Product Description
Henry Cavendish (1731-1810) was an English scientist whose published work was mostly concerned with electricity. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1760. Cavendish was a prolific scientific investigator, performing experiments on not only electricity but also magnetism, thermometry, gases, heat potential and the chemical composition of water. Although he published some of his research, including his discovery of hydrogen, the majority of his work remained unpublished until 1879, when James Clerk Maxwell published a collection of Cavendish's electrical experiments. These papers showed that Cavendish had discovered many important electrical concepts which had since been credited to other researchers, including the concept of electric potential. First published in 1921, these volumes are a collection of Cavendish's results from his many experiments. Volume 1 is a revised edition of James Clerk Maxwell's 1879 volume Electrical Researches of Henry Cavendish, also reissued in this series. ... Read more

Product Description
Henry Cavendish (1731-1810) was an English scientist whose published work was mostly concerned with electricity. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1760. Cavendish was a prolific scientific investigator, performing experiments on not only electricity but also magnetism, thermometry, gases, heat potential and the chemical composition of water. Although he published some of his research, including his discovery of hydrogen, the majority of his work remained unpublished until 1879, when James Clerk Maxwell published a collection of Cavendish's electrical experiments. These papers showed that Cavendish had discovered many important electrical concepts which had since been credited to other researchers, including the concept of electric potential. First published in 1921, these volumes are a collection of Cavendish's results from his many experiments. They include published and unpublished papers on electrical, chemical, magnetic and thermometry experiments. ... Read more

Product Description
This slim yet dense volume remains an excellent introduction to Newtonian physics, just as when it was first published in 1877. Beginning with the basics of physical science and working his way steadily up to universal gravitation, Maxwell surveys late-19th-century physics in his clear and concise style.Matter and Motion addresses:. motion. force. the properties of the center of mass of a material system. work and energy. recapitulation. the pendulum and gravity. the equations of motion of a connected systemReaders from the science historian to the high school physics student will come away from Matter and Motion with a deeper understanding of the roots of modern physics.Scottish physicist and mathematician JAMES CLERK MAXWELL (1831-1879) is considered by many to be one of the giants of theoretical physics. Albert Einstein once described Maxwell's work as "the most profound and the most fruitful that physics has experienced since the time of Newton." A devoutly religious man and a published poet as well as a renowned scientist, Maxwell's books include Theory of Heat (1870), Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism (1873), and Elementary Treatise on Electricity (1881). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Fabulous
This is a glorious book, I highly recommend it. Of course, you really shouldn't need me to recommend Maxwell to you. I can assuage any doubts you might have about the presentation being too antiquated to be useful to actual students, however. This isn't just for the historically interested expert, the insights are there for first time learners too.

A A GEM IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE
It's striking that previous reviewers belong to two distinct camps.To some, this little book appears to be an elementary introduction to familiar physics -- even, to "Newtonian physics".Others recognize it for what I believe it is: a beautiful and elegant introduction to a new view of the physical world very different from Newton's.To express his theory of electromagnetic field and the holistic view of nature it demanded, he had found his way to the Lagrangianformulation, based not on the individual forces of Newton, but on the energy of whole systems.Individual elements are derived, if at all, only abstractly by way of generalized coordinates.This little volume restates the elements of this new view elegantly without its analytic mathematics.For more about this turning point in Maxwell's work see my study of its role in the Treatise. Figures of Thought.I spell out this view of Matter and Motion in an article reprintedon my website thomasksimpson.com-- look under the heading "articles".

For a beautiful exposition of the Lagrangian view and its foundation in the Principle of Least Action, see Cornelius Lanczos The Variational Principles of Mechanics (Dover Books on Physics and Chemistry).

Some Reverence Required
Just as some assembly is required as with a good chair for the study, some reverence is required to understand this book.

Mordern physics is founded less on math (as some institutional slimeballs would have us believe) and more on the accurate revelations and precision wording--plus just a dash of intellectual wiggle-room--of our most distinguished and revered. Careful thought about just what is being said here by Maxwell along with a thoughtful historical perspective provides an analysis of science that is on par with any analysis of calculus (e.g., as found in Walter Rudin's Principles of Mathematical Analysis).

To give this book less than 5 stars is a sign of reprehensible bad taste.

This book is the fountainhead of modern physics
I suggest that the other reviewers completely missed the significance of Maxwell's book "Matter and Motion" as it is the fountainhead of modern physics. First, it introduces and outlines "Dimensional Analysis" which ALL physics theories MUST conform to. Dimensional Analysis is physics: Equations are maths: Units are politics. Secondly, Maxwell set the stage for Quantum Mechanics by introducing the concept that it is necessary to use statistics to model reality.

From the horses mouth
This is how founding fathers thought and wrote about the Matter and Motion. It is a nostalgic reading. Maxwell himself wrote about Matter and Motion of course based on Newtonian Physics. You do not learn any new Physics unless you are doing study in the History of Science. Maxwell basically starts with definition of concepts in Newtonian Mechanics and explains Newton's laws of Motion. Force, Energy, Momentum all the good staff. Short book and interesting piece of history. Definitely worth reading of it for leisure or for study. ... Read more

Product Description
Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge and President of the Royal Society, Sir George Gabriel Stokes (1819-1904) made substantial contributions to the fields of fluid dynamics, optics, physics, and geodesy, in which numerous discoveries still bear his name. The Memoir and Scientific Correspondence of the Late Sir George Gabriel Stokes, Bart., edited by Joseph Larmor, offers rare insight into this capacious scientific mind, with letters attesting to the careful, engaged experimentation that earned him international acclaim. Volume 2 (1907) includes important professional correspondence with James Clerk Maxwell, James Prescott Joule, and many others, with particular attention given to Stokes' activities with the British Meteorological Society. Many of his foundational innovations in optics are also explicated in these letters, serving in place of the authoritative volume he unfortunately never had the opportunity to complete. ... Read more

Product Description
Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge and President of the Royal Society, Sir George Gabriel Stokes (1819-1904) made substantial contributions to the fields of fluid dynamics, optics, physics, and geodesy, in which numerous discoveries still bear his name. The Memoir and Scientific Correspondence of the Late Sir George Gabriel Stokes, Bart., edited by Joseph Larmor, offers rare insight into this capacious scientific mind, with letters attesting to the careful, engaged experimentation that earned him international acclaim. Volume 1 (1907) includes a memoir - culled from the reminiscences of family, friends, and colleagues - and letters, including early correspondence with Lady Stokes during the time of their engagement and early marriage. Professional correspondence covers Stokes' discoveries in the areas of spectroscopy, fluorescence, and colour vision. The result is an intimate portrait of a brilliant mathematician - both in the early stages of his career and at the height of his intellectual powers. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge and president of the Royal Society, Sir George Gabriel Stokes (1819-1904) made substantial contributions to the fields of fluid dynamics, optics, physics, and geodesy, in which numerous discoveries still bear his name. The Memoir and Scientific Correspondence of the Late Sir George Gabriel Stokes, Bart., edited by Joseph Larmor and first published in 1907, offers rare insight into this capacious scientific mind, with letters attesting to the careful, engaged experimentation that earned him international acclaim. Volume 1 contains his memoir and letters, including early correspondence with Lady Stokes. Professional correspondence covers Stokes' discoveries in the areas of spectroscopy, fluorescence, and colour vision. Volume 2 contains important professional correspondence with James Clerk Maxwell, James Prescott Joule, and many others, with particular attention given to Stokes' activities with the British Meteorological Society. ... Read more

Product Description
Mathematical and physical papers (1880) ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature. ... Read more