories because they contain both scalars and tensors in the field equations relating the curvature of space to the matter in the universe. In Brans-Dicke, the gravitational constant becomes a variable, and the resulting scalar field has kinetic energy" (History of Physics: The Wenner Collection). "American Physicists Robert Henry Dicke and Carl Henry Brans developed what is now called the "Brans-Dicke theory" in an attempt to create a theory of gravity built on Einstein's theory of gravity that is in full conformity with Mach's principle" (ibid). "At the core of this theory is the idea that the inertial mass of an object, which governs how it responds to the application of an external force, is not an intrinsic property of the object itself but is generated by the gravitational effect of all the other matter in the Universe" (Coles, Routledge Companion to the New Cosmology, 119). "To implement this concept, Brans and Dicke adopted the elements of the general relativity field equations that describe the effects of matter on the curvature of space and vice versa, but replaced the gravitational constant in these equations by a scalar term that is also a function of the distribution of mass in the universe and so changes from place to place and across time. "The Brans-Dicke formula also necessarily added a constant (called the "Brans-Dicke coupling constant") that brings their equations into alignment with experiments, and with this constant Brans-Dicke and Einstein's general relativity yield the same predictions" (Wenner). "One of the most important consequences of the Brans-Dicke theory is that the strength of gravity, as described by the gravitational constant G, must depend on time, and the rate at which it changes is controlled by a paramenter w. We cannot use, for example, the age of the Universe or nucleosynthesis to estimate the magnitude of w. But we can use more local observations, such as historical data on lunar eclipses, the properties of fossils (changes in the the Earth's rotation being reflected in changes in the rate of sedimentation and hence fossilization), stellar evolution (particularly the evolution of the Sun), the deflection of light by celestial bodies, and the advance of the perihelion of Mercury" (Coles). Brans and Dicke were not the first to consider some of these ideas. "Ironically, it was Albert Einstein who, along with his assistant at the time, German-American physicist Peter Gabriel Bergmann first thought of adding a scalar term to the field equations of general relativity and wrote about this in 1948. However they never followed up on the idea" (Wenner). ALSO INCLUDED WITH VOLUME 124 IS VOLUME 122, together offering two of three papers that led to Yoichiro Nambu's 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous symmetry breaking in subatomic physics" (Nobel Prize Committee). Nambu's work "was an important precursor to the theory that unifies electromagnetic and weak forces, and similar symmetry breaking is central to most modern particle physics theories" (Schirber, "Nobel Focus: Particle Physics Gets a Break," Phys. Rev. Focus 22, 13, 2008). "Dynamical Model of Elementary Particles Based on an Analogy with Superconductivity. I" in Physical Review 122, 1961, pp. 345 - 358, AND " Dynamical Model of Elementary Particles Based on an Analogy with Superconductivity. II in Physical Review 124, 1961, pp. 246-254. CONDITION & DETAILS: Lancaster: American Physical Society. Two complete volumes, identically bound in brown buckram, gilt-lettered at the spine. Ex-libris with no spine markings whatsoever. Pictorial bookplate of the Bridgeport Library on the front pastedown; stamp on title page and rear flyleaf. 4to (10.5 x 8 inches; 263 x 200mm). Tightly and solidly bound; bright and clean inside and out. Near fine condition.
Einstein, Albert
First edition of the August 14th, 1945 issue of the New York Times, complete with "Certificate of Authentication" by the Historic Newspaper Archives. The certificate is #379910; it is signed and includes the seal of the archive. Einstein's article appears in Calaprice's Einstein Almanac, No. 244). The certificate will accompany the paper. Most assume that Einstein received the Nobel Prize for his theory of relativity and his famous equation, E=mc2. However it was for neither. In 1921, Einstein won the Nobel Prize for discovering the photoelectric effect in 1905. This principle states that, when sunlight shines on a metal, it emits electrons from the surface of the material. The energy from sunlight (photons) then transfers to the atoms' electrons and knocks them loose. This discovery was so significant that it has influenced the development of many types of technology, from electron microscopes to modern solar cells as we know them today. ALSO INCLUDED: An article by Lewis headlined: "Atoms Not Occult, Einstein Declares; Physicist Explains Nuclear and Solar Energy, but Refuses to Discuss Use in Bomb" ALSO INCLUDED: New York Time's announces Japan's surrender in 3 line large headline "Japan Decides To Surrender, The Tokyo Radio Announces As We Resume Heavy Attacks". CONDITION: Historic Newspaper Archives (see above) has placed the issue in archival plastic and then into an Archive snap close bag. (see photo) By any measure, this complete issue appears in very good condition.
