Die Quantentheorie: Ihr Ursprung und ihre Entwicklung

Abstract

THIS is an admirable account of the whole field of the quantum theory, and should be very useful to anyone who has not followed it from its origin. In a subject like this, which is not yet organised into a consistent whole, it is often exceedingly difficult to judge the importance of o any particular branch of the theory. One reads a paper, but cannot form an estimate of its real value, because there is not at hand all the information on cognate subjects. This is especially true of the quantum theory, for the literature is very predominantly German, and it is customary in Germany to permit the publication of much more speculative ideas than is usual in other countries, and the result is that the truth tends to get lost in the mass of paper. The great merit of the present book is that it brings together all the threads of the argument and criticises them, so that a just view can be obtained of the whole theory without struggling through a vast quantity of literature of which a good deal is of little value. It is not a mere compilation of all the views which all writers have held at all times, but a critical estimate of the opinions at present generally accepted.

Die Quantentheorie: Ihr Ursprung und ihre Entwicklung.

By Fritz Reiche. Pp. vi + 231. (Berlin: Julius Springer, 1921.) 34 marks.