Back to the roots of modern vector calculus

Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

On Gibbs-Heaviside “interaction at a distance”:

the curl of a tensor and the generalization of
Divergence and Stokes theorems.

Alessio Rocci1
1 Department of Physics, VUB

History of Analysis. 14 May 2022. Birkbeck College, London

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Outline

1 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus

2 Interaction at a distance

3 The curl of a tensor

4 The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Outline

1 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus

2 Interaction at a distance

3 The curl of a tensor

4 The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Back to the roots of vector and tensor calculus

Josiah Willard Gibbs Oliver Heaviside

credits: history.aip.org credits: English Heritage

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

LEFT SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

New Heaven, Connecticut

Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839-1903) credits: Google Maps

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

RIGHT SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

123 Candem Street, 22 April 2022

credits: English Heritage

Oliver Heaviside
Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction
 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

QUATERNIONISTS vs GIBBS

how little progress has recently been

made with the development of
Quaternions

Even Prof. Willard Gibbs must be

ranked as one of the retarders of
Quaternion progress, in virtue of his
pamphlet on Vector Analysis; a sort of
hermaphrodite monster, compounded
of the notations of Hamilton and of
Grassmann
Peter Guthrie Tait
credits: Cargill Gilston Knott

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

HEAVISIDE’S POSITION

This rather one-sided discussion

arouse out of Professor Tait
stigmatizing Pr. Gibbs [. . . ] Prof.
Gibbs is anything but a retarder of
progress in vector analysis and its
application in physics
Gibbs’ work is scarcely known, and
deserves to be known [. . . ] His
treatment of linear vector-operator is
specially deserving of notice
it rarely occurs that any advantage is
credits: aip.org gained by the use of the quaternion

Arch. Hist. Exact Sci. DOI 10.1007/s00407-020-00264-x

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Outline

1 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus

2 Interaction at a distance

3 The curl of a tensor

4 The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Two Contributions

Electrical Papers 1-2

Electromagnetic Theory 1-2-3
Gibbs’ booklet
credits: Dibner Library; Washington, DC

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Proof of authenticity

Heaviside’s manuscript
Gibbs’s booklet

Letters W and h: the two are attached to each other in both pictures
(Credits: Dibner Library, DC)

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Gibbs’ pamphlet

Ch.1 Concerning the algebra of

vectors
Ch.2 Concerning the differential
and integral calculus of vectors
Ch.3 Concerning linear vector
functions
Ch.3 Concerning the differential
and integral calculus of vectors
Ch.4 Concerning transcendental
functions of dyadics
CH.5 Note on bivector analysis

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Outline

1 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus

2 Interaction at a distance

3 The curl of a tensor

4 The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Notations

Heaviside Gibbs Modern Index

scalar product ab α.β a·b ai bi
vector product V ab α×β a×b ϵijk ai bj
tensor product a.b αβ a⊗b ai bj

DYAD: Ψ = a ⊗ b simple/elementary tensor

DYADIC: Φ = a ⊗ l + b ⊗ m + c ⊗ n rank two tensor

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Mechanical forces and stresses

Gibbs’ booklet Ch.2

Electrical Papers (1886) credits: Dibner Library, DC

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Heaviside annotation 1

Stress:
Φ = P1 . i + P2 . j + P3 . k
F = ∇Φ = ∇P1 . i + ∇P2 . j + ∇P3 . k
This F is force
due to stress P
V ∇Φ = V ∇P1 . i + . . .

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Heaviside annotation 2

Back cover of the booklet

Stress. What is [the physical] meaning of curl ϕ ?

ϕ = P1 . i + P2 . j + P3 . k
∇ϕ = F = ∇P1 . i + ∇P2 . j + ∇P3 . k
V ∇ϕ = G = V ∇P1 . i + V ∇P2 . j + V ∇P3 . k
ϕ is stress tensor; F is force vector. What is G ?

Glm = (curl ϕ)lm = ϵijl ∂i ϕmj

credits: Dibner Library, DC

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

A hidden presence

The implicit presence of the concept:

curl µ−1 curl E + c Ë = 0 ,

ƒIn Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory, the two properties are those
connecting the electric force with the displacement, and the magnetic force
with the induction, say the permittivity and the inductivity, or c and µ [...]
either c or µ is a symmetrical operator, or dyadic, as Willard Gibbs calls
it‚(EMT-2; p. 518)

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Outline

1 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus

2 Interaction at a distance

3 The curl of a tensor

4 The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

Chapter 4

Surface to volume integrals and line to surface integrals

DIVERGENCE THEOREM STOKES THEOREM

credits: Dibner Library; Washington, DC

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

DIVERGENCE THEOREM

1882: Heaviside gave proof for elementary surfaces and volumes (unit cube)
Gibbs Heaviside (1888-1892)

Z Z X X
Nu dS = ∇u dv NP = ∇P (1)
Z Z
N ⊗ ω dS = ∇ ⊗ ω dv (2)
Z Z X X
N · ω dS = ∇ · ω dv NF = ∇F (3)
Z Z
N · Φ dS = ∇ · Φ dv (4)
Z Z X X
N × ω dS = ∇ × ω dv V NF = curl F (5)
Z Z
N × Φ dS = ∇ × Φ dv (6)

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

HEAVISIDE’S EXTENSION OF THE DIVERGENCE THEOREM

EMT1 (eq. 146-147 p. 191

Gibbs Heaviside

Z Z X X
N · D dS = ∇ϕ(D) dv ND = ϕ (D)
S
Z ZV X X
F (x; N) dS = f (x; N) dv F (N) = f (N)
S V

f = ? f (x; N) = ∇1 F (i) + ∇2 F (j) + ∇3 F (k)

Gibbs extension for dyadics

Z Z
N · Φ dS = ∇ · Φ dv if: Φ = N F (N) → f (x; N) = ∇ · (N F )

Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction

 Back to the roots of modern vector calculus
Interaction at a distance
The curl of a tensor
The extensions of Divergence and Stokes Theorems

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Alessio Rocci Gibbs-Heaviside interaction