The Correspondence between Sir George Gabriel Stokes and Sir William Thomson, Baron Kelvin of Largs 2 Part Set

Originally published in 1990, this collection presents the largest extant correspondence between two Victorian physicists.

William Thomson (Author), George Gabriel Stokes (Author), David B. Wilson (Edited by)

9781107422308, Cambridge University Press

Multiple-component retail product, published 22 September 2011

852 pages
24.5 x 17.1 x 4.5 cm, 1.37 kg

"...a unique insight into Kelvin's and Stokes's work and into texture of Victorian scientific life...Besides abundant materials on the strictly scientific work of Kelvin and Stokes, their letters provide an unusually detailed look at the inner workings of British scientific institutions during a period of profound change." Science

G. G. Stokes and Lord Kelvin helped bring about conceptual and institutional changes that transformed the science of physics. Indeed, they and their Victorian colleagues constituted one of the most significant groups of scientists in the whole history of science. This collection of letters was first published in 1990, and provides, therefore, invaluable insight and information for a period of major historical importance. Stokes and Kelvin corresponded for over fifty years as professors in Cambridge and Glasgow, respectively, thus amassing what is easily the largest extant correspondence between two Victorian physicists. The letters range widely over the people, ideas, and institutions of the age. They illuminate the histories of Cambridge and Glasgow Universities and the Royal Society of London, for example, as well as developments in electromagnetism, hydrodynamics, elasticity, optics, and X-rays. The editor's introduction describes the context of the pair's careers, while guiding the reader into their correspondence.

Part I: Preface
Explanatory notes
Introduction
List of letters
The correspondence (1846–1969)
Part II: Explanatory notes
The correspondence (1870–1901)
Index of publications by Stokes and Kelvin
Index of names and subjects.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX], Social & cultural history [HBTB], Biography: general [BG]