Abstract
MAY I point out that Dr. Guillaume is wrong in suggesting, in his letter in NATURE of June 17, that the adjective “Specific,” employed in connection with physical magnitudes, has no constant and definite meaning? “Specific” is the adjective of “species,” and the “specific resistance of iron” is that function of the resistance of a piece of iron and the other physical magnitudes characteristic of the piece which is the same for all pieces which belong to the species “iron.” The statement made in the last sentence is true if for “resistance” be substituted any other magnitude to which “specific” is attached, and for “iron” any other form of matter which is recognised as a “species.”
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CAMPBELL, N. The Names of Physical Units. Nature 95, 480 (1915). https://doi.org/10.1038/095480b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/095480b0
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