Originally published in 1873, Elements of Natural Philosophy is a condensed version of Lord Kelvin and Peter Tait's revolutionary work Treatise on Natural Philosophy. This version is designed for beginning students and the examples and lessons it contains use only geometry, algebra, and trigonometry, eschewing the calculus of the more advanced edition. Written for math students at the university level, this textbook will be of interest to anyone with a love for math and science. Irish scientist, engineer, and author LORD WILLIAM THOMSON KELVIN (1824-1907) is considered an foundational thinker of modern physics. He invented the Kelvin temperature scale and also helped develop the first transatlantic telegraph cable. Scottish physicist PETER GUTHRIE TAIT (1831-1901) is most famous for writing, with Lord Kelvin, the groundbreaking physics textbook Treatise on Natural Philosophy (1867).

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The lecture series on the Theory of the Top was originally given as a dedication to Göttingen University by Felix Klein in 1895, but has since found broader appeal. The Theory of the Top: Volume I. Introduction to the Kinematics and Kinetics of the Top is the first of a series of four self-contained English translations that provide insights into kinetic theory and kinematics.