THE PEIRCE QUINCUNCIAL PROJECTION + "GHOSTS"

PEIRCE, C(HARLES) S(ANDERS).

A Quincuncial Projection of the Sphere + On the Ghosts in Rutherfurd's Diffraction-Spectra. [In: American Journal of Mathematics. Volume II. Number 4.].

Baltimore, John Murphy & Co., 1879.

4to, entire issue present (Vol. II, no. 4). With the original printed wrappers. Uncut. Wrappers loose and with tears and loss to extremities. Backtrip gone. Stitching a bit loose. Internally nice and clean. First paper: A Quincuncial Projection of the Sphere pp. (394)-396 + 1 folded table. Second paper: On the Ghosts in Rutherfurd's Diffraction-Spectra pp. (330)-347. [Entire issue: pp. (293)-404 + IV, (2) pp]

Scarce first printings of these seminal papers, the first of which introduces Peirce's quincunical projection, the second of which documents his discovery of hitherto unknown diffraction phenomena called "ghosts".

The Peirce quincuncial projection (published here for the first time) is a conformal map projection that presents the sphere as a square, which allowed for the displaying of the entire sphere with most areas being recognizable . Peirce called his projection quincuncial, after the arrangement of five items in a quincunx.

"For meteorological, magnetological and other purposes, it is convenient to have a projection of the sphere which shall show the connections of all parts of the surface." Peirce himself wrote. (American Journal of Mathematics. Volume II. Number 4, 394 pp.)

In "On the Ghosts in Rutherfurd's Diffraction-Spectra" Peirce documented his discovery of hitherto unknown diffraction phenomena called "ghosts." In his spectrum meter experiments, Peirce compared wave-lengths of light with the breadth of a diffraction plate. He used a machine called a comparator, a spectrometer he himself designed, and a diffraction plate designed by Lewis M. Rutherfurd.

Order-nr.: 41487