[Letter to George F. Fitzgerald from Thomas Preston],
Preston, Thomas, 1860-1900
Fitzgerald, George Francis, 1851-1901. Correspondence
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 22 November 1899. Preston writes from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. He writes that he is recovering from illness and was not allowed to receive Fitzgerald’s recent visit. He is eager to meet Fitzgerald and hear the latest news. He congratulates him for receiving a medal and hopes his recent operation will give him “a new lease of life.” He writes that he plans to resume scientific work when his health has improved. 3pp.
RDS Library & Archives GFF collection of letters
RDS Library & Archives
22 November 1899
Preston, Thomas, 1860-1900 Fitzgerald, George Francis, 1851-1901. Correspondent RDS Library & Archives
Copyright RDS Library & Archives. Publication, transmission or display is prohibited without formal written approval of the RDS Library & Archives.
Text
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, written from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin, and dated 20 April 1896. He wrote that he had enclosed a note written on 18 March when he was in Skibbereen. The note contains information about scientific experiments in “the quarter period of phase acceleration crux,” which appears when calculating a wave at an external point using the Huygens–Fresnel method. The ideas may be relevant for researching matters of “wave motion.” At first, he thought that the information was insignificant, but he now thinks it may be useful for future publication and would like to hear Preston’s opinion about the subject. 4pp.
20 April 1896
Ether (Matter)
Spectrum analysis.
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, written from Skibbereen, County Cork and dated 18 March 1896. He writes about hypothetical scientific experiments, spectrum analysis, ether, and calculations. He describes experimental scenarios involving the generation of waves of vibrations in spheres, the use of ether, and calculations. The letter includes revisions written in red ink. 4pp.
18 March 1896
Education, Secondary.
Fitzgerald, George Francis, 1851-1901
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald. Preston writes from the Inns of Court Hotel Limited, London [entrances: High Hilborn and Lincoln’s End Fields]. He thanks Fitzgerald for his help and sympathy during their “great trial.” Preston writes that he has been carrying out school inspections on behalf of the Department for the past two weeks and will return the following evening, after which he hopes to have a free week in Dublin. He writes about a recent lecture he gave at the Royal Institution, which he describes as “fairly intelligible.” He met attendees afterwards. He suffered a “very bad gastric attack” recently and fasted for 2-3 days. He writes about the “bismuth spiral,” a chemical element used in his experiments, which is manufactured by Hartmann and Braun, Frankfurt. He writes that he has looked at the Echelon Spectroscope in Hilgers and doubts that it will be useful except in some “particular cases.” The spectroscope has a problem with “overlapping.” 4pp.
18 May 1899
Preston, Thomas, 1860-1900. Fitzgerald, George Francis, 1851-1901. Correspondent RDS Library & Archives
Spectrum analysis
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald about Fitzgerald’s upcoming scientific experiment. Preston writes from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. He intends to visit the laboratory the next day to observe the experiment and gain “practical hints” that may benefit his own work by increasing “illumination” and decreasing “exposure.” He thanks Fitzgerald for sending him the rough papers. 3pp. Transcription: “My dear Prof. Fitzgerald, Many thanks for your note. I have looked into your estimation and think it first class! I shall run into your laboratory tomorrow in the afternoon to see the experiment + get any practical hints you can give me towards its adoption. I shall bless you much if it increases my illumination and decreases my exposure! Many thanks for rough papers which I just received. With kindest regards, Yours very sincerely, Thomas Preston.”
16 January 1899
Preston, Thomas, 1860-1900 RDS Library & Archives
Rayleigh, John William Strutt, 1842-1919.
Zeeman, Pieter, 1865-1943.
Queen's College, Galway.
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald. Preston wrote from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. He thanks Fitzgerald for sending a cheque for £25, which he intends to send to Yeats [possibly referring to William Butler Yeats] “to help to redress his account.” He requests to hear about Lord Rayleigh’s ideas. He criticises Nicholson’s “letter to Nature” and describes his position as “preposterous.” He states that he will reply with a letter himself. He refers to Pieter Zeeman’s academic ideas. He expresses hope that Fitzgerald’s “little boy” will get over measles and concludes that there is no news of Galway. 4pp. Transcription “My dear Prof. Fitzgerald, Many thanks for your cheque which arrived safely, good for £25. If you could manage to keep on sending them till the total reaches £200 or £300 I should be solvent again! I am sending this one to Yeats to help to redress his account but of course that will not clear up the balance still remaining due to him. I would like very much to hear more of Lord Rayleigh’s idea about [Echelon] – I do not understand exactly how he proposes to work it. Nicholson I think does not improve his position by his letter to Nature. You say he still adheres to his law as being approximately true – which is preposterous nonsense. I am writing a short reply to Nature now to say that we might as well assert that all stones were the same size as that Mr Zeeman [widening] is “the same for all lines and instances”!!! That is really the point of issue in the interference method – it does not seem capable (yet) of acting as a measurer. And Nicholson should find out what is wrong with it. I hope your little boy has “passed” measles with honours! We have not “presented” any for examination in that respect yet! No word of Galway so far. Yours very sincerely, Thomas Preston.”
15 March 1899
Science Awards
Boyle Medal
Royal Dublin Society.
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, written from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. Preston writes that he has returned from a tour in the country and received his card, which contained "acceptable intelligence." Preston is surprised by the news that he has been selected to receive an honour [possibly the Boyle Medal] because he believed that his name had been withdrawn. He expresses gratitude to Fitzgerald for his "teaching and influence" and credits him for everything that he "may have done to deserve this honour." 3pp. Transcription “My dear Prof. Fitzgerald, I have just got home from a tour in the Country and found your card here awaiting me with its very acceptable intelligence. It is very kind of you to let me know and I trust the news is true. I am rather surprised, for I did not know that my name was put forward this year- in fact I understood (without any definite reason) that it was withdrawn. I feel I owe it all to you – if not directly then (what is far better) indirectly, for it is through your teaching and influence that I have done all that I may have done to deserve this honour. With kindest regards to Mrs Fitzgerald and self, Yours very sincerely, T. Preston”
1898
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, written from Tilbrush, Smith’s Hotel, and dated 24 April 1896. Preston addresses his “objections” about a scientific theory he had discussed. He discusses the effects of “compression” on spheres and the velocity of waves and states that the “’infinity’ difficulty of compression” never occurs in nature and expands his ideas about spectrum analysis. He considers the ideas important and hopes to meet Fitzgerald soon and discuss them. 4pp.
24 April 1896
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, written on 28 November 1898, on paper from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. He writes that he is unable to meet Fitzgerald for dinner because he will be in Wexford the next day. He writes that he will get a lens cut for an upcoming experiment, which involves ultraviolet. He briefly describes the experiment’s methodology and includes a rough diagram of the set-up. He writes that it will not be expensive. 3pp.
28 November 1898
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, written on 24 November 1898, on paper from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. He writes that he has successfully replaced the quartz lens with a glass lens, resolving the previous problems in an experiment. He spent 3 days of hard work resolving this problem. He considers options for replacing the high ultraviolet now that the quartz is gone and speculates that he may need to replace the lens with a mirror or metallic. 2pp.
24 November 1898
Fitzgerald, George Francis, 1851-1901. Correspondent
Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland).
Royal College of Science (Great Britain).
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, written on 21 November 1898, on paper from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. He writes that he saw a reference to Cotton’s ideas in the [Complete Reader?] taken from an issue of the Éclairage Électrique, published in 1896 as part of a doctoral thesis [L’Éclairage Électrique was a French periodical magazine that ran from 1894-1907]. He also saw a note about it in the Journal de Physique. He unsuccessfully searched for the Éclairage Électrique in the RDS, the Academy, and the Royal College of Science [Great Britain] and intended to search in Trinity College. He wants to see the development of Cotton’s ideas and whether he went off-track because he missed part of the question. 2pp.
21 November 1898
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, written on 21 September 1898, on paper from the University Club, London. He writes that he is pleased that Fitzgerald could not follow Right’s explanation for the fact that “no effect appears across the lines of force in his form of experiment” because he rejects it. He believes that Right’s explanation “must be all ‘rot’” because the effect is marked across and along the lines of force. He looks forward to seeing an Italian paper which has not yet been published in Dublin but has obtained a German paper. He disbelieves Right’s theory and has carried out an experiment at the Royal College of Science that supports his theory, with the difference that the polariser must be inclined to the lines of force, either perpendicular or parallel. He gives further details about his findings and states that he will write a note for the Phil [Philosophy] or Nature magazines about his findings. 4pp.
21 September 1898
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, written on [18?] November 1898, on paper from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. He writes that he looked up the Astro Physics Journal and found a photograph. He questions the conclusions of a published article because he doubts that the revolutions mentioned by Nicholson are caused by the instrument rather than occurring independently. He describes the work of Mr Cotton, which was published in the Éclairage Électrique in 1896 [L’Éclairage Électrique was a French periodical magazine that ran from 1894-1907]. Preston was unable to source the publication in Dublin. He writes about the results of Cotton’s research regarding rotation, absorption and anomalous diffusion. 4pp.
November 1898
Rücker, A. W. 1848-1915.
British Association for the Advancement of Science.
Royal University of Ireland.
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, written on 2 September 1898, on paper, from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. Preston writes that he had “half-hoped” that Fitzpatrick had returned home and would persuade him to attend the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. If Preston can begin work at the Royal University of Ireland next week, he will stay and work at home, but if not, he plans to go to the British Association’s meeting. He hopes to gain £100 to spend on his magnetic field as part of his studies of the Zeeman effect. He plans to write to Rücker [Sir Arthur William Rücker] to lay his application before the Council. He asks Fitzgerald for advice about requesting the money. He has already spent £150 on the experiment. He wishes the Fitzgerald family well. 4pp.
2 September 1898
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, written on 25 June 1898, on paper, from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. He writes about his plans to use iron in experiments about the Zeeman effect when he resumes work at the Royal University. He has just returned from London. During his experiments, he found that the “pressure effect” was not parallel to the Zeeman effect in different substances. He followed Humphrey’s tables on the assumption that they were accurate. He describes his plans for further experiments on the pressure and magnetic effects of different substances. 4pp.
