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Curie on Electricity and Matter, 1907

Madame Curie. "Modern Theories of Electricity and Matter".

Offprint from Smithsonian Report for 1906, pp 103-115. Original wrappers. About a fine copy, really; the text is largely unopened and untrimmed (which accounts for that bit of paper on the outside of the wrapper) $200

From the Curie paper:

"Looking at it in this light we are led to consider every atom as a complicated structure and this supposition is rendered probable by the complexity of the emission spectra which characterize the different atoms. We have thus a conception sufficiently exact of the atoms of negative electricity It is not the same for positive electricity for a great dissimilarity appears to exist between the two electricities. Positive electricity appears always to be found in connection with material atoms and we have no reason thus far to believe that they can be separated. According to the theory which best accounts for the phenomena of radioactivity a certain proportion of the atoms of a radioactive body is transformed in a given time with the production of atoms of less atomic weight and in some cases with the expulsion of electrons . This is a theory of the transmutation of elements but differs from the dreams of the alchemists in that we declare ourselves for the present at least unable to induce or influence the transmutation."

Introducing the Bravais Lattices (1848)

Auguste Bravais, “Sur les propriétés géométriques des assemblages de points régulièrement distribués dans l'éspace.”, in in Comptes Rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l’Académie des Sciences", Paris, Bachelier, 1848, volume 27, no. 24, with the Bravais paper occupying pp 601-604 in the weekly issue of pp (593)-616, offered as an extract (without the original wrappers) of the weekly issue from a larger bound volume.

“In geometry and crystallography, a Bravais lattice, studied by Auguste Bravais (1850), is an infinite array of discrete points in three dimensional space generated by a set of discrete translation operations.”--”Bravais Lattice” from Wiki

“August Bravais...begins examination of the rotations and translations of crystals into themselves, in the process advancing the studies both of crystalline structure and group theory”--  Claire Parkinson, Breakthroughs (1848)

 “In an exhaustive study of the properties of lattices (1848), Bravais derived the fourteen possible arrangements of points in space. The Bravais lattices effectively combined earlier concepts of periodicity with Haüy’s law of rational intercepts.”--Dictionary of Scientific Biography

Memoires de l'Academie Royale des Sciences, 1721.

 

Histoire de l' Academie Royale des Sciences. Annee M. DCCXXI. Avec le memoires de mathematique & de physique, pour la meme annee. Tires des registres de cette academie. Printed in Amsterdam by Pierre Coup, 1725, two years after the first French edition (Paris 1723, which is 4to and 409pp compared to this 12mo and 556pp). [Histoire de l' Academie Royale des Sciences]xi, 136pp; [Memoires de mathematique & de physique] 420pp, plus 17 folding engraved plates including three folding maps. (One of the maps show the retreat of the “Dix Mille”, or the Greek Ten Thousand—the epic struggle of the returning 10k mercenaries who had advanced on Persia...see Xenophon for the long story.) The two other maps—made by and remarked upon by DeLisle—are of the Caspian Sea and the other on a detail of the Caspian. All of the maps are very crisp and without a tear. Lovely copy, bound in full leather, with decorated spine and raised bands. Very Good. $400

Of contribution of interest in this volume are the following:

 

Jean-Jacques Dortous de Mairan (1678-1771,”was a mathematician and an enthusiastic experimenter whose major works were on the formation of ice and on the aurora borealis. However, he was also interested in all the important topics addressed the scientific community in the eighteenth century, among them, the shape of Earth, light, colors, sound, the composition of matter, and vis viva (the debate around the force of moving bodies and the conservation of matter).”--DSB . “Eclaireissement sur le Memoire de la Cause generale du Froid en Hiver at de la Chaleur en Ete, pp 10-23.

Mairan, “Remarques sur le Jaugeage des Navires”, pp 99-141;

Giovanni Cassini,  Observation de l'Eclipse de Venus par la Lunefaite en plein jour le 31 Decembre 1720”;

Cassini, “ “De la Libration apparente de la Lune...”, pp 141-165;

Cassini & Maraldi, “Observations de l”eclipsedu Solei...”, pp 191-218, pp 226-227;

Giacomo Maraldi, “Observations de deux Meteores”, pp 301-319;

Guillaume DeLisle, “Determination Geographique de la Situation & de l'Etendue des Pays traverses par le jeune Cyrus dans son expedition contre son frere...et par les dix mille Grecs...(with the map mentioned above, showing the area trod by the 10,000), pp 73-89.

