Re: The origin of quaternions

From: Roger Bagula (tftn_at_earthlink.net)
Date: 11/29/04 

Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 18:45:01 GMT

My understanding was that he was studying vector analysis
 and looking at A divid B for two vectors.
( ref. page 15 Theoretical Mexhanics, Ames and Murnaghan, Dover,1957).
" The consideration of A divid B , not as a vector but as an operation
carrying a representative segment B into
a coterminous representative segment of A, led Sir William Hamilton to
the study of quaternions."
The use of quaternions in a rotation of spherical triangle problem
considerable simplified the math involved.
Glen Able wrote:

>I've read about how quaternions were invented by Hamilton. What did he find
>unsatisfactory about 3 dimensional numbers?
>Was it specifically that they can't be used for representing rotations in 3d
>space (I'm not clear as to whether Hamilton had this purpose in mind at the
>time?) Or is there some more fundamental flaw making it impossible to
>sensibly define +, * operators?
>
>thanks,
>G.A.
>
>
>
> 

-- 
Respectfully, Roger L. Bagula
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