LAPLACE, PIERRE-SIMONE. - LAPLACE'S THEORY OF CAPILLARITY.

Considerations Sur la Théorie des phénomènes capillaires. (Lu à l'Academie des Sciences le 13 septembre 1819). (+) Application du calcul des probabilités aux opérations géodésiques de la méridienne de France. (+) Mémoire Sur l'Application du calcul des probabilités aux observations, et spécialement aux opérations du nivellement. (Lu à l'Academie des Sciences le 20 décembre 1819). (3 papers).

Paris, Crochard, 1819. Later full buckram. Gilt lettering on spine. Stamp on verso of title-page.. "Annales de Chimie et de Physique, Par MM. Gay-Lussac et Arago.", Tome 12.. Entire volume offered. 448 pp. a. 1 folded engraved plate. Laplace's papers: pp. 5-12, pp. 37-41 a. pp. 337-341. Scattered brownspots.

The paper on Capillarity is the last version of this theory in which he refined it to take account of the effect of heat in reducing the attractive force between the particles of a liquid. "The net attractive force was now taken as the difference between the innate attraction (the only force considered in the supplement to the "Mecanique celeste") and a repulsive force that was supposed to be caused by the presence of heat."(DSB). - Using the theory of Boscovich, "who assumed that between every two ultimate particles and along the lines connecting them forces act which are attractive for some distances and repulsive for others. Using this theory, with the added requirements that that the molecular forces diminish rapidly with increase of the distances between the molecules, Laplace was able to develop his theory of capillarity (referring to the offered paper)."(Timoshenko "History of the Strenghts of Material", p. 104).

The 2 papers here offered on probability applied, were both incorporated into the third edition of "Theoriques analytique des probabilities" (1820).

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