Hubble, Edwin
FIRST EDITION OF THE SEMINAL PAPER IN WHICH HUBBLE PRESENTS HIS CLASSIFICATION OF GALAXIES, ESTIMATES THEIR MEAN DENSITIES, & DERIVES FOR THE FIRST TIME THE MEAN MASS DENSITY IN GALAXIES IN THE UNIVERSE AS A WHOLE. THE PAPER IS "A MORE OR LESS COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF GALAXIES AS EXTRAGALACTIC SYSTEMS. & IS THE FIRST APPLICATION OF THE IDEAS OF RELATIVISTIC COSMOLOGY TO THE UNIVERSE OF GALAXIES" (Carnegie Astrophysics Series, 2, 2004). This forty-eight-page paper includes three plates & many tables. In this paper, Hubble "determined the mean density of nebulae in space and applied this result in the theory of general relativity to get the radius of curvature of the finite universe - â??600 times the distance at which normal nebulae can be detected with the 100-inch reflector.' This calculation represented the boldest probe of the universe yet made and [that] greatly stimulated theoretical work in cosmology" (Mayall, Hubble: A Biographical Memoir, National Academy of Sciences). The prophetic last sentence of this paper reads: "with reasonable increases in the speed of the plates and size of telescopes, it may become possible to observe an appreciable fraction of the Einstein universe" (Hubble, 369). And he was right. Just three years later, Hubble would use the observational evidence collected for this 1926 paper to help formulate Hubble's law which, in stating that galaxies move away from each other at a speed proportional to their distance, effectively validated solutions to the equations of general relativity in which the universe is in motion. While developing the morphological classification of galaxies he presents in this paper, "Hubble discovered an odd fact: Almost every galaxy he observed appeared to be moving away from the Earth. He knew this because the light coming from the galaxies exhibited redshift. Building on the work of Vesto Slipher, who measured the redshifts associated with galaxies more than a decade earlier, Hubble. discovered [in his own data] a rough proportionality between the distances and redshifts of the galaxies studied" (Google Classroom). In other words, in 1926, Hubble already had "a pretty good idea that [the] data showed a linear relationship between redshift and distance - that redshift is proportional to distance, so that if one galaxy has twice as big a redshift as another, it is twice as far away. Indeed, he must have had some idea of this already in 1926., but he was extremely cautious about putting this conclusion down in print" (Gribin, The Birth of Time). Three years later when he was ready, Hubble formulated Hubble's law, showing that "galaxies are receding away from us with a velocity that is proportional to their distance from us: more distant galaxies recede faster than nearby galaxies. It was proof that the Universe is expanding," an idea that has "made as great a change in man's conception of the universe as the Copernican revolution 400 years before" (PNAS 112, 11; DSB). CONDITION & DETAILS: Complete. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Complete. Ex-libris marking on the front flyleaf and pastedown. NO spine markings whatsoever. 4to (9.75 x 6.75 inches). [5], vi, [374], 4. Nineteen plates and in-text illustrations throughout. Tightly bound in red buckram. Gilt-lettered at the spine. Light spotting at foot of spine, otherwise bright & clean. Very good +.
Feynman, Richard
FIRST EDITION, FULL VOLUME in PRISTINE CONDITION, OF FEYNMAN'S NOBEL PRIZE WINNING PATH-INTEGRAL FORMALISM, A "REFORMATION OF QUANTUM MECHANICS ITSELF" (American National Biography). Feynman's path-integral formulation of quantum mechanics lead physicists out of the morass of endless calculations and provided them with the simplest, most elegant, most powerful - to say nothing of the most revolutionary - method for solving the fundamental equations of quantum mechanics. Feynman's "path-integral formulation of quantum mechanics is a description of quantum theory that generalizes the action principle of classical mechanics. It replaces the classical notion of a single, unique trajectory for a quantum particle or system" with the idea that the evolution of a quantum system is determined as a sum over - or integration of -- all the possible trajectories that would take that system from the initial to the final state of its dynamical evolution (Wenner Collection). While Feynman's approach, as ever, was intuitive, his idea of summing over all paths has been characterized simply as "everything that can happen does happen." Richard Feynman "had unusual mathematical skill, but his greatest virtues as a physicist were his physical intuition and his delight in finding simple and elegant approaches to problems that had baffled everyone else" (Peacock, The Quantum Revolution, 102). There are three pivotal formulations of quantum mechanics: Heisenberg's matrix formulation, Schrödinger's wave equation formulation, and Feynman's path-integral formulation. Feynman began work on his path-integral formulation because, as he often said, "he could not understand standard quantum theory and had to recreate it on his own" (ibid). Feynman introduced his path-integral method in the paper offered here, describing it as a "space-time approach to non-relativistic quantum mechanics" that was meant to provide an alternative to the "very well-established formulation of quantum mechanical time-evolution based on the Schrodinger and the Heisenberg pictures of quantum mechanics" (Prugovecki, Principles of Quantum), 88). "Ultimately what distinguished Feynman's approach from the standard formalism lay not in outcomes, but in. his "conceptual approach. Heisenberg and Bohr had argued vehemently during the 1920s that quantum mechanics spelled the end for any type of visualization of the atomic domain" (DSB, XXI, 21). Feynman response was the path-integral formulation, "an intuitive approach built around picturing the paths of particles through space and time" (ibid). His formulation represented a different way of thinking "that is probably as visualizable as any theory of quantum fields is ever going to be" - and in part because it could be delineated, could be diagrammed, it has spurred the study of and illuminated some of the deepest aspects of quantum mechanics" (Peacock). Later in life and while speaking of both that with his path-integral formulation, quantum theory was simpler than classical theory, as well as of those "deepest aspects of quantum mechanics," Feynman "who understood quantum theory as well as anyone, said, "I still get nervous with it.I cannot define the real problem, therefore I suspect there's no real problem, but I'm not sure there's no real problem. The problem is not with using the theory â?? making calculations, applying it to engineering tasks â?? but in understanding what it means. What does it tell us about the world?" (Gleick, What is Real? ). In 1965, Feynman (with Tomonaga and Schwinger) won the 1965 Nobel Prize for "fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics, with deep-ploughing consequences for the physics of elementary particles" (Nobel Foundation). CONDITION: Lancaster, PA, American Physical Society, 1948. 4to. Handsome complete volume. Rebound in ¾ gilt-tooled brown cloth over marbled boards. Black cloth, gilt-lettered labels. Not a library book; clean & bright with no markings whatsoever inside & out. Near fine condition.
