Search Results: Authors starting with E from Atticus Rare Books

The Institute of Radio Engineers, 1949. 1st Edition. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS OF A PAPER BY PRESPER ECKERT, et al. DESCRIBING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HIGH-SPEED MERCURY DELAY LINE MEMORY FOR COMPUTER APPLICATIONS. The acoustic delay line was invented by William Shockley in 1942 and developed by Presper Eckert in 1943 using mercury for a radar application. It was later developed for use in computers by Eckert and became the first widely accepted computer memory system. "A delay line stores information in serial form by continuously circulating data through a liquid or solid medium. A piezo-electric transducer converts a digital electronic signal into a series of pulses that travel through the line. A second transducer receives and amplifies the signal for transmission back to the source. Information is recirculated until accessed or changed by the computer. The physical length of a line determines the amount of information that may be stored. John Adam Presper Eckert Jr. (1919-1995) was… Read More

London: Royal Society, 1938. 1st Edition. FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST CORRECT "SOLUTION TO THE MANY-BODY PROBLEM IN CELESTIAL MECHANICS UNDER EINSTEIN'S THEORY OF GRAVITY FOR THE SPECIAL CASE OF POINT MASSES" (History of Physics: The Wenner Collection). Eddington and Clark's equations "are now frequently used for high precision tracking of planetary orbits and spacecraft movements within the Solar System" (ibid). "The problem of the secular acceleration of the center of mass of binary systems has a checkered history. Levi-Civita (1937) first pointed out that general relativity predicted a secular acceleration in the direction of the periastron of the orbit, and found a binary system candidate in which he felt the effect might one day be observable. Eddington and Clark (1938) repeated the calculation using de Sitter's (1916) n-body equations of motion. After first finding a secular acceleration of opposite sign to that of Levi-Civita, they then discovered an error in de Sitter's equations, and… Read More

London: Macmillan, 1924. 1st Edition. Full volume. FIRST EDITION OF EDDINGTON'S PAPER PROPOSING A CHANGE IN COORDINATE SYSTEMS THAT WILL ELIMINATE THE SCHWARZSCHILD SINGULARITY. The physical significance of this singularity, and whether this singularity could ever occur in nature, was debated for many decades" until the possibility of a black hole was accepted in the second half of the 20th century (Wikipedia). In this paper, Eddington made a coordinate change which transformed the Schwarzchild metric into a form which was not singular, thereby rejecting Schwarzchild's implication of relativistic quantum mechanics rather than accept the possibility of black holes. ALSO INCLUDED: FIRST EDITION OF KRAMERS' LAW OF DISPERSION, A FORMULATION THAT CAME CLOSE TO PROVIDING A FORMULATION OF QUANTUM MECHANICS, BUT DID NOT DO SO. Prior to the development of matrix mechanics, a number of papers on the quantum theory of radiation and its dispersion came close to providing a formulation of quantum mechanics,… Read More

New York: The New York Times, 1945. 1st Edition. First edition of the August 14th, 1945 issue of the New York Times, complete with "Certificate of Authentication" by the Historic Newspaper Archives. The certificate is #379910; it is signed and includes the seal of the archive. Einstein's article appears in Calaprice's Einstein Almanac, No. 244). The certificate will accompany the paper. Most assume that Einstein received the Nobel Prize for his theory of relativity and his famous equation, E=mc2. However it was for neither. In 1921, Einstein won the Nobel Prize for discovering the photoelectric effect in 1905. This principle states that, when sunlight shines on a metal, it emits electrons from the surface of the material. The energy from sunlight (photons) then transfers to the atoms' electrons and knocks them loose. This discovery was so significant that it has influenced the development of many types of technology, from electron microscopes to modern solar cells as we know them today. ALSO… Read More

New York: New York Times, 1931. 1st Edition. First edition of the October 19th, 1931 issue of the New York Times, complete with "Certificate of Authentication" by the Historic Newspaper Archives. The certificate is #379912; it is signed and includes the seal of the archive. Einstein was asked to contribute to the New York Times' "World Mourns the Death of Edison; Body to Lie in State in Laboratory.". CONDITION: Historic Newspaper Archives (see above) has placed the issue in archival plastic and then into an Archive snap close bag. (see photo) By any measure, this complete issue appears in very good condition.

