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Letters from Airy, George Biddel to Charles Lyell, 6 March 1835 - 27 March 1865

 File — Box: Box 1.1
Identifier: Coll-203/1/5

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Letters are summarised as:

  1. Explaining the theories of 'uniformity of the sea depth' in reference to equations from Mary Somerville and Pierre Simon de Laplace. Mentions separate theory of absolute depth in relation to the moon and tides. Adds personal views on Somerville and De Laplace's theories
  2. Refers to Charles Henry Davis (US Navy - researcher of tides and currents) paper on the winds impact on tide direction and the winds influence on the movement of shingle beaches
  3. Refers to Major White. Airy's thoughts and theories about the movement of shingles on the beaches
  4. Mentions sending his children underground to measure the heat below the surface. Refers to Sir William Denison's letter regarding his boat journey on the western coast of India and the stink of fish in the water
  5. Explains the details of Sir William Denison's letter, gives his own theories regarding the poisoning of the fish and the smell
  6. Part of the actual letter Airy received by William Denison explaining his journey from Mangalore India to Cananare and the annual impact of the S.W. monsoon on the fish
  7. Answering Lyell's questions from a previous letter regarding the earth's orbit. Mentions his first assistant W. Stone is conducting a study regarding the subject

Dates

  • Creation: 6 March 1835 - 27 March 1865

Creator

Language of Materials

English

Language of Materials

French

Full Extent

12 folios (1 folder)

Full Extent

4 envelopes

Related Names

Subjects

Physical Storage Information

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository

https://library.ed.ac.uk/heritage-collections
Contact:
Centre for Research Collections
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