Hamilton's eureka moment on canal

The annual Hamilton Quaternion Walk along the Royal Canal takes place this year on Sunday October 16th. The leisurely 5km walk celebrates the work of Ireland's greatest scientist, William Rowan Hamilton.

Organised by the Department of Mathematics, NUI Maynooth, it follows the route taken by Hamilton on October 16th, 1843, as he walked from his home at Dunsink Observatory into the city.

This was a regular occurrence but what made the 16th special was a flash of inspiration as he approached Broombridge, Cabra, that allowed him to devise a new form of maths called quaternions.

His discovery transformed algebra and was a totally new concept in mathematics, one that has played a key role since in fields as varied as advanced physics, wireless telegraphy and computer graphics. Arguably, modern algebra was born on October 16th, 1843, on the banks of Dublin's Royal Canal.

Hamilton was a Dubliner, born in Dominick Street in 1805. He grew up in Trim, Co Meath, but became a professor at Trinity College at the age of 22. He lived at Dunsink from 1827 until his death there in 1865.

Little did the scientist know that one of the results of his mathematical discoveries would be the famous computer game heroine and Tomb Raider, Lara Croft. Quaternions are used to design computer graphics and also many of the special effects seen in modern film making. A number of the effects seen in Matrix Reloaded depended on the mathematical concepts pioneered by Hamilton.

Hamilton has been called the Liberator of Algebra because is quaternions shattered the previously accepted convention that a useful algebraic number system should satisfy the rules of ordinary numbers in arithmetic.

He opened up a whole new mathematical landscape in which mathematicians were free to conceive new algebraic number systems. All are welcome to participate in this free event, which follows the canal through some pleasant countryside. Contact Dr Fiacre Ó Cairbre at NUI Maynooth on 01-7083763 for details.