Abstract
THE fact that after an interval of only four years a new edition of Dr. Berliner's text-book of physics has been called for, is sufficient testimony to the quality of his work. A comparison of the fourth with the third edition shows that the text has been carefully revised and a considerable amount of additional information has been incorporated. Although the subject matter has been amplified, the number of pages is nearly the same as before. It is, perhaps, to be regretted that the table of contents is so greatly reduced and the chronological table at the end of the volume omitted. Some of the diagrams have been diminished in size and the appearance of the pages is slightly less pleasing than that of the earlier edition. But in view of the continual growth of scientific knowledge, how is an author or a publisher to meet the new conditions? We notice new sections dealing with tops and gyroscopes and with Coriolis motion. The important subject of crystal structure receives fuller treatment, and Dr. Haber contributes a useful section on flames. The additions in connexion with atomic physics are valuable and up-to-date; there is, for example, a paragraph on the experiments of Stern and Gerlach in proof of the theory of quantisation in space, and a couple of pages dealing with the Compton effect. It is remarkable how much information the author is able to convey in a clear and interesting manner in a small space.
Lehrbuch der Physik in elementarer Darstellung.
Von Arnold Berliner. Vierte Auflage. Pp. v + 658. (Berlin: Julius Springer, 1928.) 1980 gold marks.
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A., H. Mathematical and Physical Sciences. Nature 124, 542 (1929). https://doi.org/10.1038/124542a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/124542a0