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Peter Guthrie Tait
Peter Guthrie Tait (28 April 18314 July 1901) was a Scottish Mathematical physics, mathematical physicist and early pioneer in thermodynamics. He is best known for the mathematical physics textbook ''Treatise on Natural Philosophy'', which he co-wrote with William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, Lord Kelvin, and his early investigations into knot theory. His work on knot theory contributed to the eventual formation of topology as a mathematical discipline. His name is known in graph theory mainly for Tait's conjecture on cubic graphs. He is also one of the namesakes of the Tait–Kneser theorem on osculating circles. Early life Tait was born in Dalkeith on 28 April 1831 the only son of Mary Ronaldson and John Tait, secretary to the Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, 5th Duke of Buccleuch. He was educated at Dalkeith Grammar School then Edinburgh Academy, where he began his lifelong friendship with James Clerk Maxwell. He studied mathematics and physics at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knot Theory
In topology, knot theory is the study of knot (mathematics), mathematical knots. While inspired by knots which appear in daily life, such as those in shoelaces and rope, a mathematical knot differs in that the ends are joined so it cannot be undone, the simplest knot being a ring (or "unknot"). In mathematical language, a knot is an embedding of a circle in 3-dimensional Euclidean space, \mathbb^3. Two mathematical knots are equivalent if one can be transformed into the other via a deformation of \mathbb^3 upon itself (known as an ambient isotopy); these transformations correspond to manipulations of a knotted string that do not involve cutting it or passing it through itself. Knots can be described in various ways. Using different description methods, there may be more than one description of the same knot. For example, a common method of describing a knot is a planar diagram called a knot diagram, in which any knot can be drawn in many different ways. Therefore, a fundamental p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dalkeith
Dalkeith ( ; , ) is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1541. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-century castle (now Dalkeith Palace). Dalkeith has a population of 12,342 people according to the 2011 census. The town is divided into four distinct areas: Dalkeith proper with its town centre and historic core; Eskbank (considered to be the well-heeled neighbourhood of Dalkeith with many large Victorian and newer houses) to its west; Woodburn (primarily a working class council estate with pockets of new housing developments) to its east; and Newbattle (a semi-rural village with its abbey) to the south. Dalkeith is the main administrative centre for Midlothian. It is twinned with Jarnac, France. In 2004, Midlothian Council re-paved Jarnac Court in honour of Dalkeith and Jarnac's long standing link. On the north-eastern edge of Dalkeith at Woodburn is the Dalkeith Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Treatise On Natural Philosophy
''Treatise on Natural Philosophy'' was an 1867 text book by William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) and Peter Guthrie Tait, published by Oxford University Press. The ''Treatise'' was often referred to as T and ''T^1'', as explained by Alexander Macfarlane:A. Macfarlane (1917Lectures on Ten British Physicist of the Nineteenth Century link form Internet Archive. :Maxwell had facetiously referred to Thomson as T and Tait as T^1. Hence the ''Treatise on Natural Philosophy'' came to be commonly referred to as T ''and T^1'' in conversation with mathematicians. Reception The first volume was received by an enthusiastic review in Saturday Review: :The grand result of all concurrent research in modern times has been to confirm what was but perhaps a dream of genius, or an instinct of the keen Greek intellect, that all the operations of nature are rooted and grounded in number and figure. The Treatise was also reviewed as ''Elements of Natural Philosophy'' (1873). Thomson & Tait's ''Treat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Andrews (scientist)
Thomas Andrews FRS FRSE (19 December 181326 November 1885) was an Irish chemist and physicist who did important work on phase transitions between gases and liquids. He was a longtime professor of chemistry at Queen's University of Belfast. Life Andrews was born in Belfast, Ireland, where his father was a linen merchant. He attended the Belfast Academy and the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, where at the latter of which he studied mathematics under James Thomson. In 1828 he went to the University of Glasgow to study chemistry under Professor Thomas Thomson, then studied at Trinity College, Dublin, where he gained distinction in classics as well as in science. Finally, at University of Edinburgh in 1835, he was awarded a doctorate in medicine. Andrews began a successful medical practice in his native Belfast in 1835, also giving instruction in chemistry at the Academical Institution. In 1845 he was appointed vice-president of the newly established Queen's University ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queen's College, Belfast
The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of the Queen's University of Ireland and opened four years later, together with University of Galway (as ''Queen's College, Galway'') and University College Cork (as ''Queen's College, Cork''). Queen's offers approximately 300 academic degree programmes at various levels. The current president and Chancellor (education), vice-chancellor is Ian Greer (obstetrician), Ian Greer. The annual income of the institution for 2023–24 was £474.2 million, of which £105.2 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £345.9 million. Queen's is a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the European University Association, Universities UK and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smith's Prize