Antoine de Jussieu (1686-1750)  “Researches physiques sur les Petrifications... pp 89-98, pp 419-420, with engraving;

Sebastien Vaillant (Fr botanist, 1669-1722), “Suite de l'Estaablissement de Nouveau Caractres de Plantes a Fleurs composees, Classe III, pp 227-292;

Pierre Varignon (1654-1722, “mathematics, mechanics. It is due to Lagrange that Varignon’s name gained recognition in the teaching of mechanics in France in the nineteenth century...”--DSB), “Jaugeage d'un Navire Ellipsoid”, pp 57-73;

Winslow, (Jacques/Jacob/James Benigne, 1669-1760, Danish-born French medico, professor surgery at U. Paris, and author of a very significant human anatomy text), “Observations sur la Mechanique des muscles oblique de l'Oeil...”, pp 403-420;

and a number of others.  

 

A Significant Paper in the History of Photography by Blanquart-Evrard

Blanquart-Evrard, "Procedes employes pour obtenir les epreuves de photographie sur papier, in Comptes Rendus hebdomadaires des Seances de l'Academie des Sciences, vol XXIV/4, 25 January 1847, occupying pp 117-123 in the issue of pp 85-125. Extracted from a larger bound volume, and offered with the original front wrapper (detached).  Good copy. 

Offered with:

Blanquart-Evrard, "Supplement a une precedente communication concernant la photographie sur papier", in Comptes Rendus....(as above), Vol XXIV/15, 12 April 1847, is being a short note on p. 653 in the issue of 639-659pp.  Extracted from a larger bound volume, and offered with the original front wrapper (detached).  Good copy. 

The two papers: $750

“In 1847 Blanquart-Evrard became the first to publish the procedure for the calotype negative/positive paper process in France...In December 1846, he accepted an invitation from the Academie des Sciences to present his research findings, and submitted several of the prints he made to an enthusiastic audience. He never publicly acknowledged the similarities between his and Mr. Talbot's processes, but Mr. Blanquart-Evrard's improvements are undeniable. He floated the paper into a silver solution instead of brushing it on, which sensitized the paper and produced better quality prints. He also learned that adding only gallic acid as a developing agent after exposure, not only was the exposure time reduced, but a much clearer print was produced. Mr. Blanquart-Evrard received a patent for his process in 1847, and two years later he revealed his perfected version of Joseph Niepce de St. Victor's negative-on-glass process.” http://www.historiccamera.com

 

Helmut Gernsheim (History of Photography) notes that this publication by Blancquart-Evrard (along with his 1851 paper "Photographie sur papier" in 1851 "marked the beginning of a new era of photography" by introducing a "very considerable improvement of Talbot's calotype process". The calotype process offered very contrasty images and were lacking in half-tone sensibilities; "the paper ("wet process") approach by Blancquart-Evrard, which provided a (paper) surface impregnated with silver nitrate (and therefore much more light-sensitive), was much more able to reveal tone and detail.”

Goldstein on Cathode Rays, Clausius, Pattison Muir, and others (1877)

London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, Volume IV, Fifth Series, July-December 1877. Very nice copy, half-calf with raised bands and tips. 3 plates, vii, 476pp. Very Good condition.  $350 This volume has interesting contributions by Goldstein, Clausius, Preston, Muir, Wiedemann, and others: 

Eugen Goldstein, "On Electric Discharges through Rarified Gases", pp 353-363, (the translation into English of his paper from May 1876 "Vorläufige Mittheilungen über elektrische Entladungen in verdünnten Gasen"); and with Reitlinger and von Urbanitzki, "On Some remarkable Phenomena in Geissler Tubes", which is a short note on page 240, which Golstein uses in his research and references in this article. It seems to me that what he is discussing is the Cathode Ray ("kathodenstrahlen"), which he names in 1876 (and which had been known since 1869 [Parkinson, Breakthroughs] though it seems as though he does not use the term here. ("Eugen Goldstein was an early investigator of discharge tubes, the discoverer of anode rays, and is sometimes credited with the discovery of the proton....In the 1870s Goldstein undertook his own investigations of discharge tubes, and named the light emissions studied by others Kathodenstrahlen, or cathode rays.  He discovered several important properties of cathode rays, which contributed to their later identification as the first subatomic particle, the electron..."--Wiki. 

