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Search - List of Books by George Adams

George Adams Sr (1720?-1773) was an English optician and scientific writer who was also well known as a maker of mathematical instruments and globes. Among his works are a Treatise on the Construction and Use of Globes (1766) and an "Essay on the Microscope" (1771).

His son, George Adams Jr. (1750– August 14 1795), continued his father's work with younger brother Dudley, publishing an Essay on Vision (1789) and Astronomical and Geometrical Essays (1789) and succeeding his father as Instrument Maker to King George II and the British East India Company. Born in Southampton he was later appointed Optician to the Prince of Wales. His instruments included barometers, microscopes, orreries, sector, telescopes, and a variety of electrical appliances. He also made geographical globes.

He also wrote An Essay on Electricity: Explaining the Theory and Practice of that Useful Science, and the Mode of Applying it to Medical Purposes (London, 1784), which ran to four editions in his lifetime. A fifth edition with an appendix about 'Medical Electricity' by John Birch, a surgeon and author of Della Forza dell'Electricita (Naples, 1778), was published in 1799 with corrections and additions by William Jones, mathematical instrument maker. Adams presented a general theory of electricity and, in line with George IIIs interest in the practical applications of science, an essay detailing its possible medical uses. Sections of the book included: Of electricity in general; Of the electrical machine, with directions for exciting it; The properties of electric attraction and repulsion illustrated by experiments with light bodies; Entertaining experiments by the attraction and repulsion of light bodies, with some remarks on electrical attraction; Of the electrical sparks; Of the electrified points; Of the Leyden phial; Of the electrical battery, and the lateral explosion of charged jars; Of the influence of pointed conductors for buildings; To charge a plate of air; Of the electrophorus; Of atmospherical electricity; Of the diffusion and subdivision of fluids by electricity; Of the electric light in vacuo; Of medical electricity; Miscellaneous experiments and observations; An essay on magnetism. The six engraved plates contained 105 figures, mostly illustrating various experimental instruments constructed by Adams, often at the request of the king, and including a frock-coated patient apparently undergoing electrical therapy.

At Adams' death the stock of his unsold books was acquired by W. and S. Jones, opticians. William and Samuel Jones had a shop at 135 Holborn Hill, London. The business moved to 30 Holborn in 1800.

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This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "George Adams", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
Total Books: 80
2003  Contact Mechanics Friction Modeling And Equipment
2003 Contact Mechanics Friction Modeling and Equipment (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780791837061
ISBN-10: 0791837068
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Astronomical and geographical essays
Astronomical and Geographical Essays (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780217688727
ISBN-10: 0217688721
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Astronomical And Geographical Essays Containing A Full And Comprehensive View On A New Plan Of The General Principles Of Astronomy
Birdscaping for Garden Spaces A Guide to Garden Birds and the Native Plants that Attract Them
Birdscaping Your Garden A Practical Guide to Backyard Birds and the Plants That Attract Them
Cuntame un cuento
Das Rosenkreuzertum als Mysterium der Trinitt
Das Rosenkreuzertum Als Mysterium Der Trinitt (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9783772514982
ISBN-10: 3772514987
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The Description And Use Of The Universal Trigonometrical Octant
The Description and Use of the Universal Trigonometrical Octant [1753] (Paperback)Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9781120030474
ISBN-10: 1120030471
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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The Dorchester and Milton Business Directory
The Dorchester and Milton Business Directory (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781152885028
ISBN-10: 1152885022
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An Essay on Electricity
An Essay on Electricity (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781150539268
ISBN-10: 1150539267
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An Essay On Electricity Explaining The Principles Of That Useful Science And Describing The Instruments
An Essay On Electricity Explaining the Theory and Practice of That Useful Science and the Mode of Applying It to Medical Purposes with an Essay On Magnetism
An Essay on the Use of the Celestial and Terrestrial Globes
Gardening for the Birds How to Create a BirdFriendly Backyard
Genealogy of the Adams Family of Kingston Mass
Genealogy of the Adams Family of Kingston Mass (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781141405459
ISBN-10: 1141405458
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Geometrical and Graphical Essays
Geometrical and Graphical Essays (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781150065774
ISBN-10: 115006577X
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Geometrical and Graphical Essays Containing a General Description of the Mathematical Instruments u
Geometrical and Graphical Essays Containing a General Description of the Mathematical Instruments Used in Geometry Civil and Military
Versuch Uber Die Elektricitat [1786 - German Edition] (Paperback)Hardcover