Intellectual Mastery of Nature: Theoretical Physics from Ohm to Einstein : The Torch of Mathematics 1800-1870

This is a two-volume history of the German contribution to the development of the field of theoretical physics. Throughout, the authors concentrate on the people rather than the technical nature of their work. The first volume traces the change from the early 1800s, when physics research in Germany was largely ignored, underfunded, and almost entirely experimental, to 1870, when the first chairs in theoretical physics were established. The book emphasizes the lives, working conditions and influence of such physicists as Ohm, Kirchhoff, and Helmholtz and mathematicians including Gauss, Dirichlet, and Riemann. The second volume covers the golden age of theoretical physics in Germany. Basically the information is organized according to the activities at such major centers as Gottingen, Berlin, and Munichwith an excursion to Austria to describe the work of Boltzman. The influence of Helmholtz, Hertz, and Einstein, among others, is emphasized. Since during the 19th and early 20th centuries Germany became the leading continental center for scientific inquiry, this work is of significance to scholars in the history of science. Recommended for large university libraries. Harold D. Shane, Mathematics Dept., Baruch Coll., CUNYCopyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.