Smith's Prize was the name of each of two prizes awarded annually to two research students in mathematics and theoretical physics at the University of Cambridge from 1769. Following the reorganization in 1998, they are now awarded under the names Smith-Knight Prize and Rayleigh-Knight Prize. History The Smith Prize fund was founded by bequest of Robert Smith (mathematician), Robert Smith upon his death in 1768, having by his will left £3,500 of South Sea Company stock to the University. Every year two or more junior Bachelor of Arts students who had made the greatest progress in mathematics and natural philosophy were to be awarded a prize from the fund. The prize was awarded every year from 1769 to 1998 except 1917. From 1769 to 1885, the prize was awarded for the best performance in a series of examinations. In 1854 Sir George Stokes, 1st Baronet, George Stokes included an examination question on a particular theorem that William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, William Thomson had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Senior Wrangler
The Senior Wrangler is the top mathematics undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in England, a position which has been described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain". Specifically, it is the person who achieves the highest overall mark among the Wranglers – the students at Cambridge who gain first-class degrees in mathematics. The Cambridge undergraduate mathematics course, or Mathematical Tripos, is famously difficult. Many Senior Wranglers have become world-leading figures in mathematics, physics, and other fields. They include George Airy, Jacob Bronowski, Christopher Budd, Kevin Buzzard, Arthur Cayley, Henry Cotterill, Donald Coxeter, Arthur Eddington, Ben Green, John Herschel, James Inman, J. E. Littlewood, Lee Hsien Loong, Jayant Narlikar, William Paley, Morris Pell, John Polkinghorne, Frank Ramsey, Lord Rayleigh (John Strutt), Sir George Stokes, Isaac Todhunter, Sir Gilbert Walker, and James H. Wilkinson. Senior Wr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Clerk Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and light as different manifestations of the same phenomenon. Maxwell's equations for electromagnetism achieved the Unification (physics)#Unification of magnetism, electricity, light and related radiation, second great unification in physics, where Unification (physics)#Unification of gravity and astronomy, the first one had been realised by Isaac Newton. Maxwell was also key in the creation of statistical mechanics. With the publication of "A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field" in 1865, Maxwell demonstrated that electric force, electric and magnetic fields travel through space as waves moving at the speed of light. He proposed that light is an undulation in the same medium that is the cause of electric and magnetic phenomena. (Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edinburgh Academy
The Edinburgh Academy is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Stockbridge, is now part of the Senior School. The Junior School is on Arboretum Road to the north of the city's Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Royal Botanic Garden. In 2023 the school was investigated by the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry over numerous allegations by ex-pupils of historical abuse by several staff. The Academy later issued an acknowledgement and apology. Foundation In 1822, the school's founders, Henry Thomas Cockburn, Henry Cockburn and Leonard Horner, agreed that Edinburgh required a new school to promote Classics, classical learning. Edinburgh's Royal High School (Edinburgh), Royal High School provided a classical education, but the founders felt that greater provision was needed for the teaching of Ancient Greek, Greek, to compete with some of England's Public ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke Of Buccleuch
Walter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, 7th Duke of Queensberry (25 November 1806 – 16 April 1884), styled Lord Eskdail between 1808 and 1812 and Earl of Dalkeith between 1812 and 1819, was a prominent Scottish nobleman, landowner and politician. He was Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal from 1842 to 1846 and Lord President of the Council. Background and education Buccleuch was born at the Palace of Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland, the fifth child of seven, and second son of Charles Montagu-Scott, 4th Duke of Buccleuch, and Hon. Harriet Katherine Townshend, daughter of Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney and Elizabeth Powys. When his older brother, George Henry, died at the age of 10 from measles, Walter became heir apparent to the Dukedoms of Buccleuch and Queensberry. He was only thirteen when he succeeded his father to the two Dukedoms in 1819. He also inherited 460,000 acres, including 254,000 acres in Dumfries, 104,000 acres in Roxburgh and 60,00 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Osculating Circle
An osculating circle is a circle that best approximates the curvature of a curve at a specific point. It is tangent to the curve at that point and has the same curvature as the curve at that point. The osculating circle provides a way to understand the local behavior of a curve and is commonly used in differential geometry and calculus. More formally, in differential geometry of curves, the osculating circle of a sufficiently smooth plane curve at a given point ''p'' on the curve has been traditionally defined as the circle passing through ''p'' and a pair of additional points on the curve infinitesimally close to ''p''. Its center lies on the inner Normal (geometry), normal line, and its curvature defines the curvature of the given curve at that point. This circle, which is the one among all ''tangent circles'' at the given point that approaches the curve most tightly, was named ''circulus osculans'' (Latin for "kissing circle") by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Leibniz. The cent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
