Mathematicians
Peter Guthrie Tait
Modern
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
Scottish mathematical physicist (1831-1901) who, with chemist Alexander Crum Brown, produced the first systematic tables of alternating knots (1876-77) at Lord Kelvin's urging -- work that followed, rather than merely illustrated, Tait's own 1867 smoke-ring demonstration of Helmholtz's vortex-ring theory, the experiment that had inspired Kelvin's vortex atom theory in the first place. Also a leading expositor of quaternions and, with Kelvin, co-author of the Treatise on Natural Philosophy.
Facts
BirthplaceDalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland 1 Nationality / Culture Defining ContributionBuilt the smoke-ring apparatus that experimentally verified Helmholtz's 1858 vortex-ring theory in 1867, the demonstration that inspired Lord Kelvin's vortex atom theory; Kelvin then urged Tait, with Alexander Crum Brown, to classify knots as a framework for that theory, producing the first systematic tables of alternating knots up to 11 crossings (1876-77) by geometric intuition Tait himself called "tentative," yet accurate. Foundational to knot theory as a mathematical discipline, independent of the vortex atom theory itself, which was later abandoned. 1 Notable WorkElementary Treatise on Quaternions (1867) 2 Notable WorkFirst systematic tables of alternating knots to 11 crossings (1876-77); the three Tait conjectures on alternating knots later drawn from this work, all eventually proven, the last (the flyping conjecture) in 1991 2 Notable WorkTreatise on Natural Philosophy (1867, with Lord Kelvin) 2 AwardSmith's Prize (1852, senior wrangler and first Smith's prizeman) 2 Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.