Physics Seminar Series: The Rise and Fall of Quaternians

As part of the Fall Physics Seminar Series, Our very own Mike Cullinane(KSC Mathematics Department) will speak on the Rise and Fall of Quaternians.

The so-called quaternions, discovered by William Rowan Hamilton, Astronomer Royal of Ireland, in 1843, form a generalization of the complex numbers. This presentation surveys the historical development of and motivation for Hamilton’s work with the quaternions, including connections to the concept of vectors, as well as the great promise with which the quaternions were initially welcomed and their ultimate downfall when it was realized this promise could not be fulfilled.