Rudolf Clausius, "On a General Theorem respecting Electrical Influence", pp 454-458;

Serge Kern, "On a New Metal, Davyum", in the "Intelligence and Miscellaneous" section, pp 158-159 and 395-6;

G.H. Darwin, "On Fallible Measures of Variable quantities, and on the Treatment of Meteorological Observations", pp 1-14;

Bosanquet, "On the Theory of Sound", pp 25-40 AND pp 216-225;

Sylvanus P. Thompson, "On the Chromatic Aberration of the Eye in relation to the Perception of Distance", pp 48-61;

S. Tolver Preston, " On the Equilibrium of Pressure in Gases", pp 77-78; 

Pattison Muir, "On Chemical Classification", pp 81-100 and pp 187-206 and pp 257-271;

G. Wiedemann, "On the Magnetic Behavior of Chemical Compounds", pp 161-174 and pp 276-290 (the first translation into English);

S.Tolver Preston, "On Some Dynamical Conditions applicable to Le Sage's Theory of Gravitation", pp 206-213 and pp 364-375

And numerous other contributors.  

Antoine Becquerel, 1841

Becquerel, Antoine César (1788-1878, pioneer in the study of electric and luminescent phenomena, grandfather of Henri, and one of the 72 names on the Eiffel Tower), "Des propriétés électro-chimiques des corps simples et de leur application aux arts." Paris, Comptes Rendus ..., 24 January 1842.  A long article from the prolific Becquerel for the CR, pp (121)-147 in the weekly issue of pp (121)-183. Also includes an article be Vilallongue on day and night telegraphs.  Extracted from a half-yearly volume of the Comptes Rendus, in very good condition. $50

Very Early Review of Electromagnetism (Oersted, Davy, Ampere) 1821

JF Ptak Science Books

(Oersted, Davy, Ampere, Wollaston) The Quarterly Journal of Science, Literature, and the Arts.  London, John Murray, 1821, Volume X, iii,iii, 497pp, with four plates, including one map of Baffin Bay and another folding chart in the text block.  Half-calf, marbled boards. The hinges on the front and rear are a little rubbed and worn. Overall, a Very Good copy. This is an ex-libris copy from the Royal Society of Edinburgh, with their motto gilt-stamped in one of the spine panels (that being the only previous owner indication), also there are two small oval rubber stamps on the front paste down and title page with the society's name.  A nice copy.  Very good.  $600

(Oersted, Davy, Ampere, Wollaston), "On the Connexion of Electric and Magnetic Phenomena" pp 361-3, contains several paragraphs devoted to the new development of electromagnetism (which was "a new epoch in the history of physics"--Dictionary of Scientific Biography), with one or two paragraphs each of summaries of contributions by the major actors in the field, including Hans Oersted (who made the monumental discovery of the magnetic action of electricity and published in his paper "Experimenta circa efficariam cinflictus electrici in acum magneticam" in Journal für Chemie und Physik, v. 29  in 1820), Humphrey Davy (twice), Andre Ampere, and William Wollaston,  The Oersted paper began a scientific revolution and appeared in Journals in French, German, and English in the same year. So in this year, 1821, the Quarterly Journal reproduced the high points of these four scientists commenting  "No discovery has, for a long time, so strongly excited the attention of the philosophic world, as that of the magnetic phaenomena belonging to the Voltaic apparatus; we shall, therefore, endeavour to give our readers a short statement of what has been done in this department of scientific inquiry."

Also contained in this volume: 

Richard Chenevix (1774-1830, Irish chemist), "On a New Method of Secret Writing", pp 89-101 ("a method of writing so occult as to escape detection"), including examples

Michael Faraday, "On the Vapour of Mercury at Common Temperatures", 

Michael Faraday, "On the Spontaneous Evaporation of Mercury", pp 354-

Humphrey Davy, being a longish history of recent science read to the Royal Society in his function of president of that society, and of the society's role in the advancement of science, pp 380-389; 

Pierre-Jean Robiquet,(1780 – 1840, French chemist who did founding work in identifying amino acids), "Observations on Aroma, being the substance of a Paper read by M. Robiquet", pp 109-117;

J.F. Daniell. "On the New Hygrometer", pp 123-144;

W.P. Allison, "Observations on the Theory which ascribes Secretion and Animal Heat to the Agency of Nerves", pp 269-282

A Very Early North American Geological Article (1825)

The Quarterly Journal of Science, Literature, and the Arts (of the Royal Society of Great Britain). London, printed by John Murray, 1825, October-December, volume XVIII. 8.5x5”, 426pp, 4 folding plates. Half-calf, marbled boards. The hinges on the front and rear are a little rubbed and worn. Overall, a Very Good copy. $250 Including the following interesting articles and notes:

• Bigsby, John J. "Note on the Geography and Geology of Lake Superior”, a long article on pp 1-33, and pp 228-269 with a 10” folding map (though not a geological map).  The earliest geological map of Lake Superior appears in Charles Lyell's Travels in North America in 1847; some of the published data that Lyell employed in producing his map was an “1829 report by H.W. Bayfield, who as a surveyor for the Royal Navy spent the years 1823 to 1825 circumnavigating the lake. Bayfield's report, in turn, included the geologic observations of two other travelers on the lake: H.R. Schoolcraft and J.J. Bigsby, both of whom, like Bayfield, had taken part in some of the earliest government-sponsored explorations in the region.” G. Morey (1989) Early Geologic Studies in the Lake Superior Region-the Contributions of H.R. Schoolcraft, J.J. Bigsby, and H.W. Bayfield. Earth Sciences History: 1989, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 36-42.
• Faraday, Michael. “On Fumigation”, pp 92-95;
• “On the Use of the Pocket Box-Sextant for travelers”, pp 50-60;
• Gregory, James. “Results deduced by Dr. Gregory from the Experiments made by himself and others on the Velocity of Sound” (from the article published in the Philosophical Transactions, 1824; pp 162-164;
• Harvey, George. Results of Experiments relating to the comparative means of Defence afforded by Ships of War, having square and curvilinear sterns”, pp 201-223, with two folding plates;
• Alderson, James. “On the Motion of the Heart”, pp 223-228;
• Daniell, J.F. “On the Radiation of Heat in the Atmosphere, in reply to M. Gay-Lussac”, pp 305-312;

Wonderful two-page advertisement for a course in chemistry, given by William Thomas Brande (1788-1866) and “M. Faraday” (1791-1867). Brande was the more-established and more socially-correct figure at this point (1825), though Faraday had already made a major contribution to the history of chemistry in 1821, which probably explains the top billing for Brande. Be that as it may, lecturing under the auspices of the Royal Institution was a very big deal, and obviously a major imprimatur for any career. (Also it is interesting to note that Brande's Manual of Pharmacy I advertised for sale on a full page opposite page vi.)

 

Herschel, Prout, Gay-Lussac, Ampere, Davy...and What Electricity Tastes Like, 1824.

The Annals of Philosophy, printed in London for Baldwin, Craddock, and Joy; New Series, Vol VIII, July to December, 1824. 8vo, vii, 480pp; 5 plates, including two folding, one being a hand colored map of part of the Isle of Wight.

Bound in half-calf with pebbled boards, raised bands, red leather title label; some scuffing here and there, but overall a Very Good copy. Bookplates from the University Library of Edinburgh, Chemical Library, over which there is a small 1-inch oval “cancelled” stamp; there are no other markings in the volume.  $200

There are some very big names here writing on a wide variety of subjects, including: Herschel, Gay-Lussac, Ampere, Becquerel, Davy, Prout, Berzelius, and numerous others.

Some of the most interesting papers include:

Herschel, J.F.W. “Mr. Herschel on certain Motions produced in Fluid Conductors when transmitting the Electric Current”, pp 170-176; AND "Mr.Herschel on certain Motions produced in Fluid Conductors when  transmitting the Electric Current (concluded)”, pp 271-286. This was first published earlier in this same year in the Philosophical Transactions.

Gay-Lussac, Joseph Louis. “M. Gay-Lussac on the Assay of Chloride of Lime. (With a Plate.) “, pp. 218 -226. This is an interesting work in that Gay-Lussac was on a leading panel to discuss the wide-ranging applications of lightning conductors to all large churches in France after it was established in 1822 that a national effort needed to be made to protect large structures. AND WITH “M. Gay-Lussac on Conductors of Lightning. (With a Plate.) 427-439. Ampere, Andre-Marie. “MM. Ampere and Dulong on M. Rousseau's New Method of measuring the Power of Bodies to conduct Electricity”, pp 39-42;

Becquerel, Antoine. “M. Bequerel on the Electro-motive Actions produced by the Contact of Metals with Liquids”, pp 42-45;

Powell, Baden. “Mr. Powell's Remarks on Solar Light and Heat”, pp 81-94; AND “Mr. Powell's Remarks on Solar Light and Heat (continued) 287-294;

