Has been to the observatory. New comet discovered. Has met P. S. Laplace. Does he know of any tables of logarithms to 10,000?
Showing 81–100 of 113 items
Has been to the observatory. New comet discovered. Has met P. S. Laplace. Does he know of any tables of logarithms to 10,000?
Has just returned from collecting information on machines. Regarding the Lucasian professorship at Cambridge. Has met a clockmaker who is able to work on his machine.
Would like to spend Christmas with him. Does he want a Newfoundland puppy?
Regarding Mr. Moreau and his certificate. Recent happenings at the R.S.L. Has been pheasant shooting.
Thanks for his valuable communications. His theory regarding the method of determining the difference of parallax is ingenious. Regarding the difference in observations of certain stars between Dublin and Greenwich. Returns G. A. A. Plana's letter and comments on this. Has not yet printed his paper on fixed stars.
Thanks for the loan of his paper on the parallax. Regarding Wilhelm Struve's paper.
Is sending his paper on the aberration so that it can be laid before the Board of Longitude. Also sending new table for the measurement of heights by means of the barometer. Regarding the distribution of the Memoirs to Associates.
Thanks for instruments and books. Death of Prof. Giuseppe Piazzi. Returns instruments for repair. Books have not reached him. Sends first volume of one of his own works.
Has received the gift of books for which he is grateful. They have been placed in the library.
Previous engagement prevents WW witnessing experiment of A. M. Ampère tomorrow. Waits for JH's report. Hopes to see JH at [Georges] Cuvier's tomorrow.
Wanted [JH] to become Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, but electors favor one of Heads. This will also operate against Charles Babbage.
Restriction to reside constantly [at Cambridge] may deter Charles Babbage from position of Lucasian Professor.
Errors in equinoctial time calculated by John Pond. Suggests limiting decimal places in value of equinoctial time to reflect this uncertainty. Making error uniform will make it awkward to alter future almanacs.
Resolved puzzle about sidereal year, which needs better definition. Error between true and nominal positions prevents TY adopting 'equinoctial time' for chronology investigations.
J. J. Littrow's paper in F. X. von Zach's April [Correspondence astronomique, géologique, hydrographique et statistique] is only 'a new hash' of [F. W.] Bessel and no improvement.
Send plan of furnace to TY or Michael Faraday before tomorrow's committee meeting.
Describes plan to carry out pendulum experiments with G. B. Airy. Asks JH for help in borrowing instruments from the R.S.L.
Describes the pendulum experiments he and G. B. Airy are carrying out in Dolcoath Mine.
Reports that an accident destroyed one of the pendulums used by G. B. Airy and WW in their Dolcoath experiments. Obtained some results and believes in the general soundness of the method employed.
Tells JH that the Lucasian Professorship has become available. Believes most Cambridge people favor JH. Urges JH to write the electors, i.e., the heads of the Cambridge colleges.