[LANDMARK SCIENCE, PHYSICS, INVENTION, ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES]
~The Birth of Modern Wireless Communication Technology~
(HERTZ, Heinrich)
"ANNALEN DER PHYSIK UND CHEMIE" ('Vierte Folge' - Fourth Series)
Volume 31
Leipzig. Johann Ambrosius Barth. 1887. First issue. (bound as publisher volume) Ex-Libris California Institute of Technology with the usual markings. Library accession date of '1925' on title page. All 7 plates (some folding) present as called for; no wrappers bound in. Binding shot; both boards detached and spine flaked off but present. We recommend a re-backing to the new owner's liking. Contents clean and complete. Overall, very good.
HEINRICH HERTZ'S PROOF OF THE EXISTENCE OF ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES BASED ON JAMES MAXWELL'S THEORY.
Hertz was the first to
demonstrate experimentally that electromagnetic waves radiate in space at the
speed of light, just as Maxwell had predicted in his Treatise on Electricity
and Magnetism (1873). Hertz determined that electromagnetic waves were
longer than light waves and showed that they were in complete correspondence
with the waves of light and heat in the transverse nature of their vibration
and their susceptibility to reflection, refraction, and polarization. Hertz did
not pursue the practical applications of his investigations, which in the hands
of Marconi and others led eventually to the development of wireless airwave
technology.
Hertz's discovery DIRECTLY LED TO MONUMENTAL WORLD CHANGING APPLICATIONS IN THE FORM OF RADIO, RADAR AND TELEVISION WHICH WOULD TRANSFORM HUMAN COMMUNICATION.
A cornerstone item for the technology collector or institution.
Provenance:
We recently acquired several hundred volumes of deaccessioned scientific periodicals from the California Institute of Technology (CIT) in Pasadena, California.
For about the last 15 -20 years, Cal Tech has endeavored to reduce the footprint (and associated expense) of their library periodical stacks and replace the physical holdings with digital access for their students and researchers. In so doing, they have released nearly 100 years of physical scientific journals, magazines and valuable reference material.
Amongst the holdings we acquired are some real gems and landmarks (both domestic and foreign) of scientific achievement across the disciplines of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Psychology, Genetics, Medicine, Mathematics, Computer Science, Electronics and Engineering.
There are important works by Einstein, Born, Fermi, Planck, Bohr, Heisenberg, Bardeen, Schrodinger, Hertz, Shockley and many others.
Einstein taught at Cal Tech (as a visiting professor) during the
winters of 1931, 32 & 33. Therefore, in this case, an 'institutional'
copy undoubtedly adds to the gravitas and provenance of the volumes
versus detract as is usually the case. Volumes from the run we have rested on
the library shelves as Einstein taught in those winter months at Cal Tech. It’s
also worth noting, in conjunction with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Cal
Tech curates and publishes important studies of Einstein's manuscripts and
research materials via the Einstein Papers Project. The deep and
meaningful association Cal Tech has with Einstein makes these ex-libris Cal
Tech copies quite desirable. We declined rebinding them for that very reason.
Rather, we'd recommend a future owner leave them as found or simply have a
decorative display box made for protection and viewing.
Please email any questions -