25 June 1898
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, written on 19 June 1898 from the Hotel Metropole, London. He writes that he has enclosed the scientific paper sent by Fitzgerald. He doubts that its “new” statements are “true” because he believes that the quantity used is too small for an accurate conclusion. He thinks that the authors rushed to the conclusion that the magnetic effect is parallel to the pressure effect when he found that no parallel existed in his own experiments. He will return to the question in September. He cannot say that “reversed polarisation” is not a fact but suspects that it may have been caused by “bad apparatus,” “bad experiments”, or the “vivid imaginations” of the Americans “perhaps caused by the war” [probably referring to the then-ongoing Spanish-American War]. 4pp.
19 June 1898
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, written on 13 February 1899 [location not printed]. Preston writes about a scientific paper by Becquerel [probably referring to Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel, a French physicist], which concerns the spectrum of iron. He describes the scientific observations made in this paper and refers to his own past work in the Royal Dublin Society Paper in December 1897 and Philosophy magazine in April 1898. He writes about his experiments in spectrum analysis of different elements. 4pp.
13 February 1899
Nicholson, William, 1753-1815
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, written on 15 March 1898 from the Club House Hotel, County Kilkenny. He writes that he is sending the Astro Physics paper to the College for Fitzgerald to read. Preston read Nicholson’s paper and was unimpressed, describing its contents as what Fitzgerald calls “hugger mugger.” He believes that Nicholson’s paper is “preposterous” because it implies that the effects of his experiment are the same for all wavelengths and substances. Preston describes a diagram on p.136. He speculates that the results have been manufactured by Nicholson’s apparatus while accepting that variations in intensity can occur due to absorption or inherent character. 4pp.
15 March 1898
Preston, Thomas, 1860-1900 RDS Library & Archives Fitzgerald, George Francis, 1851-1901. Correspondent
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 11 June 1896. The paper’s masthead is from his home at Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. He writes that he has enclosed a copy of the paper, titled “the more you squeeze it the bigger it gets,” and asks Fitzgerald for his opinion. Preston may have the paper reprinted in Philosophy magazine. He writes that he has been “floundering” through wave motion for the past month without much progress but hopes to make progress in future so long as he “does not manage to die” in the meantime. He sends his regards to Fitzgerald and his wife. 2pp.
11 June 1896
Foster, G. C. 1835-1919.
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, written on 6 February 1898. He thanked Fitzgerald for sending him a card which contained information about the Bismuth Spiral. He writes that he has sent the negatives to Philosophy magazine for reproduction in their March issue. He is writing an account of his work so far and intends to send it to Philosophy magazine. He does not yet have a complete account to send to the Royal Dublin Society. He notes the retirement of G. C Foster and considers applying to fill the job vacancy, which could present opportunities for him and provide a better laboratory. 2pp.
6 February 1898
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 23 January 1898. Preston wrote from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin, about his scientific experiments. He thanks Fitzgerald for his letter and states that several things will be settled when he has the magnetic field. He writes that the variations may be due to reversal. He is inspecting schools and awaiting a return to his experiments. He is looking for 200 cells of storage battery and asks Fitzgerald if he knows anyone who can lend it to him. 3pp.
23 January 1898
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 4 January 1898. Preston wrote from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. He describes a successful experiment involving pieces of wire enclosed in and protruding from glass tubes, which resulted in “hundreds” of “triplets” observed. He hopes to obtain a new magnet for his experiments. He has obtained a hydrogen tube which makes the red and blue light appear bright, but it has been unsuccessful when the magnetic field has been turned on because the light is very feeble. He invites Fitzgerald to visit and help him with the hydrogen tube experiment. 4pp.
4 January 1898
University College, London.
Physical Society (Great Britain)
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 18 January 1898. Preston wrote from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. He tells Fitzpatrick is writing to the Swan Electric Engraving people to arrange for the plates, which they have presently, to be sent to University College, London, on Thursday morning. He corrects a mistake in his earlier calculations. He writes that he is continuing his work along the lines of force. 3pp.
18 January 1898
Lorentz, H. A. (Hendrik Albertus), 1871-1944.
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 2 January 1898. Preston wrote from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. He thanks Fitzgerald for his letter and reference to a paper by Lorentz [Hendrik Albertus Lorentz, a Dutch physicist]. He writes that he is devoting his time to his experiment. He describes the results, which include the formation of “triplets” caused by vibrations that are equally free in all directions, and the formation of “doublets” and “quartets” when the vibrations are not equally free in all directions. He is observing them in line with Kayser and Runge’s series [Heinrich Kayser and Carl Runge were German physicists and spectroscopists]. He describes the photograph of the spectrum he has obtained through spectrometry experiments. He intends to carry out more experiments and wants “more current,” “more magnetic field,” and “more time.” He sends his regards to Fitzgerald, his wife and children. In a postscript, he invites Fitzgerald to visit and see the spectrum of Ca [Calcium] and Sr [Strontium] in his experiment. 6pp.
