JF Ptak Science Books // Blog Bookstore

RESISNER, Hans J. “Uber eine Moglichkeit die Gravitation als unmittlebare Folge der Relativitat der Tragheit abzuleiten”, in Physikalishe Zeitschrift, volume 16, 1915, pp 179-185. Original wrappers. Offprint. Fine copy. $250.

Hans J. Reissner [1874-1967] was a leading German pioneer in aeronautics and aeronautical engineering. He was appointed to the chair vacated by Arnold Sommerfeld at the Technische Hochschul at Aachen, where he established the aerodynamics laboratory. He also designed the great experimental wind tunnel at Aachen and was its second director (after T. von Karman). He went on to the University of Berlin where he remained until 1938, when he left Germany for the United States. Reissner held a chair at the Illinois Institute of Technology and in 1944 joined the faculty at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute... Von Karman spoke very highly of Reissner and attributed his work in aerodynamics to be as important as those advances made by Prandtl (see von Karman’s Wind and Beyond). Reissner was also celebrated with two anniversary volumes of Applied Mathematiics for his 60th and 75th birthdays (in 1934 and 1949).

“In physics and astronomy, the Reissner–Nordström metric is a static solution to the Einstein–Maxwell field equations, which corresponds to the gravitational field of a charged, non-rotating, spherically symmetric body of mass M. The analogous solution for a charged, rotating body is given by the Kerr–Newman metric. The metric was discovered between 1916 and 1921 by Hans Reissner, Hermann Weyl, Gunnar Nordström  and George Barker Jeffery.”--Wikipedia

Reissner's Working Copy of his Great Paper

Reissner, Hans J.  

• Offering two copies of the famous paper--the offprint is certainly very scarce, and Reissner's own copy of course is probably a unique. Provenance: Hans J. Reissner pamphlet collection.  

"Ueber die Eigengravitation des elektrischen Feldes nach der Einsteinschen Theorie" Offprint: Annalen der Physik, 4/50, 1916. Pp 106-120. Without the original outer wrappers. Numerous annotations and calculations on pp 108—111-113, 117, 118, 119. A Good copy, only, of a working issue of the paper. From what I can see none of the annotations were incorporated in the final version of the paper.

Offered with:  another offprint copy of the same paper ("Ueber die Eigengravitation des elektrischen Feldes nach der Einsteinschen Theorie") from Annalen der Physik, 4/50, 1916. Pp 106-120, in the original wrappers, which is the standard (and uncommon) offprint format. 

The pair: $On hold.

 

"1916 : Hans Reissner (1874-1923) extends the Schwarzschild solution to the case of a charged mass in “Uber die Eigengravitation des elektrischen Feldes nach Einsteinschen Theorie.” Ann. Phys. 59, 106-120,1916. 191"--(See: Nathalie Deruelle, "Black Hole Chronology"  "Six Lectures on Black Holes in General Relativity", IPhT-CEA, Saclay, January-February 2009.) See Eric Reissner's appreciation of his father, and  see also Shapiro, S. L. and Teukolsky, S. A. Black Holes, White Dwarfs, and Neutron Stars: The Physics of Compact Objects. New York: Wiley, p. 357, 1983

 

 

See also: "Journey into and through a Reissner-Nordstrom black hole", Andrew Hamilton's contribution on the University of Colorado site, here: 

http://jila.colorado.edu/~ajsh/insidebh/rn.html#ref2

On Naming Clouds: Luke Howard, 1815

HOWARD, Luke. Versuch einer Naturegeschichte und Physik der Wolken, von Lukas Howard...in Annalen der Physik, series I/51, band 3- (vi), 442pp, 6 plates. The Howard article appears on pp 1-42. Also included in the volume: Eine Probe von Lukas Howard's meteorologischen Monatsberichten”, pp 66-72

And with:Thomas Forster, pp 73-78 “Einigemrteorlogische Beobachtungen in Beziehung auf Lukas Howard's und De Luc's ideen.

