Clausius, Rudolf. “Ueber die Anwendung der mechanischen Wärmetheorie auf die Dampfmachine”, in: “Annalen der Physik und Chimie, Leipzig, Johann Ambrosius Barth, edited by J.C. Poggendorff, 1856, volume 97, series II, sections 3+4. pp 441-476 and pp 513-559. Offered in the entire volume of (x), 644 pp., with 5 folded engraved plates.  PROVENANCE: Provinzial-Gewerbschule zu Aachen (with their small, oval rubber stamp on the title page; then on to the Deutsche Akademie der Luftfahrtforsuchung (with their name stamped in gilt at the spine bottom); and then on to Wright Patterson Air Force Base Field, with their rubber stamp on the page edges (exterior) top and bottom. Lastly, the Library of Congress, with their “surplus” stamp on the rear endpapers. All that said, this is a nice, clean, crisp copy. VG $500

The volume contains other significant works:

Thomson, W. (Lord Kelvin) & J.P. Joule, “Ueber die Wärmewirkung bewegter Flüssigkeiten” (On the Thermal Effects of Fluids in Motion”, 1853),pp. 576-414. First edition in German om the Joule-Thomson Effect.

Kohlrausch, R. “Ueber die elektrischen Vorgänge bei der Elektrolyse”, a two-part paper, pp. 397-414 and 559-575.

Laplace, Pierre-Simone de. “Theorie der Kraft. 1.-4 Haupttheil. (1. Welche in den Haarröhren und bei ähnlichen Erscheinungen wirkt.   2. Die Wirkung der Haaröhren-Kraft auf eine neue Art Betrachtet.  3. Theorie des Anziehens und Abstossens schwimmender Körper, der Adhäsion einer Scheibe an einer Flüssigen Oberfläche, und der Figur eines grossen Quecksilber-Tropfens mit prüfenden Versuchen von Gay-Lussac. -4. Allgemeine Betrachtungen über die Haarröhen-Kraft und über die Kräfte der chemischen Verwandschaft.”) AND  “Übersetzt von Brande und Gilbert. (Mit Anmerkungen).” AND “Zwei Berichte.Als Einleitung zu dem folgenden Aufsätze.(Theil 3 und Theil 4). Frei übersetzt von Gilbert.” 

• Each section in which the Laplace contribution is printed (sections [Stuck] 9-12 contains the two pages of outer wrappers, bound in, making this a scarce publication.  

Published in the Annalen der Physik, series 1, volume 33, published in Leipzig by J. Ambrosius Barth, and printed  in 1809.  We offer the entire volume of  (12),452 pages and with 4 folding engraved plates, with the Laplace contributions on  pp. 1-114, pp. 141-182, pp. 273-293, pp. 293-338 and pp. 373-394. Each section is complete

Provenance: from the Library of Bernhard Meining; then, the Deutsche Akademie der Luftfahtforschung; and on the USAAF library at Wright Patterson, and finally to the Library of Congress.  Very well traveled. Nice copy.  $500

• AND bound with: LENZ, E. “Bemerkungen ueber di eTemperatur des Weltmeers in verschiedenen Tiefen”, pp 616-626.

OHM, Georg S.  “Versuch einer Theorie der durch galvaische Krafte hervorgebrachten elektroptischen Erscheinungen”, in Annalen der Physik, 1826, series II/volume 6, section 4, part 4, pp 459-469, offered in the entire volume of (viii), 514, (ii)pp with six folding plates.  Bound in black cloth, marbled boards, and with cloth tips.  

Provenance:  from the”Provinzil-Gewesschule zu Aachen”. then, the Deutsche Akademie der Luftfahtforschung; and on to the USAAF library at Wright Patterson, and finally to the Library of Congress. “Wright Field Library” is rubber stamped on the text block’s top and bottom. Nice copy.   

“In February and April 1826, Ohm published two important papers that dealt separately with the two major aspects of his ultimately unified theory of galvanic electricity. The first, “Bestimmung des Gesetzes, nach welchem Metalle die Contaktelektricitä leiten, nebst einem Entwurfe zu einer Theorie des Voltaischen Apparates und des Schweiggerschen Multiplicators,” announced a comprehensive law for electric current that brought order into the hitherto confused collection of phenomena pertaining to the closed circuit, including the solution to the problem of conductibility as he and others had conceived of it.[in Schweigger’s Journal für Chemie und Physik, 46 (1826), 137–166.] The second paper, “Versuch einer Theorie der durch galvanische Kräfte hervorgebrachten elektroskopischen Erscheinungen,”[offered above] broke new ground in associating an electric tension with both open and closed galvanic circuits.” [DSB referencing  Poggendorff’s Annalen der Physik und Chemie, 6 (1826, 459–469; ibid., AND  volume 7(1826), 45–54, 117–118 in footnote 6 [offered below].