Berlin: Verlag der Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1922. 1st Edition. FIRST EDITION, COMMERCIAL OFFPRINT ISSUE, OF EINSTEIN'S THEORY OF THE LIGHT PROPAGATION IN DISPERSIVE MEDIA. WEIL 120. "After 1917 Einstein firmly believed that light-quanta were here to stay [thus] it is not surprising that he would look for new ways in which the existence of photons might lead to observable deviation from the classical picture. In this he did not succeed. At one point, in 1921, he thought he had found a new quantum criterion, but it soon turned out to be a false lead [as demonstrated in this paper]" (Schilpp-Shields 162). That paper — the one offered here — is Einstein's evidence that his 1921 efforts were incorrect. In it, Einstein introduces a calculation on the topic and explains why [his] earlier proposed experiment had not been well considered because it could not predict a good choice between two theoretical alternatives" (Calaprice, Einstein Encyclopedia, 98). CONDITION & DETAILS: Berlin: Koniglich… Read More

Braunschweig: Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn, 1915. 1st Edition. FIRST EDITION, FULL BOUND VOLUME, OF THE EINSTEIN-DE HAAS EFFECT -- an experimental observation that illustrates the relationship between magnetism and angular momentum and in which a change in the magnetic moment causes the rotation of a free body. In this 1915 paper, Albert Einstein and Wander de Haas report that changing the magnetization of a suspended iron rod by applying an external magnetic field leads to mechanical rotation of the rod - a result that still stands as a textbook illustration of the relationship between magnetism and angular momentum. Papers by Planck (The Quantum Hypothesis for Molecules with Multiple Degrees of Freedom), von Laue, Warburg, Siegbahn, and Born are also present. Einstein had long contemplated Ampère's 1820 conjecture that magnetism is caused by the microscopic circular motions of electric charges. In light of this [Einstein and de Haas] devised an experiment to test not just Ampère's hypothesis, but also… Read More

Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1921. 1st Edition. FIRST FRENCH EDITION OF A 1921 LECTURE BY EINSTEIN ON THE "GEOMETRIZATION OF PHYSICS AND RELATIVITY AND THE RELATION OF MATHEMATICS TO THE EXTERNAL WORLD" (Dictionary of Scientific Biography 4, 330). WEIL 115b. French translation by Maurice Solovince. In the same year in which he won the Nobel Prize, 1921, Einstein delivered this paper as a lecture at "a commemorative session of the Prussian Academy of Sciences in honor of Frederick the Great" (Calaprice, Einstein Almanac, 65). In "Geometrie und Erfahrung" (Geometry and Experience), Einstein advances his theory that space conforms to non-Euclidean principles of geometry -- a corollary of the Theory of Relativity - and, as stated, generally sums up his views on the "geometrization of physics and relativity and the relation of mathematics to the external world" (DSB). It is in this lecture that Einstein also provides his famous answer to the puzzling question of why mathematics should be so well adapted… Read More

Paris: Flammarion, 1938. 1st Edition. The evolution of ideas in physics, the first concepts to the theories of relativity and quanta. Translated from the English by Maurice Solovine. Paris, Flammarion, Library of scientific philosophy, 1938, in-12 paperback, illustrated first cover, 298 pp, with 73 figures in the text and 3 plates inset., 1938. Very good condition with minor edge wear. Bright and clean throughout. This is another book that we offer in the Flammarion Library of Scientific Philosopy Einstein series. The other piece, Einstein's Comment je fois le monde is offered separately.

1920. 1st Edition. First edition in original wraps of Einstein's review of a paper by Nobel Prize winner Walter Rudolf Hess entitled Theory of the Viscosity of Heterogeneous Systems. CONDITION: The journal was published in three sections. All three are here, all bright, clean, and in near fine condition.

Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1921. 1st Edition. First edition of the first French translation of the conference held on May 5th, 1920 at the University of Leiden. The translation was done by Maurice Solovine. Original paper wrappers. Cited in Weil and Boni catalogs. CONDITION & DETAILS: Paris: Gauthier-Villars et Cie, Imprimeurs-Editeurs. Complete. 16 pages with some bibliographic notes. 14 x 22.50 cm. Some toning and spotting to the wraps; small missing area of paper on the rear wrap. Good.

