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In Leide, chez Pierre Vander Aa, Marchand Libraire, MDCXC (1690). 4th (23.4 x 18 cm), pp. (8)-124, [2], 125-128, [2], 129-180 with 89 woodcut figures engraved in the text, manuscript notes. Contemporary binding in full parchment, calligraphic title. Light browning, scattered foxing, small worm hole on the outer edge. Restoration and small hole on the frontispiece.
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TREATICES ON OPTICS
First edition, first state, of one of the great classics of optics. Example of presentation on large paper, without dedication.
This book contains Huygens' theory of optical phenomena in terms of the wave theory of light and opposes the corpuscular theory advanced by Newton. In the present Treatise, Huygens compared light to sound and, consequently, assimilated it to the propagation of a longitudinal vibration through a material medium or ether. The analysis of this movement led Huygens to consider that all points of a wave can be the site of a new vibration. Their envelope therefore constitutes a new wave surface capable of propagating infinitely. Huygens thus provided the general framework for the famous "Huygens-Fresnel principle" or principle of the envelope of elementary waves, which played such an important role in the development of the wave theory of light in the 19th century. Huygens also studied the phenomenon of the double refraction of the Icelandic spar and observed that two rays emanating from a first spar no longer behave in the same way with respect to a second spar and that, depending on the respective orientations of the two crystals, the number of rays varies emerging and their intensity. Huygens' wave theory of light remained unacceptable for over 100 years until Thomas Young used it to explain optical interference. The second part of this book - Discours de la Causa de la heavyur – contains Huygens' mechanical explanation of gravity. His "view was that gravity should not be attributed to the quality or propensity of bodies, but should be explained, like every other natural process, in terms of motion." See Wolf, I, p. 164. This copy is part of the first state, in which the initials Huygens are on the title, rather than his full name. See Dibner, Heralds of Science, 146. Horblit Sparrow, Milestones of Science, 111. Evans, First Editions of Epochal Achievements in the History of Science< /i> (1934), 32. ”The reader d'aujourd'hui découvrira dans cet ouvrage des aperçus prophétiques concernant, par exemple la structure des cristaux ou la méthode scientifique que défendait l'auteur, theorist d'envergure auquel nous devons également the setting up of the balance clock, the discovery of the Saturn rings and the first complete display of the probability calculation. Hollandais, C. Huygens, fut hautement respecté par son époque. A l'inverse de Newton, the prêcha en faveur de la thèse undulatoire de la lumière. L'avenir allait leur donner raison à tous les deux”. (from the preface of a modern reprint).
Specialist Notes
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TREATICES ON OPTICS
First edition, first state, of one of the great classics of optics. Example of presentation on large paper, without dedication.
This book contains Huygens' theory of optical phenomena in terms of the wave theory of light and opposes the corpuscular theory advanced by Newton. In the present Treatise, Huygens compared light to sound and, consequently, assimilated it to the propagation of a longitudinal vibration through a material medium or ether. The analysis of this movement led Huygens to consider that all points of a wave can be the site of a new vibration. Their envelope therefore constitutes a new wave surface capable of propagating infinitely. Huygens thus provided the general framework for the famous "Huygens-Fresnel principle" or principle of the envelope of elementary waves, which played such an important role in the development of the wave theory of light in the 19th century. Huygens also studied the phenomenon of the double refraction of the Icelandic spar and observed that two rays emanating from a first spar no longer behave in the same way with respect to a second spar and that, depending on the respective orientations of the two crystals, the number of rays varies emerging and their intensity. Huygens' wave theory of light remained unacceptable for over 100 years until Thomas Young used it to explain optical interference. The second part of this book - Discours de la Causa de la heavyur – contains Huygens' mechanical explanation of gravity. His "view was that gravity should not be attributed to the quality or propensity of bodies, but should be explained, like every other natural process, in terms of motion." See Wolf, I, p. 164. This copy is part of the first state, in which the initials Huygens are on the title, rather than his full name. See Dibner, Heralds of Science, 146. Horblit Sparrow, Milestones of Science, 111. Evans, First Editions of Epochal Achievements in the History of Science< /i> (1934), 32. ”The reader d'aujourd'hui découvrira dans cet ouvrage des aperçus prophétiques concernant, par exemple la structure des cristaux ou la méthode scientifique que défendait l'auteur, theorist d'envergure auquel nous devons également the setting up of the balance clock, the discovery of the Saturn rings and the first complete display of the probability calculation. Hollandais, C. Huygens, fut hautement respecté par son époque. A l'inverse de Newton, the prêcha en faveur de la thèse undulatoire de la lumière. L'avenir allait leur donner raison à tous les deux”. (from the preface of a modern reprint).
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