THE NATURE OF MATTER AND ELECTRICITY AN OUTLINE OF MODERN VIEWS BY DANIEL F. COMSTOCK, S.B., Ph.D., ENGINEER AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF THEORETICAL PHYSICS AND LEONARD T. TROLAND, S.B., A.M., Ph.D., INSTRUCTOR IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY PREFACE This book attempts to give in broad, schematic form the conception of the structure of the material universe which has developed in the minds of modern students of physical science. The treatment of the subject which is here offered is radically elementary, and is intended to be "popular" if not "literary" in its style. But, although elementary, it omits none of the salient general ideas, whether these belong primarily to the sciences of chemistry, electricity, optics, or heat. It is characteristic of the modern standpoint that it permits a blending of all of the physical sciences into a single world view, which grows in unity with the years, and with study. A glance at the table of contents of the present volume will reveal what may seem to the uninitiated reader a very heterogeneous assemblage of topics, but it is the hope of the writers that a perusal of the book itself will give a sense of the profound inner unity of all of these outwardly various matters. It is the belief of the authors that a book of this nature, written in the light of the most recent discoveries, will find a welcome amongst the scientific laity, as well as with scientific or philosophic workers in general whose special fields are perhaps somewhat removed from that of theoretical physics. At the moment of writing there is no book available dealing with the whole modern theory of matter and energy in either an elementary or an advanced fashion, and treating it as a unit. Many 320675 ་ admirable treatises on portions of the field are of course obtainable. For a considerably more advanced, yet not very difficult, discussion the reader is referred to three books which together cover the ground fairly thoroughly, viz., The sixth edition of Nernst's "Theoretical Chemistry," the second of Campbell's "Modern Electrical Theory," and Rutherford's "Radio-active Substances and their Radiations." Specific references to other works are given at the end of each Section of Part II of the present book. Something must be said in explanation of the arrangement of the book. It consists of two parts, the first giving a rapid survey of the entire subject, outlining the fundamental conceptions and emphasizing their most significant applications only, while the second retraces the same general field in a slower and less connected way, in order to consider details omitted in the more cursory treatment. The second part is divided into fiftysix sections, each of which is numbered and referred to by its number in the appropriate connection in Part I. The book may be read in various ways according to the purposes or pleasure of the reader. If he is interested only to acquaint himself with the fundamentals of the modern theory through a quick, general sketch he may read Part I continuously and omit Part II altogether. If, on the other hand, he is already familiar with these essentials he may prefer to reverse the procedure and omit Part I. Part II although definitely divided by topics nevertheless forms a fairly continuous discussion. In general, however, the best method of using the book will probably be to read both of the sections in parallel, referring to each Section in Part II as its number appears in the text of the first part. It is believed that this method of study will encourage the type of attitude which is re |