2 January 1898
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald dated 24 November 1897. Preston writes from the Imperial Hotel, Waterford. He thanks Fitzgerald for his suggestions. He writes that he has sent three small plates and a short letter to Nature magazine and expects the letter to be published next week. He plans to write a longer article for Philosophy magazine. He decided not to write about Zeeman’s method in relation to Fitzgerald’s paper and suggests that it is unnecessary, but Fitzgerald may do so. He continues to work on the magnetic field. 3pp.
24 November 1897
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 22 November 1897. He writes that Zeeman’s theories are relevant to their discussions and cites a passage from last March’s issue of Philosophy magazine, about ion motion and the magnetic field. Being familiar with the paper, Preston did not understand the British Association’s “shouting” about the matter. He thinks that Zeeman left little further to be said but may have left something to be done. He makes a further note about Zeeman’s theories in spectrometry. 4pp.
22 November 1897
Stoney, G. Johnstone 1826-1911.
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 7 July 1897. Preston writes from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. He writes that he is pleased that Dr Stoney is “coming round” in his opinions and thanks Fitzgerald for his considerable help in the matter. He criticises Stoney’s misleading statement that Preston protested against MacCullagh’s method, an untrue allegation [probably referring to James MacCullagh, an Irish mathematician]. He objects to Stoney’s method and doubts Fitzgerald’s belief that it can be “licked into shape.” Preston has attempted to deduce Fourier’s theorem geometrically without success. He describes his methods, which have failed to deliver the hoped-for results thus far. He writes that he has used a section from Fitzgerald’s letter in his memorandum, which has been sent to Moss, who will send him a proof for approval before its publication. 4pp.
7 July 1897
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 16 February 1897. Preston writes from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. He responds to Fitzgerald’s statements about Stoney, who covers the limitations in his theory by stating that they are “essential physically” but need not be attended to mathematically. Preston is sceptical of Stoney’s statement because it raises problems. He writes that, if true physically, a statement should also prove true mathematically, but Stoney has not given reasoning for his statements. 3pp.
16 February 1897
Lodge, Oliver, 1851-1940.
Lorentz, H. A. (Hendrik Albertus),1871-1944.
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 13 January 1897. Preston writes from Grand Central, Belfast. He “hunted” for Fievez’s paper in the Royal Dublin Society Archives and found it. This theory was criticised by Zeeman in Philosophy magazine. Preston believes that Fievez achieved a magnetic effect in 1885 on a larger scale than Zeeman or his “continental” friends in 1897. He compares it to the experiments of Oliver Lodge. Zeeman credits Hendrik Albertus Lorentz for his work on electro-magnetic theory that has laid a foundation for the polarisation in the Continental experiments. Preston thinks that Zeeman deserves honours for his work, but that Fievez should be recognised for first observing and describing “a clear and explicit statement of what he observed.” The Continental scientists followed this and observed the polarisation described by Lorenz. 4pp.
13 January 1897
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 1 July 1896. The paper’s masthead is from his home at Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. Preston writes that if Fitzgerald agrees to print his paper in Philosophy magazine, he has the permission of the Publication Committee of the Royal Dublin Society. He thinks it would be useful to publish it in Philosophy magazine and, since Fitzgerald is an editor, he can send it to the press. He writes about a change he made to the experiment where he had to “refine” his point of view. He writes that the surface tension can be regarded from the “statistical” or “kinetic” side. As long as the film behaves “as if” in tension, the doctrine remains sound. 3pp.
1 July 1896
Faraday, Michael, 1791-1867.
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 9 January 1897. Preston writes from his home in Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. He describes his recent note for the RS [Royal Society?], which he has expanded by several pages. He describes an article in the Journal de Physique where he read an article about Becquerel [probably referring to Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel, a French physicist], who successfully connected the Faraday Rotation in a magnetic field with the Zeeman effect. Preston thinks that the method was accidental. He had considered the experiment himself previously. He thinks the facts should be established first. 4pp.
9 January 1897
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 5 January 1899. Preston writes from Grand Central Hotel, Belfast. Preston writes that he has sent the first proof of his article to Philosophy magazine. He describes the notes he has added to the paper, including a reference to Fitzgerald’s research about dynamical suggestion. He describes his research into a mathematical formula which may be important for the analysis of chemical elements in future experiments. He believes that he has discovered a new law, but he must continue his research to find if there are exceptions. He asks Fitzgerald to keep the letter as evidence in case someone else publishes the law before he has found out whether exceptions exist. 4pp.
5 January 1899
Science
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 3 September 1896. The paper’s masthead is from Preston’s home at Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. Preston and his wife thank Fitzgerald and his wife for sending a note of congratulations and good wishes. He writes that he is travelling to Howth, where his new address will be Tintern, Howth, until the next meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. He plans to travel to Liverpool by boat. He thinks the Royal University of Ireland should pay their examiners “all the same.” He writes that Fitzgerald has attended a board meeting and should receive an Honorarium payment from the RUI Board, but it is uncertain whether he will. He clarifies that his description of Fitzgerald’s Helmholtz theory as “indigestible” meant that he found “much food for permanent reflection” in it. 4pp.
