THE SIGNIFICANCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF HAMILTON'S QUATERNIONS

Abstract

A HUNDRED years ago, on November 13, 1843, Sir William Rowan Hamilton read to the Royal Irish Academy his first paper on quaternions. The centenary is being celebrated by the Academy, and the Government of Eire is issuing a special post age stamp commemorating Hamilton' s work. Hamilton' s treatises, in the opinion of Prof. P. G. Tait, can “only be compared with the 'Principia' of Newton and the 'Mecanique Celeste' of La Place as a triumph of analytical and geometrical power”. On the other hand, Lord Kelvin declared that quaternions, “though beautifully ingenious, have been an unmixed evil to those who have touched them in any way, including Clerk Maxwell”. It is difficult in the present I relativist age to be as certain of anything as the Victorians were of everything, and we shall examine the conflicting points of view, indicating both majority and minority opinions. But before discussing these controversial matters, it is advisable to recall the facts concerning Hamilton and his discovery.