3-50-1. H. Poincaré à T. J. J. See, extract, English translation

[06.07.1911]11endnote: 1 In November, 1911, the astronomer T.J.J. See published an extract of a letter he had received during the summer from Poincaré. The extract was probably translated to English by See himself. The manuscript of Poincaré’s letter has not been located; it is not among See’s papers at the Library of Congress.

Writing to me from Paris under date of July 6, 1911, this incomparable mathematician says:

“I have made use of your book (Researches, Vol. II) in my course this year, although I had not expected to do so, since I did not receive the volume till near the close of the last lesson; I then insisted, with profit, on the capture of planets by a resisting medium.22endnote: 2 See (1910).

My course is being published and I shall send it to you as soon as it appears, that is to say, in the month of November. You will see there the remarks and the difficulties which your theories have suggested to me.33endnote: 3 Poincaré (1911). In fact, Poincaré found two faults with See’s “capture theory”: it does not explain why planetary orbits are in the same sense, and why they are all close to the ecliptic plane. When See reviewed Poincaré’s Leçons for Popular Astronomy, he attributed these criticisms to a misunderstanding (See, 1912).

Your very devoted Colleague, POINCARE”

PD. See (1911, 530–531).

Time-stamp: "25.07.2025 20:15"

Notes

  • 1 In November, 1911, the astronomer T.J.J. See published an extract of a letter he had received during the summer from Poincaré. The extract was probably translated to English by See himself. The manuscript of Poincaré’s letter has not been located; it is not among See’s papers at the Library of Congress.
  • 2 See (1910).
  • 3 Poincaré (1911). In fact, Poincaré found two faults with See’s “capture theory”: it does not explain why planetary orbits are in the same sense, and why they are all close to the ecliptic plane. When See reviewed Poincaré’s Leçons for Popular Astronomy, he attributed these criticisms to a misunderstanding (See, 1912).

References

  • H. Poincaré (1911) Leçons sur les hypothèses cosmogoniques. Hermann, Paris. External Links: Link Cited by: endnote 3.
  • T. J. J. See (1910) Researches on the Evolution of the Stellar Systems, Volume 2: The Capture Theory of Cosmical Evolution. Nichols, Lynn, MA. External Links: Link Cited by: endnote 2.
  • T. J. J. See (1911) The evolution of the starry heavens. Popular Astronomy 19 (9), pp. 529–547. External Links: Link Cited by: 3-50-1. H. Poincaré à T. J. J. See, extract, English translation.
  • T. J. J. See (1912) Review of Poincaré’s Lectures on Cosmogony. Popular Astronomy 20, pp. 13–14. External Links: Link Cited by: endnote 3.