Published by London: John Murray, 1835
Seller: Meridian Rare Books ABA PBFA, London, United Kingdom
First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. First edition. 8vo. pp. [iii]-ix, [iv], [ix]-xlviii, 700, bound without half-title; one large folding plate with inset diagram and one engraved plate. both relating to other articles; minor spotting at front and rear, else very good in contemporary full calf, gilt, by Neil, Binder, Glasgow, contrasting labels to spine, a.e.g., slightly rubbed. This volume of reports from the fourth meeting of the BAAS contains two papers by Hamilton, the first of which is important for his summary of the analogy between mechanics and optics. Hamilton had been working on a function, known today as Hamilton s principal function, that translated treatments in optics to the equations of motion. The article sketches his findings, which were discussed in greater details in two contributions to the Philosophical Transactions. This volume of papers also contains a report on recent progress and the present state of zoology by Leonard Jenyns, and brief notes by Robert Brown (for whom Brownian motion is named), R. I. Murchison, Charles Lyell, and others.