Having thus gained an independent position, Airy immediately entered
upon that career of scientific work which he prosecuted without
intermission almost to the very close of his life. One of his most
interesting researches in these early days is on the subject of
Astigmatism, which defect he had discovered in his own eyes. His
investigations led him to suggest a means of correcting this defect
by using a pair of spectacles with lenses so shaped as to counteract
the derangement which the astigmatic eye impressed upon the rays of
light. His researches on this subject were of a very complete
character, and the principles he laid down are to the present day
practically employed by oculists in the treatment of this
malformation.
On the 7th of December, 1826, Airy was elected to the Lucasian
Professorship of Mathematics in the University of Cambridge, the
chair which Newton's occupancy had rendered so illustrious. His
tenure of this office only lasted for two years, when he exchanged it
for the Plumian Professorship. The attraction which led him to
desire this change is doubtless to be found in the circumstance that
the Plumian Professorship of Astronomy carried with it at that time
the appointment of director of the new astronomical observatory, the
origin of which must now be described.
Pages:
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319