This collection of primary sources examines scientific methodology in Britain during the long nineteenth century. The nineteenth century begins with what was still a largely Newtonian perspective on the nature of matter and the physical world – Newtonian bodies moving through space, guided by a collection of forces, with gravity foremost among them. By the end of the century, physical science had refocused itself around the concept of energy, the first moves toward the understanding of atomic structure had been undertaken, and electricity and magnetism were understood in terms of fields of force. This volume examines primary sources related to the philosophy of the physical sciences, and will be of great interest to students of the history of philosophy and the history of science.
This collection of primary sources examines scientific methodology in Britain during the long nineteenth century. This volume examines primary sources related to the philosophy of the physical sciences.
Volume 4: Forces, Fields, and Energy: Physical Sciences
General Introduction
Volume 4 Introduction
Part 1: Atoms, Molecules and Forces
1. John Dalton, On the Constitution of Bodies and On Chemical Synthesis
(1808), from Foundations of the Atomic Theory (1893), pp. 2734
2. John Dalton, Remarks on the Essay of Dr. Berzelius on the Cause of
Chemical Proportions, Annals of Philosophy, Vol. 3 (1814), pp. 174180
3. Jacob Berzelius, An Address to Those Chemists Who Wish to Examine the
Laws of Chemical Proportions, and the Theory of Chemistry in General, Annals
of Philosophy, Vol. 10 (1815), pp. 122131
4. Michael Faraday, Identity of Electricities Derived from Different
Sources, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Vol. 123 (1833),
pp. 2330, 4353
5. Michael Faraday, A Speculation Touching Electric Conduction and the
Nature of Matter, Philosophical Magazine, Vol. 24 (1844), pp. 136144
6. Herman von Helmholtz, On the Aim and Progress of Physical Science, in
Popular Lectures on Scientific Subjects (1869 [ tr. 1885]), pp. 369375,
382394
7. James Clerk Maxwell, On Physical Lines of Force, Philosophical Magazine,
Vol. 21, No. 139 (1861), pp. 161165
8. James Clerk Maxwell, Molecules, Nature, Vol. 8 (1873), pp. 437441
Part 2: Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics
9. Sadi Carnot, Reflections on the Motive Power of Heat and on Engines
Suitable for Developing this Power, The Second Law of Thermodynamics:
Memoirs by Carnot, Clausius, and Thomson (1824 [ tr. 1899]), pp. 321
10. James Joule, On Matter, Living Force, and Heat, in The Scientific
Papers of James Prescott Joule, (1847), pp. 265276
11. Rudolf Clausius, On the Moving Force of Heat, in The Mechanical Theory
of Heat, with its Applications to the Steam-Engine and to the Physical
Properties of Bodies (1850 [ tr. 1867]), pp. 1421,
4345.
12. William Thomson, Kinetic Theory of the Dissipation of Energy, Nature,
Vol. 9 (1874), pp. 441444
Part 3: Models and Reality
13. Heinrich Hertz, Principles of Mechanics (1894 [ tr. 1899]), pp. 14,
2441
14. Ludwig Boltzmann, On the Necessity of Atomic Theories in Physics, The
Monist, Vol. 12, No. 1 (1901), pp. 6579
15. Ludwig Boltzmann, Models, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 10th ed., Vol. 30
(1902), pp. 788791
Part 4: Time and Space
16. Mary Somerville, Mechanism of the Heavens (1831), pp. vxv, 46, 145151
17. Ernst Mach, The Science of Mechanics (1883[ tr. 1919]), pp. 222245
18. Albert Einstein, Maxwells Influence on the Development of the
Conception of Physical Reality, in James Clerk Maxwell: A Commemoration
Volume, 18311931 (1931), pp. 6673
Bibliography
Index
Dr. Charles H. Pence is Assistant Professor and Director of the Center for the Philosophy of Science and Society (CEFISES) at the Université catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
