2-55-6. Peter Guthrie Tait to H. Poincaré

20 /5 /[18]92

58 George Square – Edinburgh

Sir,

Mr. Lockyer forwarded your note to me, and today he had sent me (in proof) your letter to Nature.11 1 Poincaré (1892), published 26.05.1892. Sir Norman Lockyer (1836–1920) was an astronomer, and the founder and editor of Nature.

It never entered my head to doubt your good faith. What I did doubt was my having made my meaning clear to you. For it appears to me that the main points on which we differ are connected with the validity of certain modes of reasoning from experimental facts, and not with the mere terms in which these facts are stated.

I have sent a few lines, to this effect, to Mr. Lockyer.22 2 Tait (1892b).

And I have directed my publishers to send you a copy of a little book of mine, from which you may (at your leisure) see fully the views I have expressed on Thermo-electricity [Chap. XI, and § 414], and on the Second Law of Thermodynamics [§§ 57, 82, 95, 125, & 439]. Also on Thermodynamic Motivity [§§ 407, sq.].33 3 Tait 1892a. The brackets are Tait’s.

Yours sincerely,

P.G. Tait

ALS 2p. Private collection, Paris 75017.

Time-stamp: "30.05.2017 23:52"

References

  • H. Poincaré (1892) Poincaré’s ‘Thermodynamics’. Nature 45, pp. 414–415. External Links: Link Cited by: footnote 1.
  • P. G. Tait (1892a) Heat. Macmillan, London. External Links: Link Cited by: footnote 3.
  • P. G. Tait (1892b) Poincaré’s ‘Thermodynamics’. Nature 45, pp. 532. External Links: Link Cited by: footnote 2.