Bücher von James Jeans

The Mysterious Universe is a popular science book which begins with a full-page citation of the famous passage in Plato's Republic, Book VII, laying out the allegory of the cave. The book made frequent reference to the quantum theory of radiation, begun by Max Planck in 1900, to Albert Einstein's general relativity, and to the new theories of quantum mechanics of Heisenberg and Schrödinger, of whose philosophical perplexities the author seemed well aware.This book is based upon the conviction that the teachings and findings of astronomy and physical science are destined to produce an immense change on our outlook on the universe as a whole, and on views about the significance of human life. The author contends that the questions at issue are ultimately one for philosophical discussion, but that before philosophers can speak, science should present ascertained facts and provisional hypotheses. The book is therefore written with these thoughts in mind while broadly presenting the fundamental physical ideas and findings relevant for a wider philosophical inquiry.

Published in 1934 as a second edition to James Jeans' popular work on the general understanding of the physical universe, The New Background of Science took advantage of a comparatively 'quiescent' period in physical investigation when fundamental theories and findings gained wide acceptance.

Through Space and Time is based upon the 1933 Christmas Lectures that James Jeans gave at the Royal Institution, London. The book begins its journey with the history, structure and main features of our planet, and ends in the vast expanses of space among the nebulae.

Stars in Their Courses is an introduction, originally published in 1934, to astronomy and the wonders of the universe brought to us by the technology of the telescope. The book is illustrated with a large number of photographs, and was especially written for readers with no previous scientific knowledge.

Sir James Jeans has used his remarkable gifts of exposition to set out all that is relevant in the science of acoustics to the art of music. He offers a simple but precise account (illustrated with well-chosen photographs and diagrams) of the anatomical origin and workings of the human ear; the nature of sound vibrations; simple tones and complex sounds; the principles and operation of musical instruments; harmony and the musical scale; the effects of music on men and animals; and the practical problems of acoustical design. Scientists who appreciate music, musicians with an interest in science and laymen who care for both, will thoroughly enjoy this book.

Problems of Cosmogony and Stellar Dynamics is a theoretical prelude to Jeans's later and more mature work on the subject, Astronomy and Cosmogony. The impetus for publishing his theories on the behaviour of rotating masses, and on general dynamical theory, was the 1917 Adams Prize on the 'rotating and gravitating fluid mass'.

Originally published in 1942, this book discusses an emerging physical science that brought with it a fresh message as to the fundamental nature of the world, and of the possibilities of human free will in particular. The aim of the book is to explore that territory, which forms a borderland between physics and philosophy.

Originating from the Rede Lecture delivered at the University of Cambridge in November 1930, this book is based upon the conviction that the teachings and findings of astronomy and physical science are destined to produce an immense change on our outlook on the universe as a whole, and on views about the significance of human life. The author contends that the questions at issue are ultimately one for philosophical discussion, but that before philosophers can speak, science should present ascertained facts and provisional hypotheses. The book is therefore written with these thoughts in mind while broadly presenting the fundamental physical ideas and findings relevant for a wider philosophical inquiry.

The Growth of Physical Science is a detailed but very accessible survey of what began as natural philosophy and culminated in the mid-twentieth century as quantum physical science.

Jeans's primary aim with the first edition of his book, originally published in 1904, was to 'develop the theory of gases upon as exact a mathematical basis as possible'.

This is the full text of James Jeans's Rouse Ball Lecture given in 1925 at Cambridge University, and surveys the field of atomic and subatomic physics in the early days of quantum mechanics, with a brief historical perspective on measurement.

This second edition, originally published in 1929, is an extensive survey at the forefront of cosmology and astronomy with particular reference to the physical state of matter, the structure, composition and life-cycle of stars, and the superstructures of nebulae and galaxies. It was intended as a rigourously argued scientific treatise.

Sir James Jeans' well-known treatise covers the topics in electromagnetic theory required by every non-specialist physicist. It provides the relevant mathematical analysis; it is therefore useful to those whose mathematical knowledge is limited, as well as to the more advanced physicists, engineers and applied mathematicians. A large number of examples are given.