“Space-Time Approach to Non-Relativistic Quantum Mechanics“ (Reviews of Modern Physics 20 pp. 367-387, 1948)

American Institute of Physics, 1948

Feynman's path integral formulation of quantum mechanics. Also contains "A Generalized Theory of Gravitation" by Albert Einstein (pp. 35-39).

Volume beautifully bound in cloth and boards in pristine condition inside and out.

$900

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Two papers confirming the discovery of the Electron: "On the Charge of Electricity carried by the Ions produced by Röntgen Rays" WITH: “On the Masses of the Ions in Gases at Low Pressures"

FIRST EDITIONS OF THOMSON'S PAPERS ON THE DISCOVERY OF THE ELECTRON. The two papers demonstrated the discovery of the electron. In 1897, J. J. Thomson completed measurements of cathode rays and announced on April 30, 1897 that they are comprised of corpuscles with a charge to mass ratio (e/m) roughly one thousand times that of the hydrogen ion. Because he thought that the charge of the corpuscle might be the same as the hydrogen ion measured in electrolysis, he speculated that the mass of the negatively charged corpuscle could be as little as one thousandth of the hydrogen atom. This was printed in the famous paper "Cathode Rays." In the following two years, Thomson conducted additional experiments to determine (rather than just infer) the charge of the corpuscle and improve the precision of his measurements of e/m. He also performed these measurements on corpuscles generated through other mechanisms (e.g., ions created by X-rays) and found that the results were the same regardless of source. In 1899, in the second of these papers, Thomson concluded that the corpuscle was a subatomic particle with a mass 1/1000 of the mass of the hydrogen atom, thus confirming the discovery of the electron. "On the Charge of Electricity carried by the Ions produced by Röntgen Rays" (The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science 46 pp. 528-545, 1898) and “On the Masses of the Ions in Gases at Low Pressures,” (The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science 48 pp. 547-567, 1899).Two volumes. Quarto. Both volumes beautifully bound in leather and boards. Back of title pages strengthened. Otherwise fine.

$1,500

Three Papers by William and John Hercshel

First printings of three important papers demonstrating the universal validity of Newton's laws of gravity and motion. Extracted from Philosophical Transactions 93, pt2; 94, pt. 2; 114, pt. 3.Isaac Newton developed the laws of physics (motion and gravity) from observations on earth and the motions of the moon and planets within the solar system, and though scientists believed these laws to be universal, it was more than 100 years before they were demonstrated to hold outside the solar system. William Herschel published the results of a 25 year program of measuring the motion of binary stars in in two parts, in 1803 and 1804. He was able to demonstrate that orbital motion of these double stars obeyed Newton’s law of gravity and motion, thus providing the first scientific evidence of the validity of the laws of physics outside our solar system. More than 20 years later in 1824, William Herschel’s son John Frederick William Herschel (1792–1871) published an even larger study of the motion of double stars (360 in all) that supported his father’s earlier work. “Account of the Changes that have Happened, During the Last Twenty-five Years, in the Relative Situation of Double-Stars, with an Investigation of the Cause to which they are Owing” by William Herschel (Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 93 Part 2 pp. 339-382, 1803)“Continuation of an Account of the Changes That Have Happened in the Relative Situation of Double Stars” by William Herschel (Extract from Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 94 Part II pp. 353-384, 1804)“Observations of the Apparent Distances and Positions of 380 Double and Triple Stars, Made in the Years 1821, 1822, and 1823, and Compared with Those of Other Astronomers; Together with an Account of Such Changes as Appear to Have Taken Place in Them Since Their First Discovery. Also a Description of a Five-Feet Equatorial Instrument Employed in the Observations” by John Herschel (Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 114 Part 3, 1824) Very good condition. The first and third extracts are untrimmed and bound in early paper wraps; the second is a more recent extract and lacks wrappers. All are housed in an attractive custom clamshell box.

$1,500

The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication

FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. In this work, Darwin first proposed his theory of pangenesis as the mechanism of heredity. The theory holds that body cells shed “gemmules” that collect in the reproductive organs, thus transmitting their characteristics to the next generation. Mendelʼs theory of genetics supplanted this theory in the early 1900s. Octavo, two volumes. Original green cloth. Light wear at head of both volumes; light spotting to spine of volume II. Cloth generally clean. An attractive set.

