The New Physics and Its Evolution

Poincaré, Lucien, 1862-1920Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.9

Word count: 472K words
Chapters: 48

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The New Physics and Its Evolution by Lucien PoincaréAuthor: Poincaré, Lucien, 1862-1920,Language: English, Class: QC: Science: Physics, Release Date: Feb 28, 2005

Editor's review

This is a popular physics book written by Lucien Poincaré for general readers, discussing new developments in physics from the late 19th to the early 20th century and their trajectory of evolution. The author was a physicist and a cousin of the mathematician Henri Poincaré, and his writing combines professional judgment with a conscious effort at accessible explanation. The "new physics" in the title refers to a series of discoveries and theoretical trends that were then shaking the classical physical picture, so the value of this book lies not in providing today's physics knowledge but in showing how a firsthand witness described to the public that "physics is changing." Reading it reveals what science popularization writing looked like at the turn of the century: it discusses experiments and concepts as well as the scientific community's methodological awareness. As a public-domain electronic text from Project Gutenberg, it is suitable as comparative material for the history of science and the history of science popularization, not as a substitute for contemporary physics textbooks.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the history of physics and the evolution of scientific thought
Readers studying the style and discourse of early 20th-century science popularization
Those with basic physics knowledge who want to understand the disciplinary landscape at the turn of the century
Readers needing public-domain history-of-science texts for teaching or citation

Not a good fit for

Beginners hoping to systematically learn contemporary physics
Readers expecting a textbook with formula derivations and exercises
Those uninterested in historical context who only want the latest conclusions

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and introduction first to clarify which developments the author means by "new physics."
Compare relevant chapters with contemporary physics textbooks as you read, distinguishing historical statements from today's consensus.
Take separate notes on the book's discussion of scientific method as a thread for understanding the evolution of science popularization writing.
Look up background for unfamiliar terms before continuing; there is no need to finish all chapters in one pass.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book about today's "new physics"?

No. It discusses new developments in physics from the late 19th to the early 20th century and their evolution, making it a history-of-science text. What the book presents are the judgments and statements of a firsthand witness of that time; readers should distinguish them from contemporary physics knowledge and treat the book as material for understanding disciplinary change.

What is the author's relationship to the mathematician Henri Poincaré?

Lucien Poincaré was a cousin of Henri Poincaré and was himself a physicist. This connection helps explain the combination of professional awareness and a public-explanatory orientation in his writing, but the materials provide no further biographical details, so there is no need to read too much into it.

Can I read this book without a physics background?

You can try, but it will be difficult. The author writes for general readers but still involves many technical concepts and the experimental context of the time. It is advisable to have basic physics knowledge first, or to read alongside history-of-science materials and terminology lookups; otherwise it is easy to remain at a literal level of understanding.

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About the author

Poincaré, Lucien, 1862-1920 Author · French · 1862–1920

Lucien Poincaré (1862–1920) was a French physicist and educator who devoted his career to science education and educational administration. The library holds only one work by him, The New Physics and Its Evolution, whose title indicates a book for general readers on the development and evolution of modern physics, written in the spirit of science popularization. Public information about him is limited, and details of his life and academic career cannot be reliably confirmed, so speculation should be avoided. On the available evidence, his writing reflects an educator's concern to present the changing landscape of physics in an orderly way to readers. Such works helped the public understand new advances in physics at a time of rapid scientific change in the early twentieth century, and they remain a useful reference for later readers interested in how scientific ideas shifted in that era.