Provenance: (a) Provinzial Gewebbschele zu Aachen, then (b) Deutsche Akademie der Luftfahrtforschung, and then (c) Wright Field Library (Dayton, Ohio), and finally (d) the Library of Congress. There are ownership rubber stamps on text block page edge at top and bottom, a stamped gilt title on the bottom of the spine, and two scant stamps on the contents page, and that's it. Very nice, tight, fresh copy.  $350

It is interesting to note that this very important work wasn't really discussed in the German language for another dozen years, appearing in the Annalen der Physik (series I volume 51) in 1815.  It is also interesting to see that--unlike the English original--there are no illustrations, which in some sense provide a scent of defeat in trying to display these groundbreaking classification ideas. The paper does present the names and descriptions of clouds (as you can see in the attached pic of the table of contents).

Also contains works by H. Davy (Ueber die Ursaxhe der Farben) and another dozen or so contributors.

First Edition in German of Daguerre's Invention of Photography (1839)

[DAGUERRE] "Der Daguerreotyp. (Bei allgeinen und man kann wohl himzusetzen, uebertriebenen Interesse, welches die Anzeige von Hrn. Daguerre's Entdeckung im Publicum gefunden hat, glauben wir den Lesern einen Dienst zu erweisen, wenn wir hier Hrn. Arago's Bericht uber dieselbe.. "  Pp 193-216. 

Bound with:

"Daguerre's Vorschrift zur Bereitung eines gegen Lichtairkungen empfindlichen Papiers. (Nach einer Note von Biot in den Compt. ren. T VIII p.246...)" Pp 217-221. Offered in volume 49, No. 9, 1839, Annalen der Physik, 619pp.  Bound in half cloth, marbled covers. Nice copy.  Scarce  

An extremely early set of  publications in a German scientific journal on the newly announced discovery of photography by Louis Daguerre made in the Comptes Rendus in 15 January 1839 and the technical report made by him 13 August, 1839.

 Provenance exlibris (a) Provinzial Gewebbschele zu Aachen, then (b) Deutsche Akademie der Luftfahrtforschung, and then (c) Wright Field Library (Dayton, Ohio), and finally (d) the Library of Congress. There are ownership rubber stamps on text block page edge at top and bottom, a stamped gilt title on the bottom of the spine, and two scant stamps on the contents page, and that's it. Very nice, tight, fresh copy. 

Includes a significant paper in the establishment of Agricultural Chemistry by Justus von Liebig. "Ueber die Erscheinung der Gährung, Fäulniss und Verwesung, und ihre Ursachen",  45pp.

 

DALTON, John. Four papers: (1) Versuche über Wärme Kälte, die bei mechanischer Verdichtung und Verdünnung der Luft entstehen. (2) Ueber die Kraft der Flüssigkeiten, Wärme zu leiten, in Beziehung auf des Grafen von Rumford siebenten Essay. (3) Ueber den absoluten Nullpunkt der Wärme und verwandte Betrachtungen. (4) Versuche über die Ausdehnung des Wasser's durch Wärme. All in Annalen der Physik, Series I, vol 14, (viii), 512pp, 5 plates (the last of which is provided in facsimile). Halle, Rengerschen Buchhandlung, 1803. The volume is bound in black half-cloth and very dark green/black marbled boards.

Provenance exlibris (a) Provinzial Gewebbschele zu Aachen, then (b) Deutsche Akademie der Luftfahrtforschung, and then (c) Wright Field Library (Dayton, Ohio), and finally (d) the Library of Congress. There are ownership rubber stamps on text block page edge at top and bottom, a stamped gilt title on the bottom of the spine, and two scant stamps on the contents page, and that's it. Very nice, tight, fresh copy. 

Each section (stuck 5-8) is offered with their original wrappers bound in (save section 8 which lacks the rear wrapper). The original wrappers for the AdP are uncommon. $750

Four early and significant papers by Dalton (their first appearance in German) occupying pp 101-11, then pp 184-198, then pp 287-292, an then lastly pp 293-96.

"Three papers that Dalton read to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society in 1799 and 1800 (in which year he became the Society's secretary) show how much the question of water vapor continued to exercise him. In the first paper he discusses the balance in nature between rain, dew, river-water runoff, and evaporation. In the course of this discussion, he provided the earliest definition of the dew point. Then followed two competent, but more pedestrian, papers on heat, in which his firm belief in a fluid of heat is well-displayed and his complete acceptance of the particular caloric theory of William Irvine an Adair Crawford is apparent.  The really dramatic development came in the summer of 1801. By 14 September, Dalton was confident enough in his ideas to write to William Nicholson’s recently established monthly Journal of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry and the Arts. It showed no hesitation in publishing his “New Theory of the Constitution of Mixed Aeriform Fluids, and Particularly of the Atmosphere.”--Dictionary of Scientific Biography online.

