Best of
Science

1930

Number: The Language of Science


Tobias Dantzig - 1930
    Tobias Dantzig shows that the development of math—from the invention of counting to the discovery of infinity—is a profoundly human story that progressed by “trying and erring, by groping and stumbling.” He shows how commerce, war, and religion led to advances in math, and he recounts the stories of individuals whose breakthroughs expanded the concept of number and created the mathematics that we know today.

The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection: A Complete Variorum Edition


Ronald A. Fisher - 1930
    Fisher's classic work--probably the best known book in evolutionary biology after Darwin's Origin of Species. The book was the first attempt to assess and explain Darwin's evolutionary theories in terms of genetic evolution. Based on the ori ginal 1930 edition, the book incorporates the many changes Fisher made for the second edition as well as unpublished material taken from Fis her's own copy.

The Physical Principles of the Quantum Theory


Werner Heisenberg - 1930
    His matrix theory is one of the bases of modern quantum mechanics, while his "uncertainty principle" has altered our whole philosophy of science.In this classic, based on lectures delivered at the University of Chicago, Heisenberg presents a complete physical picture of quantum theory. He covers not only his own contributions, but also those of Bohr, Dirac, Bose, de Broglie, Fermi, Einstein, Pauli, Schrodinger, Somerfield, Rupp, ·Wilson, Germer, and others in a text written for the physical scientist who is not a specialist in quantum theory or in modern mathematics.Partial contents: introduction (theory and experiment, fundamental concepts); critique of physical concepts of the corpuscular theory (uncertainty relations and their illustration); critique of the physical concepts of the wave theory (uncertainty relations for waves, discussion of an actual measurement of the electromagnetic field); statistical interpretation of quantum theory (mathematical considerations, interference of probabilities, Bohr's complementarity); discussion of important experiments (C. T. R. Wilson, diffraction , Einstein-Rupp, emission, absorption and dispersion of radiation, interference and conservation laws, Compton effect, radiation fluctuation phenomena, relativistic formulation of the quantum theory).An 80-page appendix on the mathematical apparatus of the quantum theory is provided for the specialist.

Principles of Insect Morphology


R.E. Snodgrass - 1930
    Still the standard reference in the English language, Principles of Insect Morphology is considered the author's masterpiece. A talented artist as well as one of the leading entomologists of his day, Robert E. Snodgrass produced a wealth of publications that display an accuracy and precision still unsurpassed.The 19 chapters in this volume cover each group of insect organs and their associated structures, at the same time providing a coherent morphological view of their fundamental nature and apparent evolution. To accomplish this aim, Snodgrass compares insect organs with those of other arthropods. Each chapter concludes with a glossary of terms. The 319 multipart illustrations are an invaluable source of information and have never been duplicated.This edition includes a new foreword by George Eickwort, Professor of Entomology at Cornell University, which relates the book to today's courses in insect morphology. Republication of this textbook will provide another generation of students with an essential foundation for their studies in entomology.

Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers and Inventors (4-Volume Set) (Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers & Inventors)


Franklin Day Jones - 1930
    The books are similar in size and general character, but the contents are different. The mechanisms described are grouped into chapters according to general types. Together with the complete index, this arrangement by function makes it easy to find the class of movement desired, and enables you to compare mechanisms which are similar in purpose but different in design. The descriptions and illustrations are confined to the important and fundamental elements, so that time is not wasted reading a lot of useless or irrelevant detail. Readers are told plainly and briefly what each mechanism consists of, how it operates, and the features which make it of special interest. The particular mechanisms have been selected because they have stood the test of actual practice. Among the mechanisms described and illustrated by working diagrams are: cam applications and special cam designs; intermittent motions from gears and cams; interlocking devices; valve diagrams; reversing mechanisms of special design; tripping or stop mechanisms; drives of crank type for reciprocating driven members; feeding mechanisms and auxiliary devices; feeding and ejecting mechanisms; and many, many more.