| RefNo | MS/957/94 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter from William Galbraith, 54 South Bridge, opposite the College, Edinburgh, to Captain Henry Kater, 2 York Gate, Regent's Park, London |
| Creator | Galbraith; William (1786-1850); British mathematician |
| Date | 20 May 1830 |
| Description | He expected to write to Kater long ago, sending a new edition of his book, but it has been delayed. From the sheets he sent to Kater, the latter would be aware of the many corrections and amendments to be made to the text. He hopes it will prove interesting to practical men engaged in accurate surveys. He thanks Kater for his valuable communications. He asks what Kater thinks of the method of computing the spherical excess to sufficient accuracy using a common carpenter's slide rule. Professor [John] Leslie is pleased with its simplicity and Galbraith finds the sliding rule by Jones of Holborn useful for the purpose. Galbraith notes a small article on trigonometrical levelling, his addition of a small suplementary table to p.286 on constants for correcting the places of stars, and a final table in the book. He thanks Kater again for his help and would welcome any more candid remarks. |
| Extent | 4p. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| Dimensions | 233x188mm. |
| AccessStatus | Open |