Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-qxdb6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T19:05:45.824Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

William Edwin James: Designer and Maker of Astronomical Optics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2016

H. C. Bolton  and
D. W. Coates
H. C. Bolton
Affiliation:
Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic. 3052, Australia
D. W. Coates
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 3168, Australiadcoates@sci.monash.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We give an account of the life and work of William James, including his many contributions to astronomy in Australia mainly through his skill in designing, figuring and testing aspheric surfaces.

Keywords

instrumentation: miscellaneous
Type
History of Australian Astronomy
Information
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , June 1996 , pp. 258 - 267
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of Australia 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bolton, H. C. 1983, J. J. McNeill and the development of optical research in Australia. Historical Records Aust. Science 5 (4), 55-70CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolton, H. C. 1990, Optical instruments in Australia in the 1939-45 War: Successes and lost opportunities. Australian Physicist 27 (3), 31-43Google Scholar
Bolton, H. C. 1991, A. M. G. Thorn: Crossing the gap between amateur and professional science. The Victorian Historical Journal 62, 51-9Google Scholar
Bolton, H. C. 1995, The Australian Optical Society’s Medal is awarded to W. E. (Bill) James AM, FAIP. Australian & New Zealand Physicist 32 (5), 81-2Google Scholar
Bolton, H. C, & James, W. E. 1995, What the killer whale sees. Australian & New Zealand Physicist 32 (4), Educational Supplement 3-6 [This is the last article written by James.]Google Scholar
Cannon, R. 1987, Observing the Supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud’. Australian Physicist 24, 216-21Google Scholar
Davis, J. 1990, Chatterton Astronomy Department, School of Physics, University of Sydney, in a letter of 26 July 1990 to one of the authors (HCB)Google Scholar
Davis, M. E. 1990, Henry Evans Baker: A Brave, Able, Original Man (Privately published by the author, Brisbane, Queensland)Google Scholar
Dawkins, R. 1986, The Blind Watchmaker (London: Longman Scientific and Technical)Google Scholar
Eddington, A. S. 1940, The Expanding Universe (London:Pelican Books), A70 Google Scholar
Gascoigne, S. C. B. 1988, Australian astronomy since the Second World War, in Australian Science in the Making, ed. Home, R. W. (Cambridge Univ. Press), 345-73Google Scholar
Gascoigne, S. C. B., Proust, K. M., & Robins, M. O. 1990, The Creation of the Anglo-Australian Observatory (Cambridge Univ. Press), Ch. 6, p. 96 and Ch. 10, p. 168Google Scholar
Hargreaves, F. J. 1948, The Size of the Universe (London:Pelican Books), A193 Google Scholar
Hargreaves, F. J. (1962-64). Letters to Bill James, May 1962 to June 1964. [Available in Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science. Manuscripts, James, E. MS 137. See also note in Historical Records Aust. Science (1986) 6 (3), 424. Photocopies of these letters are to be presented to the University of Melbourne Archives.]Google Scholar
Hartung, E. J. 1968, Astronomical Objects for Southern Telescopes (Melbourne Univ. Press), 33 Google Scholar
Jagger, W. S. 1992, The optics of the spherical fish lens. Vision Research 32 (7), 1271-84Google Scholar
James, V. 1973, This Religion Business (Melbourne: Beacon Publications)Google Scholar
James, V. (date unknown), Why I am a UnitarianGoogle Scholar
James, V. 1981, Windows on the Years (privately printed)Google Scholar
James, W. E. 1990a, An exercise in practical optics. Australian Physicist 27, 59-60Google Scholar
James, W. E. 1990b, Note on polishing a cube. Australian Physicist 27, Education supplement, p. 4 [opp. p. 167]Google Scholar
James, W. E. 1994a, Beyond the fringe—Making optics for astronomy. Newsletter of the Australian Academy of Science No. 25Google Scholar
James, W. E. 1994b, Australian & New Zealand Physicist 31, 226-30Google Scholar
James, W. E., Steel, W. H., & Evans, N. O. J. L. 1990, Design and testing of a cube-corner array for laser ranging. Soc. Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, Optical Fabrication & Testing 1400, 129-36CrossRefGoogle Scholar
James, W. E., & Waterworth, M. D. 1965, A method for testing aspheric surfaces. Optica Acta 12, 223-7Google Scholar
Jeans, J. H. 1937, The Mysterious Universe (London: Pelican Books), A10 Google Scholar
Jeans, J. H. 1939, The Stars in their Courses (London:Pelican Books), A59 Google Scholar
Luck, J. 1995, Eulogy delivered at the funeral of W. E. James, 1 June 1995Google Scholar
Malin, D. 1993, A View of the Universe (Cambridge Univ. Press)Google Scholar
Mellor, D. P. 1958, The Role of Science and Industry in Australia in the War of 1939-1945 (Canberra: Australian War Memorial), Series 4, Number 5, Ch. 12 Google Scholar
Parer, D., & Parer-Cook, E. 1994, The complicated killer, Wildlife Magazine of BBC 12 (3), 38-46Google Scholar
Rodgers, A. W. 1990, Letter of July 1990 to one of the authors (HCB)Google Scholar
Thorn, A. M. G. 1938, Hints on the polishing, figuring and after-care of high-grade optical surfaces. Laboratory Journal of Australia 1, 128-31Google Scholar
[Reprinted in the standard text of Twyman, F. 1952, Prism and Lens Making: A Textbook for Optical Glassworkers (London: Hilger and Watts), 44-8]Google Scholar
Thomson, J. V. 1952, An account of the grinding, figuring and testing of the 200-inch mirror for the Hale Reflector, in Twyman F. 1952, Prism and Lens Making: A Textbook for Optical Glassworkers, 2nd edn (London: Hilger and Watts), 568-76Google Scholar