On the laws of the reflexion and refraction of light at the common surface of two non-crystallized media. [AND] Supplement to a memoir on the reflexion and refraction of light. [AND] On the propagation of light in crystallized media.

Green, G.

About this Item

Cambridge, The Cambridge Philosophical Society, 1842. Three papers in one. 4to (26.6 x 20.8 cm). 52 pp. [1-24; 113-120; 121-140]. Later polished half calf over marbled boards. Author's name on spine. = Written by the British baker, and mathematical physicist, George Green (1793-1841) ".who introduced several important concepts, among them a theorem similar to the modern Green's theorem, the idea of potential functions as currently used in physics, and the concept of what are now called Green's functions. Green was the first person to create a mathematical theory of electricity and magnetism and his theory formed the foundation for the work of other scientists such as James Clerk Maxwell, William Thomson, and others. Green's life story is remarkable in that he was almost entirely self-taught. He received only about one year of formal schooling as a child, between the ages of 8 and 9. It is unclear to historians exactly where Green obtained information on current developments in mathematics, as Nottingham had little in the way of intellectual resources. What is even more mysterious is that Green had used "the Mathematical Analysis," a form of calculus derived from Leibniz that was virtually unheard of, or even actively discouraged, in England at the time (due to Leibniz being a contemporary of Newton who had his own methods that were championed in England). This form of calculus, and the developments of mathematicians such as the French mathematicians Laplace, Lacroix and Poisson were not taught even at Cambridge, let alone Nottingham, and yet Green not only had heard of these developments, but improved upon them. Albert Einstein commented that Green had been 20 years ahead of his time. The papers were submitted in 1837 to 1839, but not printed until 1842. The third paper is listed in DSB as "his second most important paper". The first paper, chronologically, bound in last. Otherwise a truly excellent, clean item. DSB V, p. 517; DSB Supplement, pp. 199-201.

Seller Inventory # 76411

Bibliographic Details

• Title: On the laws of the reflexion and refraction of light at the common surface of two non-crystallized media. [AND] Supplement to a memoir on the reflexion and refraction of light. [AND] On the propagation of light in crystallized media.
• Binding: Hardcover