Kerr, Roy
FIRST EDITION OF KERR'S LANDMARK 1963 PAPER DESCRIBING THE MATHEMATICS OF ROATATING BLACK HOLES, A WORK THAT EXACTLY SOLVED EINSTEIN'S EQUATIONS OF GENERAL RELATIVITY. Not infrequently, Kerr's achievement is described without hyperbole as the most important exact solution to any equations in physics. "In 2022, it was mathematically demonstrated that the equilibrium found by Kerr was stable and thus black holesâ??which were the solution to Einstein's equation of 1915â??were stable" (Wikipedia). As said, researchers finally proved Kerr's black holes stable in 2022. This meant, essentially, that if shaken, they settle back into a form like the one they began with. The opposite situation â?? a mathematical instability â?? would not have proved Kerr wrong, but it "would have posed a deep conundrum to theoretical physicists and would have suggested the need to modify, at some fundamental level, Einstein's theory of gravitation" (Quanta; T. Damour, Institute of French Advanced Scientific Studies). In a series of lectures in Berlin in 1915, Einstein introduced his theory of general relativity using equations to demonstrate that energy and matter affect the shape of space-time, causing it to curve. In the paper offered here, the New Zealand mathematician Roy Kerr achieved something that had eluded scientists for 47 years - he found the solution of Einstein's general relativity equations which describes the geometry of empty spacetime around a rotating black hole. Einstein's field equations are highly non-linear, making finding exact solutions very difficult to find. All prior solutions to Einstein's general relativity equations involved static masses - non-rotating ones. Given that virtually all stars rotate, it was likely that most or all black holes also rotate. Kerr's work provided a realistic model of a rotating star that becomes a black hole; he discovered an exact solution to Einstein's field equations (now called the Kerr Metric). "A Kerr black hole does not collapse to a point, but instead into aspinning ring of neutrons. The ring is circulating so rapidly (because of the conservation of angular momentum) that centrifugal force keeps the black hole from completely collapsing under gravity, avoiding a singularity. Kerr black holes have a second horizon outside the event horizon, a flattened sphere now called the "ergosphere" within which everything, including light, is caused to rotate by the curvature of spacetime" (Wenner Collection). The Nobel Laureate Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar wrote about the importance of Kerr's achievement, saying "In my entire scientific life, extending over forty-five years, the most shattering experience has been the realization that an exact solution of Einstein's equations of general relativity, discovered by the New Zealand mathematician, Roy Kerr, provides the absolutely exact representation of untold numbers of massive black holes that populate the universe" (Chadrasekhar, Truth and Beauty: Aesthetics and Motivations in Science). Kerr's achievement in finding an exact solution for the rotating case, for Einstein's equations of General Relativity, was something many doubted could be done; it was a revolution in astrophysics. It certainly ushered in one. CONDITION & DETAILS: New York: American Physical Society. Volume 11, July to December 1963. Full volume. Ex-libris with only a blind stamp to the rear ffp. and a discreet (see photo) stamp at foot of spine. 4to (10.5 x 8 inches; 263 x 200mm). [4], pp. 576, [2]. Bound in green buckram showing only very slight wear. The interior is pristine. Near fine.
