Geometrical Optics

Geometrical Optics
Author: J. L. Synge
Publisher: CUP Archive
Total Pages: 132
Release: 1937-01-02
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN:

It is by no means easy for the applied mathematician to decide how much importance he should attach to the more abstract and aesthetic side of his work ... To all appearances, Sir William Rowan Hamilton (1850-1865) attached little importance to the practical applications of his method, and it was only with the publication of his Mathematical Papers that it was possible to form a more correct and balanced judgement of Hamilton as an applied mathematician.

A Victorian Marriage

A Victorian Marriage
Author: Anne van Weerden
Publisher: J. Fransje van Weerden
Total Pages: 528
Release: 2017-11-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 9463230025

The famous Irish mathematician Sir William Rowan Hamilton (1805-1865) is generally regarded as having been an unhappily married alcoholic. The aim of this essay is to show that, contrary to this widespread belief, Hamilton had a good marriage, that in fact large parts of his marriage were fairly happy. It is discussed where the idea of his marriage as having been an unhappy one came from, and it is shown that according to current standards he was by no means an alcoholic.

On Quaternions and Octonions

On Quaternions and Octonions
Author: John H. Conway
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 172
Release: 2003-01-23
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1439864187

This book investigates the geometry of quaternion and octonion algebras. Following a comprehensive historical introduction, the book illuminates the special properties of 3- and 4-dimensional Euclidean spaces using quaternions, leading to enumerations of the corresponding finite groups of symmetries. The second half of the book discusses the less f