3 September 1896
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 12 February 1897. The paper’s masthead is from Preston’s home at Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. Preston thanks Fitzgerald for his recent letter. He accepts his suggestions about writing a mathematical expression and intends to send the paper to Fitzpatrick the next day. The remainder of the letter contains complex algebraical expressions and expansions. 4pp.
12 February 1897
Thompson, Silvanus Phillips, 1851-1916.
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 12 March 1899. The paper’s masthead is from Preston’s home at Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. He has recently returned from a tour. He lists the committee members of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, including Oliver Lodge, Monsignor Molloy, Silvanus Phillips Thompson, and Preston and Fitzgerald. He writes that he received a letter from Yeats [possibly William Butler Yeats] asking for money. Preston suspects that the Lord Lieutenant will not offer him a position in [Queen’s College] Galway unless everybody else refuses. He does not feel insulted and plans to stay where he is. 2pp.
12 March 1899
[Letter to George F. Fitzgerald from Thomas Preston].
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald about scientific theorems. The letter’s masthead is from the Portarlington Arms Hotel of Corcoran’s, Roscrea. Preston thanks Fitzgerald for his letter about Dr G. Johnstone Stoney’s theorem. He wrote to Stoney and Lord Rayleigh [John William Strutt Rayleigh] about his extension of Fourier’s Theorem and they encouraged him to publish it. Stoney seemed “alarmed” that he would steal his ideas. Preston’s “new” mathematical extension of Fourier’s Theorem was not contemplated by Stoney, who did not realise that his theorem was really Fourier’s. Preston wants to publish his work without intruding on Stoney’s domain. He writes that he will meet Fitzgerald in College. 4pp.
Helmholtz, Hermann von, 1821-1894.
Handwritten letter from Thomas Preston to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 23 August [probably 1896, since its contents are referenced in GFF 11/6]. The paper’s masthead is from Preston’s home at Bardowie, Orwell Park, Rathgar, County Dublin. He thanks Fitzgerald for sending him the notes from his Helmholtz lecture [German physicist Hermann von Helmholtz] and approves of his topic. Preston writes that he has “read and inwardly indigested” his paper. He is interested in his theories. He hopes to meet Fitzgerald at the British Association for the Advancement of Science later that year. In a postscript, he writes that his baby boy has been at home for the past fortnight, and all is well. 2pp.
23 August 1896
[Letter to George F. FitzGerald from Thomas R. Lyle],
Physics
Handwritten letter from Thomas R. Lyle, The University of Melbourne, to George F. Fitzgerald, dated * February 1899. Lyle discusses his assistant, the application for chair at Sydney, and upcoming travel to America. 2pp. Transcription: Dear Mr Fitzgerald, I wrote you a fortnight ago on behalf of my assistant Mr Love who is applying for the chair at Sydney. It may happen that he will not be in the running ad that the local Sydney assistant - Mr Pollock will have a good chance of the appointment. His, Mr. Pollock's testimonials are not likely to do him justice but I know him well and can say that no mistake will be made if he gets the appointment. I am starting for America on my way home in a couple of days. Yours [?] sincerely Thomas R. Lyle
Lyle, Thomas R. 1860-1944
1899
Fitzgerald, George Francis, 1851-1901.
Litigation.
Handwritten letter from Thomas R. Lyle, The University of Melbourne, to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 27 August 1894. The letter details the potential litigation Lyle may undergo as a result of a salary dispute, and details his issues with the council deciding salaries for himself and other professors. 4pp
1894
Electricity
Wheatstone bridge.
Handwritten letter from Thomas R. Lyle, The University of Melbourne, to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 28 November 1898. Lyle discusses a recent paper publication and considers some advice on publications given to him by Fitzgerald. 2pp. Transcription: Dear Mr. Fitzgerald, I received your kind letter this morning and feel very much indebted to you for the trouble you have taken with my paper. I saw the first number of it in the "Electrician" a fortnight ago and was much pleased with the editorial notice about it. I had scarcely hoped that it was really a new method but it seems likely that I may get the credit for originating it at any rate in its application to the class of questions I treated. I will think about what you say in regard to writing something more mathematical on the same subject but I am at present very busy in my off time (which is very minimal) with a paper on the rotating field motor. I have the work nearly finished but none of the paper written. I can do the thing very simply and neatly and I think you will be pleased with it. Apart from the results I got being likely to be of value to practical electricians the paper will be fairly good from an elementary mathematical point of view. I will impose it on you first when I get it finished but it will be some time yet as I will be very busy with examining and other work right up to Xmas. I have got a years leave and hope to see you all in Dublin about April. They give us a year in every 8 n q here provided we arrange for an [?] substitutes spending at least half our salaries in doing so. In view of my going home I asked the Government for £750 to spend on apparatus while there which they kindly gave me. I think your advice is right that it is not worth while riding an idea to death in papers. Everyone who can appreciate the paper can apply its methods to examples for themselves. I don't know what to say about your suggestion to write a book on alternating currents. I will think over it seriously. I don't mind at all whether it would pay or not if i could put together a respectable thing. It would not be difficult to improve on most of those I have seen and I have already collected or thought of sufficient matter on the subject to make a good sized book. I am very much behind however in the bibliography of the subject. That of course would have to be thoroughly gone into first and it might prove very difficult to get everything out here. What fate befell a short paper I sent you a long time ago on Wheatstone's Bridge. I wish you would if you can prevent its being published anywhere as the same thing is done much better in the last paper and in it (the last) I am not finding fault with another man as I was in the first. Wishing you a merry Xmas Yours very sincerely Thomas R. Lyle
RDS Library & Archive GFF collection of letters
Salaries
Handwritten letter from Thomas R. Lyle, The University of Melbourne, to George F. Fitzgerald dated 4th November 1894. Lyle shares details of what appears to be a legal issue he has encountered with 'the Council' regarding a salary dispute. 6pp.
