The Works of John Playfair

This collection of the major works of influential Scottish mathematician and geologist John Playfair was first published in 1822.

John Playfair (Author), James G. Playfair (Edited by)

9781108029407, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 30 June 2011

494 pages, 8 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 2.8 cm, 0.62 kg

John Playfair (1748–1819) was a Scottish mathematician and geologist best known for his defence of James Hutton's geological theories. He attended the University of St Andrews, completing his theological studies in 1770. In 1785 he was appointed joint Professor of Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh, and in 1805 he was elected Professor of Natural Philosophy. A Fellow of the Royal Society, he was acquainted with continental scientific developments, and was a prolific writer of scientific articles in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Edinburgh Review. This four-volume edition of his works was published in 1822 and is prefaced by a biography of Playfair. Volume 3 includes articles on mathematics, physics, astronomy and naval tactics, revealing the range of Playfair's scientific interests.

4. On the arithmetic of impossible quantities
5. On the causes which affect the accuracy of barometrical measurements
6. Remarks on the astronomy of the Brahmins
7. On the origin and investigation of porisms
8. Observations on the trigonometrical tables of the Brahmins
9. Theorems relating to the figure of the earth
10. On the solids of greatest attraction
11. On the progress of heat in spherical bodies
12. Account of a lithological survey of Schehallien
13. On the naval tactics of the late John Clerk, Esq. of Eldin.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX]