Abstract
TO give an intelligible account of the modern theory of “quanta” is a difficult, if not an impossible, task. Many of the ideas involved are unfamiliar, and between them and the laws of orthodox physics lies an unbridged gulf. Our sympathy must therefore be extended to the authors of the two volumes under consideration in the attempts they have made to explain and elucidate the theory. Dr. Crowther has added an interesting chapter of an elementary character on quanta to his book on molecular physics, and although his treatment is, perhaps necessarily, somewhat didactic he has succeeded in bringing out clearly the difficulties to be faced and the method of meeting them. “The merit of Planck's theory is not so much that it removes our troubles altogether, but that it packs them all together into one bag, so to speak, so that they become easier to handle.” Prof. Reiche has given an exceptionally lucid exposition of the origin and development of the quantum theory, and the translation of his book, which appears to have been carefully carried out, may be recommended to English-speaking students of the subject. It is to be regretted that the bad example of the German original has been followed in collecting together indiscriminately mathematical notes and references to the number of 325 in an appendix of more than fifty pages.
(1) Molecular Physics.
By Dr. James Arnold Crowther. (Text-books of Chemical Research and Engineering.) Third edition. Pp. viii + 189. (London: J. and A. Churchill, 1923.) 7s. 6d. net.
(2) The Quantum Theory.
By Prof. Fritz Reiche. Translated by Dr. H. S. Hatfield and Henry L. Brose. Pp. v + 183. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1922.) 6s. net.
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ALLEN, H. The Development of the Quantum Theory . Nature 111, 279–281 (1923). https://doi.org/10.1038/111279a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/111279a0