Foucault, Leon; George Boole
FIRST DESCRIPTION IN ENGLISH of FOUCAULT'S 1st MECHANICAL DEMONSTRATION OF THE EARTH'S ROTATION, FOUCAULT'S PENDULUM. Also included is BOOLE'S FIRST PAPER ON THE LOGIC OF PROBABILITY. FOUCAULT: Copernicus explained the daily diurnal rotation of the earth on its polar axis in 1543, however it was Foucault, 300 years later, who first demonstrated it. "On February 3, 1851, a 32-year-old Frenchmanâ??who'd dropped out of medical school and dabbled in photographyâ??definitively demonstrated that the Earth indeed rotated, surprising the Parisian scientific establishment. Acting on a hunch, Léon Foucault determined he could use a pendulum to illustrate the effect of the Earth's movement. He called together a group of scientists, enticing them with a note declaring, "You are invited to see the Earth turn." Foucault hung a pendulum from the ceiling of the Meridian Room of the Paris Observatory. As it swept through the air, it traced a pattern that effectively proved the world was spinning about an axis. "According to the American Physical Society, Foucault suspended from the Pantheon's lofty dome a 61-pound brass bob on a 220-foot cable. As it swung back and forth, the pointed end of the bob traced lines in sand that had been poured on a wooden platform. Over time, the angle of these lines changed, suggesting to audience members that the direction of the pendulum's travel was shifting under the influence of an unperceived rotational motionâ??that of Earth. Foucault's pendulum had moved according to his sine law which predicts how much a pendulum's path will distort each day based on its latitude (Smithsonian). Foucault stated his sine law as: The rate of rotation of the pendulum can be stated mathematically as equal to the rate of rotation of the Earth times the sine of the number of degrees of latitude. "Absent any exterior forces, a pendulum would swing back and forth in a single plane foreverâ??there would be no gradual angular shift. But the Earth is rotating, so the story isn't that simple. Since all points on Earth's surface rotate as a unit, it follows that those located on the wider portions of the planetâ??nearer to the equatorâ??must cover more meters each second (i.e., go faster) to "keep up" with the points tracing smaller circles each day at the extreme northern and southern latitudes. Though they don't feel it, a person standing in Ecuador, is moving with appreciably higher velocity than one in Iceland" (ibid). The Foucault paper in this volume includes the English translation of his first paper published in French; it also contains an extensive description of his demonstration as described by those present (and at which some fainted). BOOLE: 1st edition of Boole's first paper on probability, here applying his theory of probabilities to the problem of the distribution of fixed stars. This work first "seems to be the first mention, by any author, of the close connection, both in essence and in form, between logic and probability and indeed of the dependence of the theory of probability on an underlying mathematical theory of logic" (MacHale, George Boole. A Prelude to the Digital Age). As Boole stated: "Although the immediate business of the theory of probabilities is with the frequency of the occurrence of events, and although it therefore borrows some of its elements from the science of number, yet as the expression of the occurrence of those events, and also of the relations, of whatever kind, which connect them, is the office of language, the common instrument of reason, so the theory of probabilities must bear some definite relation to logic" (p. 524). This paper marks the beginning of his seminal later work, Laws of Thought. CONDITION: Complete. Octavo. Bears only tiny ex-libris tamp on title page. Rebound in three-quarter morocco over contemporary marbled boards; marbled endpapers. Gilt-lettered & tooled spine; 5 compartments. Bright and clean throughout. Fine condition.
Faraday, Michael
First printing of a letter extracted from Comptes Rendus of a letter from Michael Faraday to another chemist Jean-Baptiste Dumas. In it, Faraday very clearly writes of his then nascent thoughts regarding the relationship between light, magnetism, and electricity, here specifically describing the magnetic rotation of light. Though published in 1846, Faraday's letter was written in 1845. It relays, in embryonic form, his soon to be announced - and quite remarkable -- discovery from his careful examination of the polarization of light as it passed through a transparent material in the presence of a magnetic field. Faraday "observed that linearly polarized light propagating through matter parallel to a static magnetic field, experiences a rotation of the plane of polarization. The effect is small, but he was an exceptional experimenter and he unambiguously identified the phenomenon. The rotation of the plane of polarization is still called the Faraday Rotation (Teach Spin). Building on this and other discoveries, by 1864 Faraday was able to announce his electro-magnetic theory of light, predicting that both light and radio waves are electric and magnetic phenomena. Faraday, the greatest experimentalist in electricity and magnetism of the 19th century and one of the greatest experimental physicists of all time, corresponded regularly with Dumas, who himself made contributions to organic chemistry. CONDITION: 4to. Extract of pages 92-134 (inclusive of papers by Biot, Cauchy, Chasles, Liouville, Poggiale, Guettet, and presentations by Agassiz, Schimper, and Durocher). The Faraday appears pp. 113-115. The extract is in perfect condition and is housed in a simple red paper wrap.
Quetelet, Adolphe [Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet]
FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS OF A LARGE & IMPORTANT STUDY BY ADOLPHE QUETELET ON THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE IN BELGIUM. Quetelet was one of the founders of sociology and his "impact on nineteenth century thinking can in a certain sense be compared with Descartes's in the seventeenth century" (DSB XI, p.237). Adolphe Quetelet (1796-1874) was a mathematician, astronomer, statistician, and sociologist known for his application of statistics and probability theory to social phenomena. He was the founder of the Brussels Observatory and the first to apply the statistical normal distribution to characteristics of human populations. His goal was to understand the statistical laws underlying such phenomena as crime rates, marriage rates or suicide rates. He wanted to explain the values of these variables by other social factors. In 1835 Quetelet's work ushered in a new era in statistics began. It presented a new technique of statistics or, rather, the first technique at all. The material was thoughtfully elaborated, arranged according to certain preestablished principles, and made comparable . Quetelet's average man became a slogan in nineteenth-century discussions on social science" (ibid). NOTE: This copy bears a somewhat unusual inscription on the front wrap, one that we can only partially make out. The translation of it is "Homage from the __________ family in praise of Lagrange." See photograph. Lagrange, of course, is likely Joseph-Louis Lagrange, the Italian mathematician (later naturalized French), physicist and astronomer who made significant contributions to the fields of analysis, number theory, and both classical and celestial mechanics. CONDITION & DETAILS: Bruxelles: H. Thiry-Van Buggenhoudt. 4to. Complete. Unusual in full original paper wraps. 754pp., fully indexed. Text in French. The text block is split and the spine paper is chipped. The interior is bright and clean. Wide margins. Good+ condition.
