The Combination of Observations

This 1931 second edition of a 1917 original provides an account of the method of least squares.

David Brunt (Author)

9781107697614, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 12 January 2012

250 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.4 cm, 0.32 kg

First published in 1931, this book is the second edition of a 1917 original. The text provides an account of the method of least squares, aiming to obtain the best interpretation of the results of experiment without consideration of the way in which these results are obtained. Elaborate descriptions of instruments and experimental methods are avoided, allowing for a concise and economical account that concentrates on key elements of the subject. This is a detailed and well-organized book that will be of value to anyone with an interest in least squares and the development of mathematics.

1. Errors of observation
2. The law of error
3. The case of one unknown
4. Observations of a different weight
5. The general problem of the adjustment of indirect observations involving several unknown quantities
6. Evaluation of the most probable values of the unknowns, their weights and probable errors
7. The adjustment of conditioned observations
8. The rejection of observations
9. Alternatives to the normal law of errors
10. Correlation
11. Harmonic analysis
12. The periodogram
Appendices
Index.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX]