Abstract
(1) THIS book is a second edition of the author's work of the same title published in 1900. It is much smaller in size than the first edition, but the arrangement of the subject matter is more carefully balanced, and the thread of the general argument is not now broken by frequent incursions into the realm of the practical realities of the subject. The whole treatment—as in the first edition—is based on the Hertzian view of an electric field which recognises matter only indirectly by its influence on the electric and magnetic properties of the ether. This view would never have persisted in face of the much greater simplicity of the modern electrical theory of matter, were it not that certain of the general critical results deduced in it seem to be supported by certain results in the more modern development, which are nevertheless, in spite of their persistence, erroneous. We refer in particular to the expressions for the energies and tractions in the field. Nevertheless, this book can still be recommended to those who wish to become acquainted with every side of a subject which has perhaps not yet reached its ultimate form.
(1) Das elektromagnetische Feld: ein Lehrbuch.
VonProf. Emil Cohn. Zweite völlig neubearbeitete Auflage. Pp. vi + 366. (Berlin: Julius Springer, 1927.) 24 gold marks.
(2) Quelques idées sur I'électrodynamique: théories nouvelles sur I'oscillateur de Planck et le mouvement autonome exposées devant la Société française de Physique.
ParR. Ferrier. Pp. 48. (Paris: Albert Blanchard, 1927.) 5 francs.
Enjoying our latest content?
Log in or create an account to continue
- Access the most recent journalism from Nature's award-winning team
- Explore the latest features & opinion covering groundbreaking research
or
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
L., G. [Book Reviews]. Nature 121, 450–451 (1928). https://doi.org/10.1038/121450b0
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/121450b0