Ferrel, William
1st edition of FERREL'S 19th CENTURY "MAGNUM OPUS" PROPOSING THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE PHYSICAL THEORY OF THE ATMOSPHERE. Considered "the first really powerful intellect to focus sustained attention on meteorology," the American meteorologist, William Ferrel here provides "the first general formulation of the equations of motion for a body moving with respect to the rotating earth and drew from them the consequences for atmospheric and oceanic circulation" (Dictionary of Scientific Biography IV, 592). In other words, Ferrel is the first to depict mathematically the influence of the various forces (such as gravity, rotation, and friction) upon the earth's surface, as well as how those forces then impact atmospheric air currents and tidal currents in the ocean (Williams, Shy Genius). The papers offered here were published in their entirety in seven chapters over these two separate volumes. Shortened versions of the first four chapters (edited for a non-scientific audience) were published in the American Journal of Science in 1861; the final three in 1882. The eminent American meteorologist Cleveland Abbe never forgot first encountering Ferrel's work. "It gave me at once the strong conviction that a successful attack had at last been made on the complex mechanics of the atmosphere," he wrote. "I have often said that the memoir [the work offered here] is to meteorology what the 'Principia' was to astronomy. The allusion was less extravagant than it might seem, for Ferrel was a celestial mechanic in the tradition of Pierre-Simon Laplace and Sir Isaac Newton. There was what Abbe called "an intellectual inheritance" (ibid). Ferrel was at the forefront of an era in which science that was changing - and rapidly. "Transitioning from observational weather forecasting to mathematical weather forecasting required meteorologists to recognize that the laws of physics could apply to weather, discover the forces that drive wind movements, and apply the equations of physics to these forces and the resulting movements of air" (Wenner, History of Physics). At the time, no meteorologist understood, navigated, or applied physics to mathematical weather forecasting better than did Ferrel. Ferrel demonstrated the deflective force of the Earth's rotation and its fundamental place in shaping the behavior of global winds and the currents of the ocean. In a work considered "remarkable for its clarity," Ferrel applied the Coriolis effect, in concert with the principles of thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, to establish "the first general formulation of the equations of motion for a body moving with respect to the rotating earth and drew from them the consequences for atmospheric and oceanic circulation" (DSB). Put another way, Ferrel's "work demonstrated that it is the tendency of rising warm air, as it rotates due to the Coriolis effect, to pull in air from more equatorial, warmer regions and transport it poleward. It is this rotation which creates the complex curvatures in the frontal systems separating the cooler Arctic/Antarctic air polewards from the warmer tropical air towards the equator" (Wiki). Based firmly in mathematical analysis, Ferrel's work "made explicit the notion of an inertial circle of motion on the earth and used it to explain the gyratory nature of storms. [He] developed a general quantitative theory of relative motion on the earth's surface and applied it to winds and currents. Now known as Ferrel's law, [it states that] â??if a body is moving in any direction, there is a force, arising from the earth's rotation, which always deflects it to the right in the northern hemisphere, and to the left in the southern'" (ibid). Ferrel's work includes many in-text illustrations. CONDITION: 2 volumes. 4to. Handsomely rebound in gilt-ruled green cloth boards over a black, gilt-lettered spine. Note: Runkle's name appears on the spine because the journal is often referred to as Runkle's Mathematical Monthly. Bright & clean throughout. Very good condition.
