Meteorological Observations and Essays

DALTON, John

Edité par Printed by Harrison and Crosfield for Baldwin and Cradock, Manchester, 1834

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DALTON'S FIRST BOOK - INSCRIBED. Second edition (first, 1793), inscribed by Dalton, of Dalton's first book which, according to Dalton himself, "contained the germs of most of the ideas afterwards expanded by him into discoveries" (DNB V, 428-34). Dalton (1766-1844) is famous today for his atomic theory of matter, but this grew out of his early work on meteorology, which resulted in his Meteorological Observations and Essays. "It created little stir at first but contained original ideas that, together with Dalton's more developed articles, marked the transition of meteorology from a topic of general folklore to a serious scientific pursuit" (Britannica). In this book Dalton stated that "water evaporated is not chymically combined with the aerial fluids but exists as a peculiar fluid diffused amongst the rest," and that "when a particle of vapour exists between two particles of air let their equal and opposite pressures upon it be what they may, they cannot bring it nearer to another particle of vapour." "The ideas that in a mixture of gases every gas acts as an independent entity (Dalton's law of partial pressures) and that the air is not a vast chemical solvent were thus first stated in the Meteorological Observations" (DSB). "Dalton's first scientific experiments stemmed from his life-long interest in meteorology . One of his most important scientific conclusions was that water is a component of air at all temperatures, and he produced a table of the vapour pressure of water at different temperatures from his own experiments. This work led on to what is now called the Law of Partial Pressures . In lectures to the Royal Institution in 1810 Dalton himself attributed the origins of his atomic theory to his studies on the properties of mixed gases" (Lappert & Murrell, p. 3817). Meteorological Observations "contained not only a record of his unremitting observations but also inferences of the causes of the meteorological phenomena so exposed. These reflections, which inevitably concerned the relation between air, water, and water vapour, played an important part in the evolution of his future theories . The book began with a description of the instruments needed for observation. There followed a series of typical observations and essays on their interpretation. Then a more interesting section on the aurora showed Dalton's breadth of experience with many instruments, even including work with a new design of theodolite. The final section interpreted the findings of the earlier sections, offering theories and speculations, including one of great ingenuity-proposing that the aurora is of electrical or magnetic origin" (DNB). Provenance: The Manchester publishers Bradshaw & Blacklock (inscribed 'To Bradshaw & Blacklock presented by John Dalton D.C.L., F.R.S. &' on front free endpaper). By 1839, Bradshaw & Blacklock had moved premises to 27 Brown Street, from where they published their famous railway guides. Dalton and George Bradshaw attended the same Manchester Quaker's Meeting House. "John Dalton was born in the village of Eaglesfield a few miles from Cockermouth in Cumbria and his house, though altered, is still there marked with a plaque. His Quaker family was initially extremely poor but his father was able to teach him mathematics, and John attended the Friends school until he was 12 years old. Such was his progress that, when his teacher left, John took over the school himself. During this period he also obtained a thorough grounding in mathematics under the tuition of a gentleman who lived nearby. In 1781John was asked to teach at a Quaker school in Kendal, jointly with his brother. After taking advice from the Council of Friends this was agreed. He walked to Kendal carrying one of the new umbrellas which had just become available in Cockermouth. When their cousin who ran the school left in 1785 the two brothers took over with the help of their sister, who came to keep house. Their advertisements proudly state that the school '.

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Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Meteorological Observations and Essays
• Éditeur: Printed by Harrison and Crosfield for Baldwin and Cradock, Manchester
• Date de parution: 1834
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Classical Physics, Mechanics, Optics