[Book Reviews]

Abstract

THE present cheap reprint of these articles from the Encyclopædia Britannica should meet with a hearty welcome from all students of electricity and magnetism, and more especially from those who are desirous of extending their acquaintance with the science beyond the limits of ordinary elementary text-books. Such students generally find a difficulty in selecting a work from which to read tjhe higher parts of the subject. Maxwell's treatise is too mathematical for the majority of students; one work is, perhaps, too technical in character, while another deals too exclusively with practical measurements. The division of the subject after the first stages into mathematical and technical branches is certainly a natural one, and corresponds in some measure with the requirements of students. It does not, however, lighten the labours of those who wish to obtain a grasp of general theory and experiment without being cumbered with the details of machines on the one hand, or degenerating into pure mathematics on the other. For such students the articles of Prof. Chrystal and Mr. Shaw help to fill a gap left behind by the existing text-books. The historical, experimental, and mathematical portions are nicely balanced, and together form an epitome of the whole subject, which is made more valuable by the addition of references to original papers and standard works. The student will find it both a guide and a key to his reading, and by looking up its references he may pursue the subject to any desired degree of detail.

Electricity, Electrometer, Magnetism and Electrolysis.

By G. Chrystal W. N. Shaw (London: A. and C. Black, 1894.)

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