1925. 1st Edition. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL PICTORIAL WRAPPERS. Near fine condition. "This paper is an early example of a series of papers - which continued until his death - in which he explored, within the confines of general relativity, possible pathways in the direction of a unified field theory. Here he discusses whether it is possible to explain why electrons and protons have equal charge but unequal masses. He notes that a more natural solution to the field equations would be particles of opposite sign and equal mass, thus anticipating (but for unrelated "Select Annotated Biography 114, p. 307). ALSO INCLUDED: Zeeman, "Lorentz en de Hypothese der Licht-Quanta Bij de Voortplanting Van Licht," pp. 325-330 [Lorentz was Zeeman's mentor]. ALSO INCLUDED: Some of the issue is a memorial to Lorentz. CONDITION DETAILS: Complete issue. Very slight wear at the spine. Bright and clean inside and out. Near fine condition.

Berlin: Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1919. 1st Edition. FIRST EDITION, BOUND EXTRACT OF ONE OF EINSTEIN'S MORE SIGNIFICANT MODIFICATIONS OF GENERAL RELATIVITY, THIS SPECIFICALLY MARKING THE BEGINNINGS OF HIS UNIFIED FIELD THEORY - an approach he remained committed to for the remainder of his life. "The major interest of this paper is that [Einstein's] attention [had] now shifted from possible quantum modifications of general relativity to the search for a unified theory of the electromagnetic and gravitational fields, on the basis of which he hoped to explain the structure of matter. Quantum effects are to be derived from such a theory, rather than postulated ad hoc" (Iyer and Bhawal, Black Holes, Gravitational Radiation and the Universe, pp. 525-526). "As so often the case in relativity, the story of quantum gravity begins with Einstein himself. Soon after the final formulation of general relativity, he pointed out the need for a quantum modification of the theory. In his first paper on… Read More

Leipzig: Barth, 1906. 1st Edition. FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE of two important 1906 Einstein papers. Einstein wrote two papers on the photoelectric effect, his revolutionary 1905 paper and "Zur Theorie der Lichterzeugung und Lichtabsorption," his continuation of it. In them, Einstein employed Planck's theory that luminous energy can be absorbed or emitted only in discrete amounts (called quanta) and proposed a theory of light quanta involving particles with no mass (photons) whose energy depended on frequency. All of Einstein's experimental results confirmed that light actually consisted of discrete energy packets. "Based on this theory, Einstein wrote an equation describing how the photoelectric effect works. The energy of individual electrons emitted by a photocell is a function of the frequency of the light hitting the photocell, and the rate of electron emission is a function of the light source's intensity (number of photons with sufficient energy being emitted). This is contrary to what is… Read More

Berlin: Julius Springer, 1918. 1st Edition. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS OF EINSTEIN'S REVIEW OF WEYL'S SEMINAL WORK, RAUM-ZEIT-MATERIE [SPACE-TIME-MATTERS] -- WEYL'S STUDY OF THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY, written after spending a year with Einstein as the latter was working out the details of his theory. Weyl's work is still considered "the standard treatise on the general theory of relativity" (Nature). In the very favorable review offered here, Einstein writes "every page shows the amazingly steady hand of the master who has penetrated the subject matter from the most diverse angles... [Weyl] understood how to combine mathematical rigor with graphic intuition" (Einstein, 373). Weyl's work includes "an exposition and examination of Einstein's general theory of relativity and the concomitant theory of gravitation. A detailed investigation follows devoted to gravitational waves, a rigorous solution of the problem of one body, laws of conservation, and the energy of gravitation" (Stanford… Read More

Berlin: Julius Springer, 1920. 1st Edition. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS OF EINSTEIN'S LEIDEN LECTURE EXPLAINING AT LENGTH HIS THEORY OF THE ETHER ALONG WITH THOSE OF LORENTZ & MAXWELL. Very good + condition. "Einstein's lecture at the University of Leiden on the occasion of his appointment as a visiting professor summarized his current views on the ether and retrospectively looked at the development of his opinions on the physical properties of space" (Calaprice, The Einstein Almanac, 86). In this lecture, Einstein recanted his earlier denial of the ether, writing: "Recapitulating, we may say that according to the general theory of relativity space is endowed with physical qualities; in this sense, therefore, there exists an ether. According to the general theory of relativity space without ether is unthinkable; for in such space there not only would be no propagation of light, but also no possibility of existence for standards of space and time (measuring-rods and clocks), nor therefore any… Read More