Ohm's Law (1826)

OHM, Simon. 3 papers: (1) “Versuch über einer Theorie der durch galvanische Kräfte hervorgebrachten elektroskopischen Erscheinungen” , plus (2) “Versuch über einer Theorie der durch galvanische Kräfte hervorgebrachten elektroskopischen Erscheinungen (Beschluss)”, plus (3) "Ein Nachtrag zu dem vorsthenden Aufsatz des Hrn. Dr. Ohm”. Paper (1) in Annalen der Physik und Chemie, volume 6, section 4, pp. 369-514, with 1 engraved plate, with the Ohm in section 4, pp 459-469. Paper (2), in Annalen der Physik und Chemie, volume 7, section 45, pp 45-55 in the issue of pp 1-136. Paper (3) same issue as paper 2, pp 117-118. Each section removed from a larger bound volume, though complete in itself. VG copies.  $1750

"In February an April 1826, Ohm published two important papers that dealt separately with the two major aspects of his ultimately unified theory of galvanic electricity...the second paper, “Versuch einer Theorie der durch galvanische Kräfte hervorgebrachten elektroskopischen Erscheinungen,” broke new ground in associating an electric tension with both open and closed galvanic circuits.” --Dictionary of Scientific Biography (online)

“Ohm’s second major paper of 1826 [this paper] announced the beginnings of a comprehensive theory of galvanic electricity based, he said, on the fact that the contact of heterogeneous bodies produced and maintained a constant electric tension (Spannung). He deferred the systematic exposition of this theory to a later work, however, and limited himself to stating without derivation the two equations that constituted its heart: X = kw(a/l) and u − c = ±(x/l)a, where X is the strength of the electric current in a conductor of length l, cross section w, and conductibility (Leitungs-vermögen) k produced by a difference in electric tension a at its end points; where u is the electroscopic force at a variable point x of the conductor; and where c is a constant independent of x. By means of the first equation one can, with respect to overall conducting power (or resistance), reduce the actual length of a wire of whatever cross section and conductibility to the equivalent length of one wire chosen arbitrarily as a standard. Letting l now be this equivalent length—called the reduced length (reducirte Länge) of the conductor—Ohm wrote his first law in the simpler form X = a/l, the expression which has become known as Ohm’s law. After pointing out briefly how this law, which corresponded to the one he had developed in his previous paper, embraced his and others’ findings on the conductibility of different wires, Ohm devoted the rest of the paper to developing the implications of the second, electroscopic law and to comparing these implications with previously known facts. In this work he showed that his formula successfully explained those experiments which measured the electroscopic force at different points (especially the poles) of open and closed, and grounded and ungrounded, circuits. Here again the explanatory power of his law was impressive. The fully developed presentation of his theory of electricity appeared in Ohm’s great work, Die galvanische kette, mathematisch bearbeitet (Berlin, 1827). --DSB online

Keynes' Big Book (1936)

John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money. London, Macmillan & Co.. First edition, 2nd impression, March 1936. 8vo; xii, 403pp. Diced cloth.  Lovely copy. About fine. There is a signature on the front pastedown and a name stamped on the front free endpaper. Crisp, strong, fresh, and clean copy.  $450

An Extension of Doppler's Great Paper of 1842 (1846)

Christian Doppler. “Bemerkungen zu meiner Theorie des farbigen Lichtes der Doppelsterne etc. mit vorzüglicher Rücksicht auf die von Herrn Dr. Ballot zu Utrecht dagegen erhobenen Bedenken”. Published in the Annalen der Physik, by the publisher Johann Ambrosius Barth, in Leipzig, 1846, band 68, no. 5, part 1, pages 1-35. ¶ First edition. Offered as part of the entire half-year of the publication, numbering 582pp. The volume is bound in black half-cloth and very dark green/black marbled boards. Exlibris (a) Provinzial Gewebbschele zu Aachen, then (b) Deutsche akademie der Luftfahrtforschung, and then (c) Wright Field Library (Dayton, Ohio), and finally (d) the Library of Congress. There are ownership rubber stamps on text block page edge at top and bottom, a stamped gilt title on the bottom of the spine, and two scant stamps on the contents page, and that's it. Very nice, tight, fresh copy.   $1500

