| RefNo | HSF/2/1/72 |
| Previous numbers | 32.8.55 and 32.8.55A |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter from J H [John Herschel], to 'Dear Alick' [Alexander Stewart Herschel] |
| Creator | Herschel; John (1837-1921); British army officer and astronomer |
| Date | no date [1863?] |
| Description | He takes it for granted that Alick will help him. He has a mathematical difficulty, on wave curves, and asks if it is possible to assign a general equation to the second series. John has a few elementary books, none of which deal with transcendentals. His object is meteorological, as such phenomena happen in periods which have cycles, which may be plotted, and sometimes modified as a curve, approximating to the ones he spoke of. He expands upon his requirements, saying he has twelve years' daily rain gauge data from the same place, and he thinks he can show a period corresponding to the lunar month. If he can prove this, no-one will be able to contest a connection between the Moon and the weather. He notes where the theory of probabilities might come in and asks Alick to think the matter over. He wonders whether, if this has not been done before, it may be an oversight. He does not wish Alick to work the problem, just to tell him whether there is an impossibility in this, and if not, to send him a work on plane curves. He notes a different process of dealing with lesser periods. |
| Extent | 8p. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA7955 | Herschel; John (1837 - 1921); Colonel; military engineer, surveyor and astronomer | 1837 - 1921 |