Abstract
WE have here something of a short cut to knowledge which occupies a peculiar position in scientific literature. Addressed to those already familiar with the phenomena of wireless telegraphy, it assumes some knowledge of electrical matters on the part of the reader, a little mathematics, but an almost complete ignorance of the physical and chemical properties of matter. We do not say that this attitude is necessarily unsound, as there must be many “amateurs” who have tried to run in pursuit of electrical subjects before they could walk, and it is praiseworthy to endeavour to teach them to walk by a quick method, as they are not likely to possess the time or the temperament to plod through more laborious courses. Granted, then, that there is a justification for presenting the elements of physics and chemistry in such a severely; compressed form, the author displays skill in dealing with his difficult task, although there are some inconsistencies in the degree of knowledge that he assumes his reader to possess. We like, among other things, the way in which the author encourages the student to think in vectors early in his career, and to keep continually in mind the dimensions of the quantities that he is considering. If the reader is enabled, by taking advantage of the guidance offered, to form scientific habits of thought which he would not have acquired otherwise, the book will be a success.
Selected Studies in Elementary Physics: A Handbook for the Wireless Student and Amateur.
By E. Blake.Pp. viii + 176. (London: The Wireless Press, Ltd., 1920.) Price 5s.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Selected Studies in Elementary Physics: A Handbook for the Wireless Student and Amateur . Nature 105, 739 (1920). https://doi.org/10.1038/105739b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/105739b0