$450

Evidence of Man's Place in Nature

FIRST EDITION (precedes the English edition of the same year). “Huxley wages his struggle [in favor of Darwinʼs theory of evolution] in the pages of his book--in its metaphors and myths, in its rhythms and repetitions, in its images and instructions. ʻThe difference between Man and Ape is less than the difference between Ape and Monkeyʼ--over and over the lesson is repeated, like on of the slogans in the Brave New World of Huxleyʼs grandson Aldous.” –Misia Landau, Narratives of Human Evolution Small 8vo. Original cloth, original spine lablel. Spine ends chipped, spine label and extremities lightly rubbed. Clean throughout. A very attractive copy. Synthesis of the anatomic and embryological evidence of human evolution. Contains a precursor to the “man evolved from apes” theory, noting the resemblance of manʼs skeleton to that of an ape. This predated Darwinʼs Descent of Man by 8 years.

$750

Die Lehre von der Pflanzenzelle

FIRST EDITION. Hofmeister describes the fundamental structures and processess of the cell, and gives the first account of what later became known as chromosomes. Hofmeister's work inspired Mendel to begin the research on plant hybridization that led to Mendel's discoveries on the inheritance of traits. Large octavo. Early quarter-calf over pebbled cloth. Spine lightly rubbed; stamp at title, generally clean. A sound, attractive copy.

$125

"Relative State" Formulation of Quantum Mechanics

FIRST EDITION of the famous Many Worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. “Many worlds” is an alternative to the Copenhagen interpretation that creates a special role of the observer by postulating the collapse of the universal wave function at every observation. Instead, Many Worlds proposes that the wave function never collapses, and views reality as a many-branched tree in which every possible outcome is realized through a splitting of reality into alternate universes – hence “many worlds.”In: Reviews of Modern Physics, vol. 29, no. 3, July, 1957, pp. 454-62, the entire issue in original orange printed wrappers offered here. Spine toned, owner signature on front wrapper, the word 'Gravitation' written in block letters at top of spine. A fresh, attractive copy.

$1,000

Bryan and Darrow at Dayton: The Bible Evolution Trial

FIRST EDITION. Contains full record (with commentary) of the famous Scopes Monkey Trial.“The Eugenics Society officially endorsed sterilization in June 1926. Prior to this it had been nominally neutral on the issue, although in practice firmly supporting sterilization. By 1926 the scene was set for a more aggressive push. Leonard Darwinʼs big book The Need for Eugenic Reform came out in that year. It was an earnest work that comprehensively set out the wide gamut of arguments for and against eugenics, and sterilization, and it had a generally good reception.” –David Paul Crook, Darwinʼs Coat-Tails: Essays on Social DarwinismOctavo, original green cloth.

$75

Almagestum seu magnae constructionis mathematicae opus [Almagest]

FIRST EDITION of the first Latin translation from the original Greek text. The Almagest, written in about 150 AD, "served as the basic guide for Islamic and European astronomers until about the beginning of the 17th century. Its original name was Mathematike Syntaxis (“The Mathematical Arrangement”); Almagest arose as an Arabic corruption of the Greek word for greatest (megiste). It was translated into Arabic about 827 and then from Arabic to Latin in the last half of the 12th century. Subsequently, the Greek text circulated widely in Europe, although the Latin translations from Arabic continued to be more influential."The Almagest is divided into 13 books. Book 1 gives arguments for a geocentric, spherical cosmos and introduces the necessary trigonometry, along with a trigonometry table, that allowed Ptolemy in subsequent books to explain and predict the motions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars. Book 2 uses spherical trigonometry to explain cartography and astronomical phenomena (such as the length of the longest day) characteristic of various localities. Book 3 deals with the motion of the Sun and how to predict its position in the zodiac at any given time, and Books 4 and 5 treat the more difficult problem of the Moon’s motion. Book 5 also describes the construction of instruments to aid in these investigations. The theory developed to this point is applied to solar and lunar eclipses in Book 6."Books 7 and 8 mainly concern the fixed stars, giving ecliptic coordinates and magnitudes for 1,022 stars. This star catalog relies heavily on that of Hipparchus (129 bc), and in the majority of cases Ptolemy simply converted Hipparchus’s description of the location of each star to ecliptic coordinates and then shifted these values by a constant to account for precession over the intervening centuries. These two books also discuss the construction of a star globe that adjusts for precession. The remaining five books, the most original, set forth in detail geometric models for the motion of the five planets visible to the naked eye, together with tables for predicting their positions at any given time."Commissioned by Pope Nicholas V (1446-1455), translated from Greek into Latin by Georgius Trapezuntius (1396-1472), edited by Luca Gaurico (1476-1558). An earlier Latin version had appeared in 1515, but was translated from the Arabic. Norman 1760; See Stillwell 97; Wellcome 5281.Venice: Lucantonio Giunta, 1528. Tall folio (313 x 218 mm), 18th-century full vellum with ink notation on spine. Collation: A6 a-s8 (s8 blank); 149 leaves (of 150, without a blank). Title printed in red and black. Printed in Roman, Gothic and Greek types with woodcut mathematical diagrams in margins throughout. Occasional light staining, mostly to margins; small hole in q8 (affecting border of table, a likely paper flaw); repairs to hinges. A beautiful wide-margined copy.

