Argon, a New Constituent of the Atmosphere.
by Rayleigh, Lord & William Ramsay
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Excellent
- Seller
-
Moray, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Washington D.C.: The Smithsonian Institution, 1896. Hardcover. Excellent. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. Large octavo. Original green cloth, titles to upper board gilt, yellow coated endpapers. Corners and tail of spine bumped slightly affecting leaves, else a very fresh copy in excellent condition. First separate edition, first printing of the first publication on the discovery of argon, which led to Nobel Prizes for its co-discoverers. "Few discoveries have been as dramatic as the discovery of argon in the atmosphere by Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay, professor of chemistry at University College, London. The discovery of argon involved a bitter public dispute concerning the legitimacy of a chemical element whose most important characteristic was its inertness, and which forced the chemists to reassess the very notion of a chemical element." Rayleigh had begun work to determine the densities of atmospheric gases in 1882. In 1892 he uncovered a strange discrepancy between the atomic weight of atmospheric nitrogen and nitrogen derived from ammonia. Further experiments led him to the conclusion that the extra weight represented an unknown constituent of the atmosphere, and in 1894 Rayleigh and Ramsay joined forces in an attempt to isolate it. "Letters were written to The Times criticizing Rayleigh's and Ramsay's work, especially their unwillingness to make public the details of their investigations. Rayleigh and Ramsay kept the details private until they were absolutely certain about the new element because they wished to receive (which they did) the Smithsonian Hodgkins prize for discoveries associated with the atmosphere. The final announcement was made at a meeting of the Royal Society at University College, London, on 31 January 1895, less than a week after Lord Kelvin in his presidential address to the Royal Society had referred to the discovery of the new constituent as the greatest scientific event of the year. Lord Kelvin chaired the meeting to which the councils of both the Chemical and the Physical Society were invited. There were 800 people present when Ramsay read the paper. Rayleigh's comment at the end was quite characteristic: 'I am not without experience of experimental difficulties, but certainly I have never encountered them in anything like so severe and aggravating a form as in this investigation' (Rucker, 337)" (ODNB).
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Details
- Bookseller
- Alembic Rare Books (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 93
- Title
- Argon, a New Constituent of the Atmosphere.
- Author
- Rayleigh, Lord & William Ramsay
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Excellent
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- The Smithsonian Institution
- Place of Publication
- Washington D.C.
- Date Published
- 1896
- Size
- 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- Science|Chemistry
Terms of Sale
Alembic Rare Books
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About the Seller
Alembic Rare Books
Biblio member since 2018
Moray
About Alembic Rare Books
We specialise in rare science books dating from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century, including first editions, signed copies, manuscripts, objects, and ephemera. We have particular expertise in natural history, genetics and evolution, anatomy, nuclear physics and the Manhattan Project, early computing, and women in science. We also carry books related to women's history and literature.
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- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Tail
- The heel of the spine.
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
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