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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
A history of the theories of aether and electricity: from the age of Descartes to the close of the nineteenth century

A history of the theories of aether and electricity: from the age of Descartes to the close of the nineteenth century

E T Whittaker

Paperback

Sports GeneralGeneral World HistoryPhysics

ISBN10: 9353602742
ISBN13: 9789353602741
Publisher: Alpha Edition
Published: Feb 25 2019
Pages: 490
Weight: 1.36
Height: 1.09 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
How did scientists move from speculative vortices and subtle fluids to the precise mathematics of fields? Across three centuries of thought, this landmark study follows that transformation. This is foundational scientific history. In A History of the Theories of Aether and Electricity, renowned mathematician and physicist E. T. Whittaker traces the evolution of aether and ether theories from the age of Descartes to the close of the nineteenth century, illuminating the rise of luminiferous aether in physics and the birth of classical field theory. Moving through seventeenth to nineteenth century debates in early modern European science, he explores how changing ideas about light, electricity, and magnetism prepared the ground for Maxwell and Faraday electromagnetism and, eventually, for pre Einstein classical physics to give way to the modern era. Blending historical narrative with clear exposition, Whittaker created a history of physics textbook that also serves as an indispensable electromagnetism history reference book. His careful accounts of experiments, equations, and controversies make classical field theory development intelligible and compelling for physics students and for history of science students alike, while remaining engaging for general readers drawn to a history of science classic. Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike. A cornerstone study of pre-relativistic classical physics and the ideas that shaped it, it rewards close reading and invites lifelong rereading.

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