Abstract
TWENTY years ago, Mr. Whetham wrote a remarkable book, in which he gave, in pleasant narrative form, an account of the discovery of the electron, and other matters which were then new in physical science. The mobile electron has moved a long way in twenty years, and as a result nearly half of the new version of the book is devoted to describing ideas and facts which had scarcely come into existence when the first edition was issued. It would, however, be an injustice to suggest that Mr. Whetham has limited himself to telling, as so many others in recent years have done, the story of the electron and nothing else. Just as the earlier work included chapters on the liquefaction of gases, and on the processes of crystallisation from fusion or solution, so the later additions include a chapter on “Matter, Space and Time” under the appropriate motto “Oh, dear! What can the matter be? “and a chapter on astrophysics. On account of its breadth of treatment, the book can be commended to readers who hold that neither the naked ion of thirty years ago, nor the naked electron of to-day, important as they are, can claim a complete monopoly of interest in physical science.
The Recent Development of Physical Science.
By William Cecil Dampier Whetham. Fifth edition. Pp. xvi + 313 + 16 plates. (London: John Murray, 1924.) 9s. net.
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[Book Reviews]. Nature 114, 640 (1924). https://doi.org/10.1038/114640c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/114640c0