The New Physics and Its Evolution

CHAPTER X

THE ETHER AND MATTER

§ 1. The Relations between the Ether and Matter: Attempts to reduce all matter to forms of ether--Emission and absorption phenomena show reciprocal action-- Laws of radiation--Radiation of gases--Production of spectrum--Differences between light and sound variations show difference of media--Cauchy's, Briot's, Carvallo's and Boussinesq's researches--Helmholtz's and Poincaré's electromagnetic theories of dispersion.

§ 2. The Theory of Lorentz:--Mechanics fails to explain relations between ether and matter--Lorentz predicts action of magnet on spectrum--Zeeman's experiment --Later researches upon Zeeman effect-- Multiplicity of electrons--Lorentz's explanation of thermoelectric phenomena by electrons--Maxwell's and Lorentz's theories do not agree--Lorentz's probably more correct--Earth's movement in relation to ether.

§ 3. The Mass of Electrons: Thomson's and Max Abraham's view tha