65 



Note on the early history of the potential functions. By A. S. Hath- 

 away. 



This is to call attention to an injustice that has been done by Todhunter 

 in his "History of the Theory of Attractions" in assigning to Laplace in- 

 stead of Lagrange the honor of the introduction of the potential function 

 into dynamics. This injustice has been perpetuated by various encyclope- 

 dias, notably the Encyclopedia Britannica, and by leading text books, such 

 as Thompson and Tait's Natural Philosophy, and Maxwell's Electricity and 

 Magnetism. In an article in Vol. 1 No. 3 of the Bulletin of the New York 

 Mathematical Society (Dec. 1891) I have shown conclusively that Lagrange 

 anticipated Laplace by at least ten years in investigations on the potential. 

 Laplace's first announcement is fixed by Todhunter as between 1783 and 

 1785, and this was merely through the paper of another, Legendre. La- 

 grange on the other hand, wrote distinctly upon that subject in 1773, 1777 

 and 1780 ; and in the last paper the notation is the same as that used by La- 

 place three or four years later. There is also evidence that Lagrange had 

 begun to develop the idea of the potential as early as 17G3, in connection 

 with his celebrated generalized equations of motion. 



Some geometrical propositions. By C. A. Waldo. 



Notes on numerical radices. By C. A. Waldo. 



Some suggested changes in notation. By R. L. Green. 



An adjustment for the control magnet on a mirror galvanometer. By 

 J. P. Naylor. 



A combined Wheatstone's bridge and potentiometer. Bv J. p. Naylok. 



Histeresis curves for mitis and other cast iron. By J. E. MoouEandE. 



M. TiNGLEY. 

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