Magnetism.
Hysteresis.
Handwritten letter from Thomas R. Lyle, The University of Melbourne, to George F. Fitzgerald, dated December 13th 1898. 2pp. Transcription: Dear Mr Fitzgerald I am sending you by this mail a short paper on Hysteresis. Though I have looked at the matter in the way explained in the paper for some time I had in working at a paper I am engaged on to look into the thing more closely and thought it would be worth publishing separately, especially as it bears on my paper already published in the Electrician. I think the method of treatment is new, and if you think so, I will be very much obliged if you send it to some society or send it to the Electrician or any paper you think best to send it to. I hope it is new as I think it neat. Blakesley's method (geom) of heating hysteresis is wrong as it does not give the power absorbed proportional to wbh x volume. I put a remark at the end of this paper (on page 10) about how to get a sine curve of impressed magnetism. If you do not think it important you might kindly draw your pen through it. I forgot in my last letter to you to say that I will settle with you for the 100 copies of my paper from the Electrician when I get home. Yours very sincerely, Thomas R. Lyle
Handwritten letter from Thomas R. Lyle, The University of Melbourne, to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 15 March 1898. Lyle discusses a paper he wishes to publish correcting an error which he sends enclosed to Fitzgerald, and discusses the death of a Dr. Palmer and his upcoming trip home. 2pp. Transcription: Dear Professor Fitzgerald In a paper in the Phil mag. March 1897 by Dr. Grehore and Squier there are I think serious and fundamental errors. I have written a short paper, which I send you enclosed, correcting these errors and I will feel greatly indebted at you looking through it and if you think it worth publishing in the Phil. Mag. of seeing it through for me. I have made the paper as short as I can only connecting the two main slips they make and not touching on the "variation diagrams" they give. Though these seem to me to be founded on error. I have it in my mind to write a short paper on an allied subject and if when I reduce it [?] paper if it works out neatly enough I will if you don't mind send it to you. I see from time to time that many of the fellows of my time are passing away. I was very sorry indeed to see lately of Dr. Palmer's death. I am looking forward to going home for a holiday next year, and hope to spend some time in Dublin then. Yours very sincerely, Thomas R. Lyle
Electric circuits
A handwritten letter from Thomas R. Lyle, The University of Melbourne, to George F. Fitzgerald, dated June 27, 1898. The letter discusses the work of Lyle on alternating currents and transformers, and his difficulties keeping up to date with his field from Melbourne. 2pp. Transcription: Dear Mr Fitzgerald I am sending you a couple additional examples to add to the paper on alternating currents, if you think it is suitable for publication, also a short addition to be made to the example of paper I already sent. The general treatment of the transformer which is enclosed is as far as I know new, but being out of the world practically here I cannot tell with certainty and I won't be much surprised if I hear from you that all the work in the papers I have sent you has been already done by someone else. I feel that I am giving you far too much bother with these things but I don't know anyone else whose advice I could ask. I am so much in your debt already that this won't make a vert large relative increase. Yours very sincerely Thomas R. Lyle
Galvanometer.
Electricity.
Handwritten letter from Thomas R. Lyle, The University of Melbourne, to George F. Fitzgerald, dated September 13th 1898. 2pp. Transcription: Dear Mr. Fitzgerald I was very pleased to hear from you that you thought my paper of some use. I sent by a mail or so after the full paper, a few pages additional containing some more examples, one of which I thought well worth adding [?] that on the transformer where hysteresis [?] are all considered. The principle in method in the paper will enable anyone who has grasped it to transform all the quantitative relations relating to measurements and comparisons where a [?] method with a galvanometer is used for steady currents to the corresponding relations for alternating currents, when a telephone would take the place of a galvanometer. [diagram and detailed equations follow] Is it worthwhile writing a paper about these kind of illustrations of the method with experimental details of trials results or is is a mistake to ride the idea to death? Very many thanks for the trouble you have taken about the publishing of the paper. I don't mind where it appears as long as it may be read by those people to whom it may be of use. yours very sincerely, Thomas R. Lyle
Lyle, Thomas R.
Diffusion.
Evolution.
Magnetic induction.
