C. W. Kilmister – författare

Sir Arthur Eddington, the celebrated astrophysicist, made great strides towards his own 'theory of everything' in his last two books published in 1936 and 1946. Unlike his earlier lucid and authoritative works, these are strangely tentative and obscure - as if he were nervous of the significant advances that he might be making. This 1995 volume examines both how Eddington came to write these uncharacteristic books - in the context of the physics and history of the day - and what value they have to modern physics. The result is an illuminating description of the development of theoretical physics, in the first half of the twentieth century, from a unique point of view: how it affected Eddington's thought. This will provide fascinating reading for scholars in the philosophy of science, theoretical physics, applied mathematics and the history of science.

Sir Arthur Eddington, the celebrated astrophysicist, made great strides towards his own 'theory of everything' in his last two books published in 1936 and 1946. Unlike his earlier lucid and authoritative works, these are strangely tentative and obscure - as if he were nervous of the significant advances that he might be making. This 1995 volume examines both how Eddington came to write these uncharacteristic books - in the context of the physics and history of the day - and what value they have to modern physics. The result is an illuminating description of the development of theoretical physics, in the first half of the twentieth century, from a unique point of view: how it affected Eddington's thought. This will provide fascinating reading for scholars in the philosophy of science, theoretical physics, applied mathematics and the history of science.

Schrödinger's influence in almost every field of science is still felt. He was a man who single-handedly reshaped thinking in cosmology, wave mechanics, statistical mechanics, unified field theories, theoretical chemistry and molecular biology. In this volume, which was prepared in 1987 to celebrate the centenary of Schrödinger's birth, leading figures in all these fields have collaborated to produce this carefully integrated and edited survey of the man and his science. Some of the contributions are biographical in nature, revealing much about the character of the man. Others deal with modern-day theories in different fields of science in which Schrödinger worked and his influence in those areas.

Special Theory of Relativity provides a discussion of the special theory of relativity. Special relativity is not, like other scientific theories, a statement about the matter that forms the physical world, but has the form of a condition that the explicit physical theories must satisfy. It is thus a form of description, playing to some extent the role of the grammar of physics, prescribing which combinations of theoretical statements are admissible as descriptions of the physical world. Thus, to describe it, one needs also to describe those specific theories and to say how much they are limited by it. The book is organized into two parts. The first part traces the historical development of the special theory of relativity, including Einstein''s contribution, the elementary consequences of the Lorentz transformation, and applications in quantum theory. The second part contains extracts from various publications covering topics such as relative motion of the earth, and the luminiferous and dynamics of the electron.

Steady Electric Fields and Currents, Volume 1 is an introductory text to electromagnetism and potential theory. This book starts with the fields associated with stationary charges and unravels the stationary condition to allow consideration of the flow of steady currents in closed circuits. The opening chapter discusses the experimental results that require mathematical explanation and discussion, particularly those referring to phenomena that question the validity of the simple Newtonian concepts of space and time. The subsequent chapters consider steady-state fields, electrostatics, dielectrics, energy theorems, and uniqueness theorems. The concluding chapter examines the steady flow of electric currents in closed circuits. Undergraduate students with electromagnetism course will greatly benefit from this book.

Magnetic Fields, Special Relativity and Potential Theory is an introduction to electromagnetism, special relativity, and potential theory, with emphasis on the magnetic field of steady currents (magnetostatics). Topics covered range from the origin of the magnetic field and the magnetostatic scalar potential to magnetization, electromagnetic induction and magnetic energy, and the displacement current and Maxwell''s equations. This volume is comprised of five chapters and begins with an overview of magnetostatics, followed by a chapter on the methods of solving potential problems drawn from electrostatics, magnetism, current flow, and gravitation. Relaxing the constraint of stationary steady currents, the next chapter considers electromagnetic induction when the current strengths in closed circuits vary or when the circuits move. This leads to the necessity of assessing the breakdown of Newtonian ideas and the introduction of special relativity. When the constraint of closed circuits is further relaxed and the motion of charges in open circuits is taken into account, the discussion turns to displacement current because of the relativistic theory already set up, leading to Maxwell''s equations. This book will be a valuable resource for undergraduate students of physics.

General Theory of Relativity deals with the general theory of relativity and covers topics ranging from the principle of equivalence and the space-theory of matter to the hypotheses which lie at the bases of geometry, along with the effect of gravitation on the propagation of light. The motion of particles in general relativity theory is also discussed. This book is comprised of 14 chapters and begins with a review of the principle of equivalence, paying particular attention to the question of the existence of inertial frames in Newtonian mechanics. The beginnings and foundations of general relativity are then considered, together with modern developments in the field. Subsequent chapters explore the general notion of multiply extended magnitudes; the space-theory of matter; the effect of gravitation on light propagation; gravitational waves and the motion of particles in general relativity theory; and homogeneity and covariance. An invariant formulation of gravitational radiation theory is also presented. The last three chapters examine continued gravitational contraction, a spinor approach to general relativity, and gravitational red-shift in nuclear resonance. This monograph will be of interest to physicists and mathematicians.