Abstract
THE first English edition of the treatise by Prof. Haas received commendation in our issue of Aug. 22, 1925, and the fact that a second edition has already been called for is sufficient testimony to the value of his work. A comparison between the two editions shows that the revision has been care fully carried out. The most important alteration is the addition of part of a section on the Hamiltonian function and the canonical equations of motion. It is a striking tribute to the almost superhuman genius of Hamilton that his work is continually finding fresh applications; his powers of generalisation were such that even to-day his methods are being used in developing the new quantum mechanics and the wave theory of matter. Some twenty years ago Lord Rayleigh commented on the long continued neglect of Hamilton's work on optics, and remarked that he “allowed his love of generality and of analytical developments to run away with him.” Certain it is that much loss has ensued from ignorance and neglect of work already done.
Introduction to Theoretical Physics.
Prof. Arthur Haas. Vol. 1. Translated from the third and fourth editions by Dr. T. Verschoyle. Second edition. Pp. xiv + 333. (London: Constable and Co., Ltd., 1928.) 21s. net.
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A., H. Introduction to Theoretical Physics . Nature 122, 52 (1928). https://doi.org/10.1038/122052a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/122052a0