Where can I find resources to learn about quaternions?

[skweiler]

I am interested in learning more about quaternions because they can show more about a system than vector analysis. Does anyone know of a good website that teaches the theory and how to use quaternions? I have already tried the book Quaternions and Rotation Sequences. I might have to check it out from the library again if I can't find anything on the web.

 

[chiro]

Hey skeweiler and welcome to the forums.

Have you considered going to the source? (ie the inventor of the quaternion)

http://www.archive.org/details/elementsofquater00hamirich

 

[skweiler]

Thanks for the idea. I will try this, but I am not too certain whether it will be explained well enough. I checked out Maxwell's original treatise on Electricity and Magnetism and it was very difficult to understand. Part of it may be that I need to have taken more advanced physics and/or math course to understand it.

 

[chiro]

Thanks for the idea. I will try this, but I am not too certain whether it will be explained well enough. I checked out Maxwell's original treatise on Electricity and Magnetism and it was very difficult to understand. Part of it may be that I need to have taken more advanced physics and/or math course to understand it.

I read this text a while back and Hamilton does go into a lot of detail regarding the motivation behind the quaternion.

Also if you are interested in geometric algebra, look for stuff by Grassmann or Clifford or any kind of exposition on the ideas of these folk. The original authors (this primarily concerns grassmann) can be hard to understand, but the ideas (especially from Grassmann) are good to understand geometric algebra in a modern context.