This is an extention of Doppler's epochal “Ueber das farbige Licht der Doppelsterne und einiger anderer Gestirne des Himmels,” which appeared in Abhandlungen der Konigl. Böhmischen Gesellschaft derWissenschaften, (5th ser., 2 (1842), 465, and which was also published separately in Prague in the same year, (1842) in which the idea of motion is expressed to both source and observer, based on the experimental work of Buys-Ballot. “ The Doppler Theory/Doppler shift is of monumental applicability and importance, providing the foundation for sonar and radar, as well as for the general acceptance of the cosmological theory of the Big Bang (showing how the shift in the spectra of astronomical entities allows for the measurement of the rate of recession relative to the Earth.

“Buys-Ballot [Buys-Ballot, Christophorus Henricus Didericus (1817-1890)] also conducted one of the most famous experiments to confirm the Doppler shift.  He put a group of musicians on a train and took up his position on a station platform. He asked the train driver to rush past him as fast as he could while the musicians played and held a constant note, and was able to detect the Doppler shift (as a change in pitch) as the train passed him (Filkin and Hawking 1997, p. 65).” --Eric Weisstein's Science Biography pages on the Wolfram Research website

 “In 1845, Christophe Ballot, a Dutch meteorologist, conducted a public demonstration to prove it. Ballot lived beside a train line, and he noticed the change in pitch in whistles and sounds as the train passed him by. He pulled a few strings and got a train to pull along an open-air cart filled with trumpet players. Meanwhile, more trumpet players stood in a station. Ballot checked the pitch of their instruments, and then got each section to play the same note as the train hurtled — at an astonishing forty miles per hour — past the station. Although the players in the station stayed right on the note, the players in the train by seemed to be pitched a little too high, and dropped a little too low as the train passed the station. Everyone in the station could hear the changing notes as the trained passed, and one of the most useful tools in all of physics was finally recognized.” Esther Inglis-Arkell, Gizmodo (2013)

“In 1846 Doppler published a revised version of his principle where he considered both the motion of the source and the motion of the observer. Later, a French physicist, Armand Hippolyte Louis Fizeau (1818–1896), who made one of the first measurements of the velocity of light, generalized Doppler’s work by applying his theory not only to sound but also to light.”-- A. Roguin, "Christian Doppler, the Man Behind the Effect". The British Journal of Radiology, 75 (2002), 615–619

• Bibliography of Doppler’s work. In: Stoll I, editor. The Phenomenon of Doppler. Prague, Czechoslovakia: Czech Technical University, 1992:76–80.

This volume also contains significant paper by Michael Faraday, the first German edition of "Thoughts on Ray Vibration", which suggests that no ether or other vibrating material is responsible for the transmission of light. 

Einstein and the Universe (1922)

Charles Nordmann, Einstein and the Universe. Henry Holt & Co., NYC, 1922, First U.S. Edition. Xvi, 240pp. Original cloth. Excellent copy in a VG dust jacket. $250 (The first printing of the book was in Paris earlier in 1922; there was also a British and German edition in 1922 as well.)

The dj has some chips here and there, as well as a hole (as you can see in the pic) in the front panel—otherwise (as they say) this is in good shape. The book itself is Fine.

“Charles Nordmann was an early pioneer of radio astronomy, the creator of multicolor photometry techniques, and a noted popularizer of astronomy. After receiving his Licencié ès sciences in 1899, he spent the following year at the Meudon Observatory, near Paris, under the directorship of Pierre Janssen . There, Nordmann began a study of the Sun, its activity, and effects on the Earth's magnetic field. From 1902 to 1903, he worked in the magnetic service at the Nice Observatory. For his doctoral research at the University of Paris, Nordmann attempted to test the prediction of Henri Deslandres that the Sun ought to emit Hertzian (i. e., radio) waves. He constructed a horizontal antenna, 175 m long, and installed it on the glacier of the Bossons (on Mont Blanc). Despite Nordmann's best efforts, no definite signals were ever received....”-The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers (online), Springer Verlag

And the German first edition:

Charles Nordmann. Einstein und das Weltall. Stuttgart, Verlag von Julius Hoffmann, 1922. 8”x 5”, 199pp. Decorated paper boards and a cloth spine. VG copy. $50