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Abstract

IN the preface the author states that “these chapters on electricity, prepared for and included in the fourth revised edition of Olmsted's ‘College Philosophy,’ are here offered in a separate volume.” The chapters deal in much the usual way with the stock work commonly found in elementary text-books on magnetism and electricity. The writing, however, appears to have been carefully done; the general style is clear and concise, but a little more explanation would, in many cases, have added to the clearness and, in a few cases, to the accuracy of the work. In connection with Coulomb's law, the statement that F = Q/r² (Art. 581) is “strictly true only when the two bodies are in a vacuum,” requires a little more elucidation than the author gives. Similarly the explanation of polarisation, the definition of specific resistance (in terms of the metre and square millimetre), the statement of Ohm's law, and the laws of thermo-electric phenomena require more detailed and accurate treatment.

Chapters on Electricity.

By Samuel Sheldon (New York: Charles Collins, and the Baker and Taylor Co.)