Yale University - Sheffield Scientific School Yearbook (New Haven, CT)

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108 ctiiss or 1891 s., YALE cottecn. respect and good will of the students in his charge. His devotion and aiifection for the Scientific School knew no bounds. T Professor Starlcweather's published writings-we say jmlnlzklied because his premature death has left much unfinished which was being prepared for publication-fall under three widely separated heads: technical, physical, mathematical. In each he had reached a degree of attain- ment that would require the undivided attention of an ordin- ary person. The first three papers relate to- KA Method of Obtain- ing the Fly-W'heel Tnertiaf Two of them came out in the Yale SCl'67ZZf'iflC Mowztlily in 1895, 1896, the third, which was an elaboration of the two preceding ones, appeared in The fozmzal of the Frmzlelizz Institnztc. They propose a simple and practical method of studying the periodic variations of speed of the fly-wheel of engines. His next paper, 'A Solution of the Biquadratic by Bino- mial Resolventsf Bzillefin of the Ailwricavz Jlffatfieiizaztical 50c'1'e1'y 1898, lies in one of the more remote fields of pure mathematics. It is an application of the profound and abstract theory of Galois concerning the solution of alge- braic equations byradicals. VVe said that Mr. Starkweather received his doctor's degree in 1899. Some months before the substance of his dissertation was published in two articles in the A71Zf67'lCU7Z fomfizal of Science Uan., Feb., I8QQj. The first paper, 'Concerning Regnault's Calorie and Qur Knowledge of the Specific Volumes of Steamf is a masterly discussion of the experiments of various physicists. The classical experi- ments of Regnault, although they have remained for half a century in the main unassailable, have not proved absolutely free from certain minor errors. Une of the principal of these is the assumption that the specific heat of water is sensibly constant between Oo and 300 C. This would affect his calorimetrical experiments, as he was virtually using a variable calorie. Mr. Starkweather shows that the deter-

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BIOGRAPI-I IES. I O7 In 1894 his teaching. took a new course, and from then on he began to instruct the juniors in Calculus and Thermo- dynamics, and Juniors and Seniors in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. Meanwhile he was continuing his studies in the Graduate School. In 1894 he obtained the degree of Mechanical Engineer, presenting a thesis iOn the Influence of the Inertia of the Reciprocating Parts of Engines' This was a careful and elaborate study of the analytical and graphical methods for determining the com- plex forces which modify the pressure transmitted from the piston to the crank and fly-wheel of an engine by the heavy reciprocating and swinging parts. Wliile still continuing his studies in technical subjects, which were ever the object of-his meditations, Mr. Stark- weather began the study of the more advanced parts of mathematical physics and pure mathematics. Here his extraordinary talents soon won the highest esteem of the instructors in these branches. His ability to apprehend the details of a lecture and even to anticipate the development, his quickness to detect any incompleteness in the treatment, a point perhaps that the lecturer was reserving for later, was most remarkable. In 1899 Mr. Starkweather received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. I-Iis dissertation will be spoken of later. In May, 1900, he was appointed Assistanft Professor of Applied Mechanics in the department of Mechanical Engi- neering. Such in brief are the main facts in Professor Stark- weather's career. Professor Starkweather's character was that of a modest, warm-hearted gentleman. I-Ie was loved by all his associates and widely respected for his great talents and attainments. The department in which he labored valued his services most highly and was proud of his growing reputation. As a teacher he was suggestive and helpful, as division officer of the Junior Class he performed his arduous duties so conscientiously and impartially as to win the x

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BIOGRAPI-11135. 109 mination of the latent heat of steam may be materially improved by taking account of this circumstance. This has an important bearing on the subject of the specific volume of steam, since by far the most accurate determinations of this quantity are those derived by thermodynamic principles from the latent heat and the pressure of saturated vapor. ln fact, Mr. Starkweather shows by a careful analysis of the experiments of various physicists for the direct deter- mination of this quantity that these experiments really add nothing to what we get by the indirect method combined with the theoretical value derived from the molecular formula of steam. In the second paper, 'The Thermodynamic Relations for Steamf the formulae are discussed which others have used. Mr. Starkweather then gives certain formulae of his own. In particular for the relation between pressure volume and temperature, he gives a modification of Clausius' form of the equation of Van der 'Waals and uses this as a foundation for the derivation of equations between other variables. From these formulae he calculates tables of the principal quantities relating to saturated steam which may doubtless claim a considerably higher degree of accuracy than the usually received values. Professor Starkweathers last paper, 'Non Quaternion Number-Systems Containing No Skew Unitsf A1716I'fCG7Z foimial of Matlirmm-tics, vol. xxi, is one of the most import- ant contributions to the theory of hyper-complex number- systems that has been made in recent years. These papers all give evidence of marked originality and breadth of treatment. It is indeed remarkable for one person to excel in branches so remote from one another. They tell too plainly to need further comment the breadth of Professor Starkweathens scientific interests. Another characteristic trait of his mind was remarkable quickness of perception joined with a love for the more philosophic and fundamental parts of a theory. He grasped not only the details, but was instinctively attracted toward the deep lying