Cayley, Arthur WITH Appel, Kenneth and Haken, Wolfgang WITH Robertson, Neil et al. WITH Gonthier, Georges
THE FOUR-COLOUR (Color) PROBLEM (OR THEOREM) IS "THE FIRST MAJOR THEOREM TO BE PROVED USING A COMPUTER" (Lamb, Having Fun with the 4-Color Theorem, Scientific American, March 1, 2013). Because the problem had "resisted the attempts of able mathematicians for over a century.when it was successfully proved in 1976 the â??computer proof' was controversial [because] it did not allow scrutiny in the conventional way" (Crilly, Notes and Records of the Royal Society, 22 Sept. 2005). "The Four-Color Theorem states that any map in a plane can be colored using four-colors in such a way that regions sharing a common boundary (other than a single point) do not share the same color. The problem, or question, is well-known in mathematics and is certainly the most famous problem in the field of "discrete" mathematics. Included in a custom case are first editions of the first printed paper of the problem, this by Arthur Cayley in 1879, and three papers by Appel and Haken (an announcement of the proof (which took over 100 years) and two papers presenting the proof in detail, and the papers describing the two following proofs. "Six colors can be proven to suffice. and this number can easily be reduced to five, but reducing the number of colors all the way to four proved very difficult. [In a paper also included in this boxed set], the result was finally obtained by Appel and Haken (1977), who constructed a computer-assisted proof that four colors were sufficient" (ibid). This was the first major theorem proven using a computer. Appel and Haken's "proof reduced the infinitude of possible maps to 1,936 reducible configurations (later reduced to 1,476)" and then wrote a computer program to check each case, something that took over 1000 hours (Xiang, A formal Proof of the Four-Color Theorem, 2009). However, because part of the proof consisted of an exhaustive analysis of many discrete cases by means of a computer, some mathematicians doubted the proof's veracity because it could not be checked by normal means. In other words, did a computer proof count? By the 1990's, computer aided solutions were more widely accepted and Appel and Haken's proof was confirmed via general theorem proving software, in both 1997 and again in 2008. In 1997, Robertson et al [in a paper included in this box] created a quadratic-time algorithm, greatly simplifying and improving upon that of Appel and Haken. In 2005, Gonthiers formalized a proof of the theorem by using the proof assistant called Coq, a widely-used general purpose utility, which can be `verified experimentally. He didn't publish it until 2008 [in a paper included in this boxed set]. The theorem is now generally agreed to be proven. ALSO INCLUDED THOUGH NOT IN THE CLAMSHELL CASE: Solution of the Four Color Map Problem" by Kenneth Appel and Wolfgang Haken (Scientific American 237 Issue 4 pp. 108-121, October 1977) and "The Philosophical lImplications of the Four-Color Problem" by E. R. Swart (The American Mathematical Monthly 87 No. 9 pp. 697-707, November 1990). NOTE: The Four-Color Problem is sometimes referred to as Guthrie's Problem. CONDITION & DETAILS: Cayley in Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society: handsomely re-bound (with title page) April issue in marbled paper over calf, near fine condition. Appel and Haken in Illinois Journal of Mathematics: handsomely rebound in grey and black, gilt lettered on the front board and inclusive of both Appel and Haken papers, fine condition. Georges Gonthier in Notices of the American Mathematical Society; original paper wrappers; near fine condition. "The Four Colour Theorem" by Neil Robertson et al. in Journal of Combinatorial Theory; handsomely rebound, small cancelation stamp on the rear of the title page; fine condition.
FIRST ed., ORIGINAL WRAPPERS, THE GENOME ISSUE featuring features articles on technological developments in genome research, clinical applications, and concerns regarding the social impact of rapidly accumulating genetic information. The following papers are included: Fraser, C. M. et al., "The Minimal Gene Complement of Mycoplasma genitalium," provided a model of the minimum number of genes needed for independent existence. And "Mycoplasma genitalium genome, report the complete sequencing of the bacterium with the smallest known genome of any self-replicating organism. Goffeau, Andre, "Life with 482 Genes," discusses the achievement of the above. Crystal, Ronald et al. "Transfer of Genes to Humans: Early Lessons and Obstacles to Success," provides an overview of relevant clinical trials and concludes that the therapeutic transfer of genes into humans is feasible and should be pursued. [Two separate reports also in this issue describe efforts to apply gene therapy to people with ADA-SCID, a hereditary, usually fatal disease resulting in a nonfunctioning immune system]. Hudson, K. L. et al., "Genetic Discrimination and Health Insurance," and "Genetic Discrimination and Health Insurance: An Urgent Need for Reform," present a series of recommendations for state and federal policymakers including recommendations and definitions suggest that genetic information, including family histories, not be used to establish insurance premiums or eligibility. Olson, Maynard et al., "A Time to Sequence," argues for an early move to large-scale sequencing of human DNA. Plasterk, Ronald and Robert Waterson, et al.,present a wall chart [included in this issue] summarizing progress in the project to characterize the genome of the nematode C. elegans. A significant portion of the complete C. elegans DNA sequence has been determined, and its potential for yielding clues to understanding developmental, cell, and neurobiology is already unfolding. Other Relevant Articles. Other genome-related articles include a story on a new strategy with the potential to analyze proteins directly and see how they change with disease, a report on a chromosome 4 physical map of the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana, and two reports describing new approaches to monitoring gene expression. CONDITION & DETAILS: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1995, Science, Volume 270, Number 5235 : pages 349-548 with illustrations including large wall chart with small tear. Original wrappers, minor wear at edges and remnants of paper from prior attempt to remove address label. Other than the small tear in the wall chart, the interior is pristine. Over all good + condition.