Davy, Humphrey. “Sir H. Davy on the Corrosion of Copper Sheetmg by Sea Water”, pp 94-99; AND “Dr. Bostock on the Applicability of Sir H. Davy's Discovery to Copper Vessels employed for Culinary Purposes”, 176-180;

Prout, William. “Dr. Prout on the Nature of the Acid and Saline Matters in Animals” 117-119;

Berzelius, Jons Jakob. “M. Berzelius on the Decomposition of Silica “, pp 121-123 (this is an English appearance , truncated, of the announcing article where Berzelius “isolates sillicon and zirconium, the latter following many unsuccessful attempts by others. Berzelius succeeds in the zirconium isolation by heating a mixture of potassium and potassium flouride in an iron tube protected by a platinum crucible”--C Parkinson, Breakthroughs, , p. 276) AND WITH “Distinction of Positive and Negative Electricity” via taste! A short note on p 236; AND WITH “M. Berzelius on Fluoric Acid” pp 330-342; AND WITH “M. Berzelius on the Combinations of Acetic Acid with Peroxide of Copper”, pp 188-202;

A Great Leap Forward in the Development of the Motion Picture (1834)

The London, Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, London, printed by Richard Taylor, volume IV, January-June 1834. The entire volume offered: 8vo, vii, 432pp. Bound in full calf, with raised bands, and with red and black spine labels; the covers are impressed in gilt with the arms of the "Society of Writers to the Signet".  Very nice copy. Very Good condition. $350 

W.G. Horner, "On the Properties of the Daedaleum, a New Instrument of Optical Illusion", pp 36-41. "In 1834, William George Horner proposed a more convenient device based on Plateau’s Phenakistoscope which eliminated the need for a mirror and allowed several people to view the device at one time. Horner’s idea was to take shape in the form of drum with an open top into which was placed a hand drawn sequence of pictures on a strip of paper. The pictures were placed around the inside of the edge of the drum and could be viewed through slots in the outside of the drum. The images gave the illusion of movement as the drum was spun. Horner referred to his device as his Daedalum. Strangely the Dadalum was almost forgotten for over thirty years until 1887, at which point it was patented almost simultaneously by William F. Lincoln in America who gave it the name Zoetrope, and in England by M. Bradley."--Oldcinema dot com

William Henry Fox Talbot, “Facts relating to Optical Science. No. I. Communicated by  Mr. H. F. Talbot",   on pp 112-115. Of great interest here is the article by one of the early and great leaders in the history of photography, William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877), writing on the meaning of the lines in spectroscopy, assert[ing] that the dark lines observed by David Brewster in the spectrum of light shining through nitrous acid vapors are caused by the absoprtion of light by those vapors,,,Talbot also distinguishes lithium from strontium  through spectroscopy"--Claire Parkinson, Breakthroughs, a Chronology of Great Achievements in Science and Mathematics, pg 300. 

“The early nineteenth century witnessed the adoption and modification of new theoretical frameworks in chemistry and optics. The discovery of many new substances stimulated increasing concern with chemical composition and structure, while the wave theory of light posed problems with dispersion, absorption, photochemical reaction, and other forms of light-matter interaction. Although Talbot counted Wheatstone, Brewster, and Babbage among his scientific friends, he most closely followed the ideas of his friend John Herschel on light. Adopting the wave theory of light and a kinetic interpretation of light, heat, and matter, he pursued the problem of light-matter interaction through the study of optics, crystallography, and spectra. Intrigued by the similar optical characteristics of light and radiant heat as demonstrated by Melloni and Forbes, he sought to show the unity of the chemical rays with visible rays and heat rays. He also sought to use light and optical properties as analytical tools in order to determine the nature and structure of matter and to develop methods of chemical identification. Utilizing the vibratory theory of molecular behavior in gases, he suggested in 1835 a connection between spectral lines and chemical composition.”--Dictionary of Scientific Biography

Other papers of interest in this volume include:

“Rev.W. Whewell's Remarks on a recent Statement by Berzelius respecting the Use of Chemical Formulae” 9-11;

“Rev. W. Ritchie on the Reduction of Mr. Faraday's Discoveries in Magneto-Electric Induction to a general Law. ...” 11-13

"Mr. T. Graham's Reply to Mr. R. Phillips's Observations on  the Use of Chemical Symbols”, 106-107;

“Sir David Brewster's Observations on the supposed Vision of  the Blood-vessels of the Eye”, 115-120;

“Sir David Brewster on the Influence of successive Impulses of Light upon the Retina”, 241-245;

“M. Cauchy on the Undulatory Theory of Light”, 396-7.