| RefNo | MS/603/3/60 |
| Previous numbers | 459 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter from Geo Fras [George Francis] Fitzgerald, St Lawrence Lodge, Sutton, Co Dublin, to [Joseph] Larmor |
| Creator | FitzGerald; George Francis (1851-1901); Irish theoretical physicist |
| Recipient | Larmor; Sir Joseph (1857-1942); Irish theoretical physicist |
| Date | 18 July 1894 |
| Description | Larmor should not trouble to send back Fitzgerald's manuscript as he has rough notes if they are ever wanted. He refers Larmor to tables of reciprocals publsihed by the British Association and these were intended to aid in looking for harmonics. These have been exploded by [Heinrich] Kayser and [Carl] Runge in looking for empirical relations, finding important ones which were not linear. Stoney's finding that three of the H lines were almost accurate harmonics was an accident, and that all the H lines obey parabolic law. Fitzgerald does not think it necessary for Larmor to go into the structure of the medium which would enable it to possess rotational elasticity; he only harps on at such questions because if they could prove that aether has a structure, it would be an important step. He notes his remaining objection to Larmor's model before discussing conductors and compression, which he is 'too lazy... to work it out'. Fitzgerald moves to radiation, thinking that the only steady states are those states with stationary waves all around, and he discusses his ideas at length. He concludes by wondering why Larmor doubts the possibilty of turbulent liquid motion, as Lord Kelvin's diffusion argument can be overcome easily. |
| Extent | 8p. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| AccessStatus | Open |