Kapteyn, J. C. [Jacobus Cornelius]
FIRST EDITION OF THE 1st APPEARANCE IN PRINT OF THE TERM "DARK MATTER" & FIRST SUGGESTION OF ITS EXISTENCE. This paper, First Attempt at a Theory of the Arrangement and Motion of the Sidereal System, represents a culmination of Kapteyn's life work and he died shortly before its publication. In it, he uses the term dark matter to denote invisible matter the existence of which is otherwise suggested by only by gravity. He further suggests that when his theory is perfected it may be possible to determine the amount of dark matter from its gravitational effect. Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn (1851-1922) was a Dutch astronomer who extensively studied the Milky Way and who discovered evidence of galactic rotation. "In the beginning of the 20th century little was known about the overall structure of the Milky Way system. One unsolved problem was the possible existence of absorbing material near the plane of the Galaxy, which distorts distance estimates of stars. [When Kapteyn began his study of the problem] he used the latest observational data to compute a dynamical model of the Galaxy. To calculate the gravitational potential, the Galaxy was represented by 10 concentric ellipsoids of constant density and axial ratio 1/5.1. These ellipsoids were not related to any stellar population, and used only to express the changes of the mean density of the Galaxy. The Sun was placed near the centre of the Galaxy. Using kinematical data and star count Kapteyn was able to estimate the total spatial density of visible stars, as well as the total dynamical density. He noticed that these two quantities can differ due to the possible presence of some dark matter or faint stars. Kapteyn wrote: "We therefore have the means of estimating the mass of dark matter in the universe. As matters stand at present it appears at once that this mass cannot be excessive" (Einasto, Dark Matter and Cosmic Web Story, 88). CONDITION & DETAILS: Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Complete. Ex-libris marking on the front flyleaf and pastedown. NO spine markings whatsoever. 4to (9.75 x 6.75 inches). [4], vi, [418], 4. Seven plates and in-text illustrations throughout. Tightly bound in red buckram. Gilt-lettered at the spine. Bright and clean throughout. Very good +.
Einstein, A. [Albert]
FIRST EDITION, COMMERCIAL OFFPRINT ISSUE, OF EINSTEIN'S THEORY OF THE LIGHT PROPAGATION IN DISPERSIVE MEDIA. WEIL 120. "After 1917 Einstein firmly believed that light-quanta were here to stay [thus] it is not surprising that he would look for new ways in which the existence of photons might lead to observable deviation from the classical picture. In this he did not succeed. At one point, in 1921, he thought he had found a new quantum criterion, but it soon turned out to be a false lead [as demonstrated in this paper]" (Schilpp-Shields 162). That paper â?? the one offered here â?? is Einstein's evidence that his 1921 efforts were incorrect. In it, Einstein introduces a calculation on the topic and explains why [his] earlier proposed experiment had not been well considered because it could not predict a good choice between two theoretical alternatives" (Calaprice, Einstein Encyclopedia, 98). CONDITION & DETAILS: Berlin: Koniglich Akademie der Wissenschaften. Commercial offprint from Sitzungsberichte der Koniglich preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, III, 1916, pp. 18-22. Octavo (252 x 179 mm). Original printed wrappers. Pristine inside and out. Fine.
Hubble, Edwin; Hale, George Ellery
FIRST EDITION OF HUBBLE'S FORMULATION OF A LAW (NOW KNOWN AS THE HUBBLE-REYNOLDS LAW) THAT GIVES THE OBSERVED SURFACE BRIGHTNESS PROFILE OF ELLIPTICAL GALAXIES AS A FUNCTION OF PROJECTED RADIAL DISTANCE. HUBBLE: The law was first formulated by John Henry Reynolds in 1913 from his observations of galaxies (then still known as nebulae). It was later re-derived by Hubble in 1930 specifically in observations of elliptical galaxies. The Hubble-Reynolds empirical law of observational cosmology states that the velocities at which galaxies in theuniverse recede from one another is directly proportional to the distances between them. "This law, remarkable because of its simplicity, predicts a deficit of light close to the center and more light in the outer envelope of a galaxy" (Matzner, Dictionary of Geophysics, 230). HALE: The purpose of Hale's paper was "to describe in detail some of the rapid motions of hydrogen flocculi near sun-spots" (Hale, Abstract, p. 73). A spectrohelioscope is a type of solar telescope Hale invented in 1924 that allowed the Sun to be viewed in a selected wavelength of light. "It is one of the ingenious features of Dr. Hale's design for his spectrohelioscope that flocculi with large radial velocities, especially differential velocities along their length, can be picked up and their velocities quickly measured by means of the â??line-shifter'" ( Nature, 126, page 70 (1930). CONDITION & DETAILS: Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Complete. Ex-libris marking on the front flyleaf and pastedown. NO spine markings whatsoever. 4to (9.75 x 6.75 inches). [5], vi, [358], 4. Twelve plates and in-text illustrations throughout. Tightly bound in red buckram. Gilt-lettered at the spine. Bright and clean throughout. Very good +.
Feynman, Richard WITH Hahn, E.L.
FIRST EDITION of Feynman's proof of the validity of his 1949 "reformation of quantum mechanics itself," work that would "elegantly rewrite quantum theory" (American National Biography; Peacock, The Quantum Revolution, 102). ALSO included is Erwin Hahn's "Spin Echoes," the first detection and report of spin echoes in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). FEYNMAN PAPER: In this, the third paper in his pivotal reformulation of quantum mechanics, Feynman provides the mathematical "proof of the validity of the [his] rules for calculations of amplitudes in quantum electrodynamics. Feynman's paper rigorously proved that his treatment of "the problem of molecular forces from a thoroughly quantum-mechanical point of view" was accurate (DSB). Feynman had arrived "at a simple means of calculating the energy of a molecular system that continues to guide quantum chemists" (ibid). In 1965 Feynman was awarded the Nobel Prize along with Schwinger and Tomonaga "for their fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics, with deep-ploughing consequences for the physics of elementary particles" (Particle Physics, One Hundred Years of Discoveries, 113). HAHN PAPER: Erwin Hahn's "Spin Echoes," relays the first detection and report of spin echoes in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)."In magnetic resonance, a spin echo is the refocusing of spin magnetization by a pulse of resonant electromagnetic radiation. Modern NMR and magnetic resonance imaging make use of this effect. Echo phenomena are important features of coherent spectroscopy which have been used in fields other than magnetic resonance including laser spectroscopy and neutron scattering" (Wikipedia). In 1950, Hahn, then a graduate student, was experimenting with NMR using pulsed RF energy and observed echo signals, hereafter called 'Spin Echo' or 'Hahn Echo' signals. We also separately offer this paper in its original wrappers. CONDITION & DETAILS: Lancaster: American Physical Society, Volume 80, October to December 1950. Bound in green buckram. NOT EX-LIBRARY. Tightly and solidly bound. Bright and clean inside and out. Near fine condition.