Berlin: Königlich Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1927. 1st Edition. FIRST EDITION OFFPRINT IN FINE CONDITION OF EINSTEIN'S TWO-PART 1927 COMMENTARY ON KALUZA'S THEORY INVOLVING FIELD EQUATIONS IN FIVE-DIMENSIONAL SPACE. Weil 156. Boni 170. Theodor Franz Eduard Kaluza "attempted to unify Einstein's theory of gravity with Maxwell's theory of light by mixing them in a fifth dimension" (Calaprice, Einstein Almanac, 135). Kaluza was able to solve "Einstein's equations for general relativity using five dimensions, and — once again — Maxwell's equations for electromagnetism emerged" (History of Physics: The Wenner Collection). Kaluza worked with Oskar Benjamin Klein who had "independently developed a five-dimensional theory similar to Kaluza's but in more detail and with the calculation that the fourth spatial dimension is so small (10 30 cm) that it could not be detected. Klein's idea of a small extra dimension was subsequently picked up by string theory and M-theory" (ibid). Together, Kaluza and… Read More

Berlin: Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1920. 1st Edition. First edition bound extract of a paper, The Propagation of Sound in Partially Dissociated Gases, "that is a bit off the beaten track for Einstein though its subject, fluids (liquids and gases) is one he dabbled in throughout his life" (Calaprice, Einstein Almanac). Weil 110; Boni 119. Recognizing that while the "chemical equilibrium properties of gases were well understood, precise knowledge of the velocity of gas reactions was not sufficiently available," Einstein sought to establish a method for the calculation of the rate of chemical reactions in a gas by means of observations on the propagation of sound (Mason, Physical Acoustics, 13). CONDITION & DETAILS: Berlin: Akademie der Wissenschaften. Octavo. First edition, bound extract. The binding is marbled paper boards over black cloth. Inside and out, near fine condition.

Berlin: Vieweg und Springer, 1923. 1st Edition. This paper, "On the Quantum Theory of the Radiative Equilibrium" introduces the expression "negative irradiance" ("negative Einstrahlung") for the emission of a quantum by action of irradiance (Calaprice, 121). Following his work on general relativity in 1916, Einstein continued searching for new ways in which the existence of photons might lead to observable derivations from the classical picture" (Pais, p. 413). In 1922, after six years of experimental and theoretical work, Arthur H. Compton discovered what came to be called the Compton effect; Peter Debye also discovered this independently and virtually simultaneously. Pauli then used Compton & Deby's work to extend Einstein's 1917 work to the case of radiation in equilibrium with free electrons (Pais, 414). "Pauli examined the requirements of detailed balance under Lorentz transformations and found that scattering of light by free electrons must include a term of a form which we would now call… Read More

Berlin: Slawo [Slovo], 1923. 1st Edition. 1922 FIRST RUSSIAN EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPS OF EINSTEIN'S FOUR LECTURES ON RELATIVITY DELIVERED AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY IN THE SPRING OF 1921 (Norman 697; Weil 124g). Bears the ownership stamp of the Russian/Jewish logician-philosopher Gregorius Itelson. Itelson lived in Berlin and was beaten to death in 1926 by an anti-Semitic crowd. The introduction was written by Albert Einstein. The English titles of Einstein's four lectures are: "Space and Time in Pre-Relativity Physics", "The Theory of Special Relativity", "The General Theory of Relativity I", "The General Theory of Relativity II" CONDITION & DETAILS: Berlin: Slawo [Slovo], 8vo. (8.75 x 6 inches; 219 x 150mm). [106], 2. Slightly spotted original wraps; removal of early price sticker from upper right corner (see scan). Minor chipping at the head and foot of the spine. The front wrap is loosening but the binding is holding solidly. Handsome wide margins, clean and bright throughout.