$15,500

Island Life: Or, the Phenomena and Causes of Insula Faunas and Floras, Including a Revision and Attempted Solution of the Problem of Geo- logical Climates

FIRST EDITION of one of Wallace's most important works. Wallace's treatment of the general distribution of island plant and animal life and the influence of the glacial epochs of these distribution patterns. Included is the first theory of continental glaciation, a discussion of island classification, and a survey of worldwide island faunas and floras.Octavo. Original green cloth. 3 maps (1 chromolithograph, 2 tinted); numer wood-engraved text illustrations throughout. A clean copy throughout; very minor rubbing at extremities. A very desirable copy.

$1,400

Hydrodynamica, sive de viribus et moribus fluidorum

FIRST EDITION of Bernoulli's masterpiece, the foundational work for hydrodynamics (a term Bernoulli invented).Bernoulli's "reputation was established in 1738 with Hydrodynamica, in which he considered the properties of basic importance in fluid flow, particularly pressure, density, and velocity, and set forth their fundamental relationship. He put forward what is called Bernoulli’s principle, which states that the pressure in a fluid decreases as its velocity increases. He also established the basis for the kinetic theory of gases and heat by demonstrating that the impact of molecules on a surface would explain pressure and that, assuming the constant, random motion of molecules, pressure and motion increase with temperature" (Britannica)."Besides introducing the first hydraulic theory of fluid flow, this book is the most remarkable general work in theoretical and applied mechanics written in the pre-Langrangean period of the 18th century, based on a deep physical understanding of mechanical phenomena and presenting many new ideas for the following scientific progress" (Mikhailov, in Landmark Writings in Western Mathematics, 1640-1940).With 12 folding engraved plates and 86 illustrations. Quarto, contemporary full calf rebacked with the original spine laid-down.

$17,000

Introductio in Analysin Infinitorum

FIRST EDITION of Euler's foundational work on mathematical analysis. "In his 'Introduction to Mathematical Analysis' Euler did for modern analysis what Euclid had done for ancient geometry. It contains an exposition of algebra, trigonometry and analytical geometry, both plane and solid, a definition of logarithms as exponents, and important contributions to the theory of equations. He evolved the modern exponential treatment of logarithms, including the fact that each number has an infinity of natural logarithms. In the early chapters there appears for the first time the definition of mathematical function, one of the fundamental concepts of modern mathematics. From Euler's time mathematics and physics tended to be treated algebraically, and many of his principles are still used in teaching mathematics" (PMM 196). Without the engraved portrait of the dedicatee Jean-Jacques Dortous de Mairan, possible indicating that this is an early issue. Titles in red and black with engraved vignettes, frontispiece by Soubeyran after De la Monce; with directions to the binder and 40 folding engraved plates in rear (largely unopened), woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces and chapter vignettes. Quarto, original blue wrappers with paper labels; custom cloth box. Two volumes. A few leaves with light dampstaining in outer margin, otherwise a fine, crisp uncut copy; extremely rare in original wrappers.

$12,000

Mechanique Analitique

FIRST EDITION, a foundational work in modern mechanics. "Joseph-Louis Lagrange (1736-1813) continued the work of the earlier half of the century on the calculus; he extended mathematical analysis and the theory of equations; and in 1788 he published his Mechanique Analitique, a work second only to Newton's Principia in the history of mechanics" (Goodwin, The New Cambridge Modern History). "With the appearance of the Mechanique Analitique in 1788, Lagrange proposed to reduce the theory of mechanics and the art of solving problems in that field to general formulas, the mere development of which would yield all the equations necessary for the solution of every problem... [it] united and presented from a single point of view the various principles of mechanics, demonstrated their connection and mutual dependence, and made it possible to judge their validity and scope" (DSB)."Lagrange produced his greatest work, Mecanique analytique (1788; Analytical Mechanics), in Paris. This summarized the research in mechanics since Isaac Newton, based on Lagrange's own calculus of variations, and finally placed the mechanical theory of solids and fluids on a rigorous and analytical foundation" (Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists). Dibner 112.Quarto, contemporary mottled calf, gilt-decorated spine with morocco label. Spine ends and corners a little worn, otherwise fine.

$14,500

FEYNMAN, RICHARD