Russell, Henry Norris
FIRST EDITION OF A WORK IN WHICH THE AMERICAN ASTRONOMER HENRY NORRIS RUSSELL CONCLUDES THAT HYDROGEN & HELIUM ARE THE LARGEST CONSTITUENTS OF THE SUN. Russell's conclusions aren't disputed, but they were shared and not wholly original to him. Russell was assigned to review the doctoral thesis of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, the first woman ever granted a PhD in astronomy. He was, at the time, director of the Princeton Observatory and a strong proponent of the idea that the Earth and the Sun had the same composition. He returned Payne-Gaposchkin's dissertation with honest compliments on her approach and a lone complaint: "It is clearly impossible that hydrogen should be a million times more abundant than the metals. "Without Russell's blessing, the thesis would not be accepted and so Payne-Gaposchkin did what she felt she had to do. In the final version of her thesis, she disowned that part of her work by writing "The enormous abundance derived for [hydrogen and helium] is almost certainly not real" (Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, Physics World, March 2022). In 1929, though, Russell derived the same results by different means. He then published his own derivation of the stellar abundance, citing Payne-Gaposchkin's work and noting that his results for all the elements including the great abundance of hydrogen agreed remarkably well with hers. He wrote: "[t]he most important previous determination of the abundance of the elements by astrophysical means is that by Miss Payne" (ibid). Without saying so directly, Russell's paper affirmed that Payne-Gaposchkin's analysis was correct, and that she was the first to discover that the Sun is mostly made of hydrogen." Nevertheless, Russell is generally credited for the conclusion and the weight of Russell's support convinced other scientists who, like him, had assumed that the composition of the sun is very similar to that of the earth. CONDITION & DETAILS: Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Complete. Ex-libris marking on the front flyleaf and pastedown. NO spine markings whatsoever. 4to (9.75 x 6.75 inches). [5], vi, [334], 4. Twelve plates and in-text illustrations throughout. Tightly bound in red buckram. Gilt-lettered at the spine. Bright and clean throughout. Very good +.
Einstein, Albert and Paul Ehrenfest
This paper, "On the Quantum Theory of the Radiative Equilibrium" introduces the expression "negative irradiance" ("negative Einstrahlung") for the emission of a quantum by action of irradiance (Calaprice, 121). Following his work on general relativity in 1916, Einstein continued searching for new ways in which the existence of photons might lead to observable derivations from the classical picture" (Pais, p. 413). In 1922, after six years of experimental and theoretical work, Arthur H. Compton discovered what came to be called the Compton effect; Peter Debye also discovered this independently and virtually simultaneously. Pauli then used Compton & Deby's work to extend Einstein's 1917 work to the case of radiation in equilibrium with free electrons (Pais, 414). "Pauli examined the requirements of detailed balance under Lorentz transformations and found that scattering of light by free electrons must include a term of a form which we would now call stimulated emission . . . Einstein and Ehrenfest then showed that Pauli's results could be obtained by an extension of [Einstein's] 1917 paper with the unnecessary specialization to discrete energy levels removed . . . "The core of Einstein's argument is that the scattering process should be broken into two parts: the absorption of energy from radiation of frequency 1 and the emission of energy as radiation of frequency 2" Lewis, "Einstein's derivation of Planck's radiation law," AJP, 1973, 38-44. Weil, Einstein Bibliography, 138; Pais, Subtle is the Lord, 21, 413; Lewis, "Einstein's derivation of Planck's radiation law," AJP, 1973, 38-44; Calaprice, Einstein Almanac 121. ALSO INCLUDED IN VOLUME 19 ARE PAPERS BY: Hertz, Meitner, Lande, Hertzfeld, Joos, Kossel, Lande, Sommerfeld, Seeliger, Wentzel, Raschevsky, Ebert, and Toussaint among many others. ALSO INCLUDED IN VOLUME 20 ARE PAPERS BY: Pauli, Ornstein, Raschevsky, Bothe, Walter, Hermann, and Przibram among many others. CONDITION: Berlin: Julius Springer. Volumes 19 & 20 bound as one. [iv], 415pp + [v], 426pp. NOT EX-LIBRARY. Solidly and cleanly bound in blue cloth, gilt-lettered at the spine. Bright and clean inside and out. Very good + condition.
