Abstract
IN this book Mr. Wright has added to the more elementary part of his work on sound, light, and heat, the leading facts of other branches of physics, so as to form a general introduction to physical science. The subject is an essentially experimental one, and the author having learned by experience that a study of facts is the first duty of beginners, very little space is given to theoretical considerations. There is very little that is new, and indeed it is hardly to be expected. Most of the experiments are clearly described and are capable of easy pertormance, but one or two improvements may be suggested. On p. 4 the student is told to “cut a hole in an iron plate so that a flask filled with cold water just passes,” an operation beyond most students, and we see no reason why a piece of card should not do equally well. Again, on p. 6, the making of a thermometer is hardly sufficiently detailed; having made a bulb at one end of the tube, the student is simply told to make one at the other end, but he will certainly not see his way to do this without further assistance. There are no less than 242 diagrams, but, needless to say, most of them have done good service before.
Elementary Physics
By M. R. Wright. (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1889.)
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Elementary Physics. Nature 41, 78 (1889). https://doi.org/10.1038/041078b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/041078b0