Offered with:

• OHM, Georg S. “Versuch einer Theorie der durch galvaische Krafte hervorgebrachten elektroptischen Erscheinungen”, in Annalen der Physik, 1826, series II/volume 7, pp 45-54  Bound as volume 6, above, with the same provenance.

And bound with:

• (OHM) “Ein Nachtrag aus dem vorrstehenden Aufsatz de Hrn Dr. Ohm”, same volume, pp 117-118.  

OHM, Georg S. “Ueber die Definition des Tones , nebst daran geknupster Theorie der Sirene und oehnlicher tonbildender Vorrichtungen”, in Annalen der Physik, volume 59, 1843, pp 513-565. Black cloth-backed marbled boards with cloth tips. 

Provenance: formerly from the library of the Deutsche Akademie der Luftfahtforschung; and on the USAAF library at Wright Patterson, and finally to the Library of Congress.  Few interior stamps, plus “Wright Field Library” rubber stamped on the text block’s top and bottom.  That all said, a very nice copy.  $400 Offered in the full volume of 644pp. 

The Bookman’s Bus will definitely take you from point A to Point B, though it might not be a direct route, even when the direct route is the only route–there are stops to be made, turns to be taken, and of course turns to be built before they can be taken; eventually though you’ll get to your destination, or not.  And the destination can change, according to what is found along the way–it can get closer, or farther, as necessary.  It is in the getting-there that some real stuff may happen. 

I was looking for the Annalen der Physik publication by Gauss and Weber on the first use of an electromagnetic telegraph, but I was looking in 1843 rather than 1833, which is a mistake I often make (which is weird because Morse’s telegraph appears in 1837 and his code in 1843, so the date mix-up is a mystery. So with the retrieved volume 59 I realized that I was ten years off from where I wanted to be, but like any practicing reader I browsed–and my general book browsing practice is back-to-front, which is how I found a good article by Clapeyron, almost at the end of the book in the 8th section. I went a little further to see the neighbors for the Clapeyron in the 644-page book and the very paper preceding turned out to be a fairly significant paper in the history of physics and acoustics–Georg Simon Ohm’s on what would be known as Ohm’s Law of Acoustics. That would be the other Ohm’s law.  The big Ohm (published in his pamphlet Die Galvanische Kette in 1827) is one of the most powerful of the 19th century, and states “a relationship between the voltage across an electric circuit, the electrical resistance in the circuit, and the current in the circuit.”(–Dictionary of Scientific Biography.) Ohm’s law of acoustics doesn’t take such a big bite out of the not-determined but is significant in the history of acoustics: “The proposition that the human auditory system responds to a complex sound by generating sensations of the separate components of the sound rather than a sensation of a single integrated sound; thus when we listen to an orchestra we hear the separate instruments although the ears receive only a single complex sound wave.”(–Oxford Reference)  And for the record the paper’s title: “Ueber die Definition des Tones , nebst daran geknupster Theorie der Sirene und oehnlicher tonbildender Vorrichtungen”, pp 513-565).

There were other interesting papers populating this volume, several of which had to do with early photography, including a work on using the Daguerreotype with the microscope, along with two papers by Moser (one of which was the first German translation of his work on “Invisible Light”), and another on shortening the time of exposures by the soon-to-be-very-famous H. Fizeau. Also there are two not-so famous papers by the famous Lenz (a two-parter, actually, on heat flow). There are others, not the least of which is a paper famous perhaps not for the complicated theory on the development of mountain ranges that was wrong, but for the data that was collected for the construction of the not very good theory–that was the work of Jean-Baptiste Elie de Beaumont, who had a long and distinguished career though not for his mountain theory.  

So. There was a lot in this volume, and a lot of it turned out to be very interesting, in spite of teh fact that I had selected the wrong volume to begin with.  

OHM, Georg S. “Galvanische Einzelnheiten”, in Annalen der Physik, II/63, 1844, pp 389-405. Offered in the full volume of viii, 597, (ii)pp.   Black cloth-backed marbled boards with cloth tips. Formerly from the library of the Deutsche Akademie der Luftfahtforschung; and on the USAAF library at Wright Patterson, and finally to the Library of Congress.  Few interior stamps, plus “Wright Field Library” rubber stamped on the textblock’s top and bottom.  That all said, a very nice copy.  $500

OHM, Georg S. “Ueber eine Interferenz-erscheinung bei ein axigen Krystallplatten in geradling polarisirtem Lichte”, in Annalen der Physik, 1853, series II/volume 90, pp 327-332.  Formerly from the library of the Deutsche Akademie der Luftfahtforschung; and on the USAAF library at Wright Patterson, and finally to the Library of Congress.  Few interior stamps, plus “Wright Field Library” rubber stamped on the textblock’s top and bottom.  That all said, a very nice copy.  $250

