mathematics

Richard Helsham

Richard Helsham is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Richard Helsham rather than just read about it. In short: Richard Helsham (1683 – 1 August 1738) was an Irish physician and natural philosopher at Trinity College Dublin. He was the inaugural Erasmus Smith's Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy from 1724 and Regius Professor of Physic from 1733.

Key takeaways

Richard Helsham belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Richard Helsham to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Richard Helsham from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Richard Helsham (1683 – 1 August 1738) was an Irish physician and natural philosopher at Trinity College Dublin. He was the inaugural Erasmus Smith's Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy from 1724 and Regius Professor of Physic from 1733.

Life Helsham was born at Leggetsrath, Kilkenny City, son of Joshua Helsham. He was educated at Kilkenny College, and entered Trinity College Dublin on 18 July 1697. He was a Scholar in 1700, graduated BA in 1702, was elected a Fellow in 1704, and got MA in 1705. He then studied medicine, and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland in 1710. Back at TCD, he became MD in 1713, and was co-opted a senior fellow in 1714, eventually resigning from that position in 1730. Helsham was Donegall Lecturer in Mathematics (1723–1730), He was a trustee of Dr Steevens' Hospital. Helsham was a friend of Jonathan Swift, and of Dublin men of letters generally, including Michael Clancy and Patrick Delany. He died on 25 August 1738, and was interred in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, Dublin.

Works Helsham's Lectures on Natural Philosophy, edited by his lifelong friend Bryan Robinson, Regius Professor of Physic at the University of Dublin, were published in 1739, and a second edition appeared in 1743. He found an inverse-square law in magnetism, but the early editions do not treat electricity. With Patrick Delany, Helsham wrote an anonymous political pamphlet, A long history of a short session of parliament in a certain kingdom (Dublin, 1714). It was aimed at the Irish Parliament, was considered scandalous, and was ordered to be burnt by the common hangman. The Privy Council of Ireland offered a reward to discover its author.

Family Helsham married Jane Putland, widow of Thomas Putland, in 1730. Her unmarried name was Rolton.

Notes

Attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney, eds. (1891). "Helsham, Richard". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 25. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Richard Helsham

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Richard Helsham claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Richard Helsham before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Richard Helsham ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Richard Helsham

In research: Richard Helsham appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Richard Helsham in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Richard Helsham is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1683 births, 1738 deaths, 18th-century Irish medical doctors, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Richard Helsham outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Richard Helsham in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Richard Helsham means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Richard Helsham out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Richard Helsham in simple terms?

Why does Richard Helsham matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Richard Helsham?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Richard Helsham.