Handwritten letter from Thomas R. Lyle, Christchurch New Zealand, to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 24 January 1891. Lyle details of a meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advocacy of Science which he attended and presided over a section of. 2pp. Transcription: Dear Mr. Fitzgerald, I have been over here for the last ten days at the meeting of the Australasian Ass. for the Adv. of Science. We have had considering all the circumstances a most successful meeting. It is very far for the Australian people to come still a good number came over. I was President of Section A and send you a newspaper which contains a rough abstract of my address. I had been vert busy all year and when the holidays came on I got inflammation of the bowels and had a very bad time of it for about a week. So the preparing of my address was put off until the last minute. I first got read a paper on magnetic induction but thinking that too stiff for a popular address I wrote a jumble of facts which as it turned out suited remarkably well. A good audience came to hear it and I am very glad that I changed the subject to something easy. In our section there was not much of importance. Prof. Bragg. of Adelaide sent a paper on the Elastic [?] method of treating Electrostatic theorems. It was a very good one. He starts with Oliver Lodge's conception of the ether and deduces very simply all the electrostatic formulae. Threlfall sent a lot of notes about various things the most interesting being on some experiment about the diffusion of gas & [?] on the 2nd law of thermodynamics. He says that the law will require to be further amended by another saving clause .a. if you have two [?] of O & H say at the same temp. a cylinder with piston, the end of the cylinder being porous and if you move the cylinder from O to H & back again in succession work will be obtained until the two gases become thoroughly mixed, His saving clause is that the substances considered must be both physically and chemically homogenous. We got a great lot of the other matter some of which I had to reject and in consequence I have almost required [?] protection. Old fashioned facts from amateur scientific lunatics. That everything almost in the world, storms, disease, etc, can easily be foretold by observing the spots on the sun. That the law of quantatation is all wrong. A complete and perfect theory of cosmic evolution etc etc. - The other sections were very well attended and everyone seems to be satisfied with the meeting. With kind regards, Yours very sincerely, Thomas R. Lyle
1891
[Letter to George F. FitzGerald from Thomas R. Lyle].
Quaternions.
Handwritten letter from Thomas R. Lyle, the University of Melbourne, to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 13 June with no year listed. Lyle discusses a paper he is sending alongside this letter and some of his other work he has been doing. 2pp. Transcription: Dear Mr. Fitzgerald I was greatly pleased at getting your letter a fortnight ago. After I had posted that paper to you I often wished I had it back as it seemed a small thing to be finding out other peoples errors. I have never felt any great desire to publish things unless I felt sure they were very good but your letter had some affect as commenced to put together some things I have known for years and in doing so other things came into my mind and a fairly lengthy paper is the result which I forward to you by this mail. The ides in the paper I have had for many years, even before I came out here, but I was not as much interested then in alternating currents as I was in quaternions. It seemed so obvious to one who knew even the merest smattering of quaternions to apply the first principles of them to simplify the manipulation of the diagram used for graphically working out about harmonic currents. That paper I criticised appeared at this time of time of day seemed to me to point to the fact that these things are not as well known as I thought and your letter started me in earnest. Will you look through the paper I send and if you think it good enough get it published if you can, soon in some journal, the Phil mag, in preference or give it to any society. I think it may be useful, even to practical men for the only unusual thing I put forward is the unit vector though I don't call it that. I have tried my best to put it simply. Some of the examples I give are I think new and all are I think solved very much shorted than they could be by any other method. I could have increased the bulk of the paper by some more interesting examples but I think I have given enough to show the convenience and power of the method. I have looked everywhere I can to find whether anyone has ever applied the same method to the alternate current diagram but could not find that anyone had done so. Oliver Heaviside has a paper on Resistance and Conductance operation in the Phil mag. Dec 1887, but his operations are differential and he defines them as such. Of course his R+L(d/dt) is practically the same as part of what I use (he requires two), but I think there is a great advantage in being able to realise my operation as a motion in space of something instead of working with a mere abstraction that is known to conform to certain laws. I made no reference to this paper (it deals of very different things to mine) though I felt I ought to but did not know what to say. If you think the paper goof enough to publish and you think some reference should be made to Oliver Heaviside I will be very grateful if you put in a suitable foot note. Sometime ago I was looking into the theory of rotating field motors. I think I can put it neatly and I may make a short paper of what I have already done. You must not think I am idle out here because I have not published anything. My duties take up nearly all my time and I have always felt that I ought to do my best for the students and the place. One can get no assistance here. Very rarely will a student work in the laboratory after his degree. Everyone wants to be off making money. I hope you do not think me too great a bother sending this paper to you Yours very sincerely, Thomas R. Lyle
