| RefNo | MS/603/3/71 |
| Previous numbers | 470 and 512 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter from [George Francis Fitzgerald], 7 Ely Place, to [Joseph] Larmor |
| Creator | FitzGerald; George Francis (1851-1901); Irish theoretical physicist |
| Recipient | Larmor; Sir Joseph (1857-1942); Irish theoretical physicist |
| Date | 11 February 1895 |
| Description | Fitzgerald considers the question of what is proved, rather than what is possible, thinking that [Ludwig] Boltzmann deals with likelihoods and has not advanced things by much. Larmor's statement about oxygen and nitrogen neither absorbing nor radiating, and that the atmosphere would be cold but for dssociation in aqueous vapour is nice, but wrong, and Fitzgerald discusses this. He makes 'an extreme suggestion', which he has not time to consider, but scribbles down what comes into his mind. He cannot see why dissociation is outside usual investigation. The amount of dissociation in most bodies is too small for the theory. He discusses his own inconsistency in objecting and assuming equal partition of energy. Fitzgerald has been attempting to prove to [Samuel] Tolver Preston that he is assuming an impossible temperature equilibrium between [Georges-Louis] Le Sage's corpuscles and the earth matter. Preston is 'knocking him over' with [Ludwig] Boltzmann and with the difference in size, but Fitzgerald thinks this irrelevant if the temperature equilibrium theorem holds when several simultaneous encounters take place. He thinks someone may have extended matters to four simultaneous collisions. Fitzgerald debates whether the particlaes are rigid or not, and the effect this may have. |
| Extent | 6p. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA7971 | Fitzgerald; George Francis (1851 - 1901) | 1851 - 1901 |