Tait, Peter Guthrie

Tait, Peter Guthrie, 1831–1901, Scottish physicist and mathematician. He was professor of natural philosophy at Edinburgh from 1860 and conducted important investigations in thermodynamics and the kinetic theory of gases. His early work in mathematics was mainly concerned with quaternions. His writings include Treatise on Natural Philosophy (with Lord Kelvin, 1867) and Scientific Papers (2 vol., 1898–1900).

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