Weighing the Earth in 1799

Clausius, Rudolf. “Ueber einige Stellen in der Schrift von Helmholtz “Ueber die Erhaltung der Kraft”, zweite Notiz”, pp 601-605

(Clausius) Helmholtz, Herman von. “Erwiederung auf die Bemerkungen von Hrn. Clausius”, pp 241-260;

Bunsen, Robert. “Ueber die Darstellung von metallishcen Chrom auf galvanischem Wege. Aus einem Briefe des Prof. Bunsen”, Pp 619-625;

Plucker, Julius. “Ueber das Gesetz der Induction bei paramagnetischen und diamanetischen Substanzen”, pp 1-56;

Kohlrausch, R. “Theorie des elektrischen Ruckstandes in der Leidner Flasche”, pp 56-83; and pp179-214;

G.G. Stokes, “Ueber die Aenderung der Brecharkeit des Lichts”, pp 158-161.

All in Annalen der Physik, 1854, series II/91, Johann Barth; x, 628pp, nine plates. Bound in cloth-backed marbled boards. PROVENANCE: Provinzial-Gewerbschule zu Aachen (with their small, oval rubber stamp on the title page; then on to the Deutsche Akademie der Luftfahrtforsuchung (with their name stamped in gilt at the spine bottom); and then on to Wright Patterson Air Force Base Field, with their rubber stamp on the page edges (exterior) top and bottom. Lastly, the Library of Congress, with their “surplus” stamp on the rear endpapers. All that said, this is a nice, clean, crisp copy. VG $500

Buys Ballot, Christoph. “Note sur le rapport de l’intensité et de la direction du vent avec les écarts simultanés du baromètre”, in Comptes rendus hebdomadaires de l’Académie des sciences, 1857, volume 45, pp 765-768. Offered in the original weekly issue, without the outer wrappers, removed from a larger bound volume.  $250

“Buys Ballot’s law may be expressed as follows: In the Northern Hemisphere, if a person stands with his back to the wind, the atmospheric pressure is low to the left, high to the right.” “[It] asserts that actual winds are approximately geostrophic, that is, such as to balance the pressure gradient and Coriolis forces”–Claire Parkinson, Breakthroughs (for 1857).  The law was first deduced by the American meteorologists J.H. Coffin and William Ferrel, is a direct consequence of Ferrel’s law. The law takes its name from C. H. D. Buys Ballot, a Dutch meteorologist, who published it in the Comptes Rendus, November 1857.[The issue offered here.]While William Ferrel theorized this first in 1856, Buys Ballot was the first to provide an empirical validation.”–Wikipedia  ([Buys-Ballot] derived the law empirically, unaware that it already had been deduced theoretically by the U.S. meteorologist William Ferrel, whose priority Buys Ballot later acknowledged.”–Ency Britannica) 

“The underlying principles of Buys Ballot’s law state that for anyone ashore in the Northern Hemisphere and in the path of a hurricane, the most dangerous place to be is in the right front quadrant of the storm. There, the observed wind speed of the storm is the sum of the speed of wind in the storm circulation plus the velocity of the storms forward movement. Buys Ballot’s Law calls this the “Dangerous Quadrant”. “–Wikipedia

Jamin, Jules Célestin. “Description d′un nouvel appareil de recherches, fondé sur les interférences”, in  Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l’Académie des sciences, 1856, vol 42,  pp 482-5 in the weekly issue, the issue removed from a larger bound volume (with no outer wrappers). Very Good condition.  $125

“Jules Célestin Jamin was a French physicist. He was professor of physics at École Polytechnique from 1852 to 1881 and received the Rumford Medal in 1858 for his work on light. The Jamin interferometer is a type of interferometer, related to the Mach-Zehnder interferometer. It was developed in 1856 by the French physicist Jules Jamin. The interferometer is made up of two mirrors, made of the thickest glass possible. The Fresnel reflection from the first surface of the mirror acts as a beam splitter. The incident light is split into two rays, parallel to each other and displaced by an amount depending on the thickness of the mirror. The rays are recombined at the second mirror, and ultimately imaged onto a screen. If a phase-shifting element is added to one arm of the interferometer, then the displacement it causes can be determined by simply counting the interference fringes, i.e., the minima. The Jamin interferometer allows very exact measurements of the refractive index and dispersion of gases; a transparent pressure chamber can be positioned in the instrument. The phase shift due to changes in pressure is quite easy to measure.”–Wikipedia, “Jules Jamin” [An article also appeared in the Annalen in the same year: “Neuer Interferential-Refractor”, Annalen der Physik und Chemie, 1856, 174 (98) (6): 345–349.]