Handwritten Letter from Thomas R. Lyle, The University of Melbourne to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 24th March, Year Unknown. Lyle makes a recommendation for the publication of a former student's work. 2pp. Transcription: Dear Mr. Fitzgerald, One of my students who got his degree 3 years ago is sending on my recommendation to you by this mail a paper of his giving an account of some of work on the Thermo electric diagram. He is a very able fellow and his work is I think very good and I would like to have it publish in some good scientific journal. He got one of the 61 Exhibition scholarships 2 years ago and this is some of the work he did while holding it. He is a very careful and accurate experimenter and the results he has got are very important. We as short fine metals as we could out here and I feel sure that much of these he used were much finer than had been used by Tait in the conclusion of his diagram. The difference between the two are very great. I would like the paper published in some goof journal for two reasons. Steele is a very good fellow and enthusiastic worker, and also it would show the Exhibitions Commission that he has been doing something for his scholarship and so I would perhaps be more likely to get another scholarship soon again. Since I was at home two years ago great changes have occurred out here. Everything that could smash has smashed and the government is retrenching...University yearly grant has been greatly reduced but so far our [?] has not been touched though it may come to that. The lavish expenditure on apparatus of 4 or 5 years ago has been stopped and now we can scarcely get enough to carry on with. I was rather lucky as just before the smash came I got my laboratory practically finished. This was not altogether a blessing however as now with the extra laboratory classes I have very little time I can call my own. Remember me to Mr. Cathcart I believe [?] Ever yours sincerely Thomas R. Lyle
RDS library & Archives GFF collection of letters
Galvanometer
Handwritten letter from Thomas R. Lyle, The University of Melbourne, to George F. Fitzgerald, dated 14 September, with no year listed. 2pp. Transcription: My dear Mr. Fitzgerald, I ought to have written you a time long ago to let you know I have started my new work. I have been very busy these last six weeks and will be so until the end of term 2 weeks hence. This is a very much bigger place than I expected and is likely to grow very fast. My laboratory is not really finished yet indeed only the walls of half of it are up but when it has been completed it will be a very fine place. I think I have... ...rather difficult place to go into when I came out. Everything was in disorder and upside down. My work is going vert smoothly with me now. The students are very attentive and hard working and haven't given me the least trouble. The 1st year class has 135 in it 13 of whom are young ladies. I take the 1st year Ordinary and the 2nd and 3rd year Honour classes and have some very able men in the 3rd year. The appliances for teaching my subject at present are miserable. I have had to exercise my wits very often to get up some model or experiment and have learned a great deal already about how to make... ...I will have a very fine lecture room in the new place and am trying yo have the lecture bench as complete as possible. Everything at had. Gas, oxygen, steam, electricity from storage cells. Two water air pumpers which in a minute give a vacuum of 28 or 29 inches. Sunlight (we nearly always have it here) from the [?] along the table from one end and an electric lamp at the other. Lamp for projection somewhere in front and a solid [?] pedestal near the corner for Galvanometer and a Electrometer. The table itself will be of slate laid on a solid masonry and directly over it at the ceiling I have a beam for suspending things from. I am going to ask for... ...of the Lab now. and have it completed at once. If you have any suggestions I will feel very grateful if you write me. I would like to know where I could find all that has been written about Hertz's work & what you were lecturing on before I left. There is a good library here and they get most of the periodicals. If you would tell my brother Robert or else Russell of any new books that I hought to have I will also feel very much obliged. With kind regards [?] Yours very sincerely Thomas R. Lyle
[Letter to George F. FitzGerald from Thomas Smith],
Smith, Thomas
[Letter to George F. FitzGerald from Thomas W. Blakeley],
Blakeley, Thomas W.
Kelvin, William Thomson, 1824-1907.
Electric displacement.
Differential equations.
Capacitors.
Energy.
Oscillations.
[Letter to George F. FitzGerald from Townson & Mercer],
Townson & Mercer,
1888
[Letter to George F. FitzGerald from Unknown],
Barrett, W. F.
Burch, George James, 1852-1914.
Patent law & practice.
Telegraph.
Marconi, Guglielmo, 1874-1937.
Patents.
Hydraulics.
Mathematics.
Steam-engines.
Royal Institution of Great Britain.
Oxygen.
Electric arc.
Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland)
Mercury.
Distillation.
FitzGerald, George Francis, 1851-1901.
University of London.
Chemical Society (Great Britain)
Calcium carbide.
Clausius, R. (Rudolf), 1822-1888.
Admiralty.
Dynamics.
Railroads.
[Letter to George F. FitzGerald from unknown],
Maxwell, James Clerk, 1831-1879.
[Letter to George F. Fitzgerald from Unknown],
Unknown
Payment.
Trinity College,
1893
Office of National Education,
Blue-coat school,
1897
King's Inns (Dublin, Ireland)
[Letter to George F. Fitzgerald from Unknown].
[Letter to George F. FitzGerald from Unknown].
Stokes, William, 1804-1878.
Luminescence.
Electrophotography.
Electromagnetic theory.
Keely, John Ernest Worrell, 1827-1898.
Matter.
Gravitation.
[Letter to George F. Fitzgerald from V. Pendred],
[Letter to George F. FitzGerald from V. Pendred],
Pendred, V.
Thermodynamics.
[Letter to George F. FitzGerald from W. Anderson],
[Letter to George F. FitzGerald from W. B. MacCabe],
MacCabe, W. B.
Density.
1900
[Letter to George F. FitzGerald from W. Booth],
Booth, W.
Bose, Jagadis Chandra, Sir, 1858-1937.
Physical optics.
Wavelengths.
Jellett, Minna.
Sulfur.
Radiation.