Item #001997 A Brief Account of Microscopical Observations made in the Months of June, July, and August 1827, on the Particles Contained in the Pollen of Plants, and on the General Existence of Active Molecules in Organi and Inorganic Bodies. Robert BROWN.
A Brief Account of Microscopical Observations made in the Months of June, July, and August 1827, on the Particles Contained in the Pollen of Plants, and on the General Existence of Active Molecules in Organi and Inorganic Bodies.

The discovery of the Brownian Movement

A Brief Account of Microscopical Observations made in the Months of June, July, and August 1827, on the Particles Contained in the Pollen of Plants, and on the General Existence of Active Molecules in Organi and Inorganic Bodies.

Edinburgh: Printed for Adam Black, 1828.

1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Item #001997

In: The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, April to September 1828, pp. 358-371. Edinburgh: Printed for Adam Black, Edinburgh and Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, & Green, London. Whole volume, 8vo (210x131 mm), [4], iv, 416 pp. Contemporary three-quarter calf with gilt title to spine and blue-sprinkled edges. Some occasional spotting to text and plates. Good copy. ----

PMM 290, Dibner 156, Sparrow 31 (all citing unpublished paper). This is the first appearance of Brown's groundbreaking paper on random molecular movement (the phenomenon that now bears his name) in a journal and the first "obtainable" issue (preceded only by the exceedingly rare private print). "In 1827 Brown, while making microscopical observations, saw that pollen grains of the herb 'Clarkia pulchella,' while suspended in liquid, engaged in a continuous, hap-hazard, zig-zag movement. Surprised at what he saw, he continued similar experiments with other substances - including inanimate bodies such as minerals and smoke - and found that when the particles were very small, they all possessed the same motion" (PMM 290). Brown's 'Brief Account' was first printed as a pamphlet in small number for private circulation. Most copies known of this private print have been presented by Brown to colleagues (see Norman 353). There has been some debate whether this appearance or that in The Philosophical Magazine of London, the same year (see Norman 354) constitutes the first published edition, but a priority could not be determined. Sparrow, Milestones of Science, 31 cites this paper in the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal.

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