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The book of time
Feb.. ~039.1
BOOK REVIEWS.
28 9
THE BOOK OF TI.~[g, by Gerald Lynton Kaufnmn. 287 pages, plates, 15 X 22 cms. New York, Julian Messner, Inc., I938. Price $3.oo. " I t is always difficult to define the abstract. Yet it is essential to establish the meaning of a concept before taking up its study. I n the case of Time, however, we find ourselves confronted with the most abstract of deductions. We are dealing with a combination of concept and percept; with an abstract which constantly merges into something concrete, while manifesting itself simultaneously in our consciences, in our physical bodies, and in the world of Things-in-themselves. Hence, the more we search through dictionaries and encyclopedias for a definition of Time, the more disappointed we must become, for every definition of Time is in terms of Time itself." Thus is the opening paragraph of this book, which is an a t t e m p t to make popular a subject that is so near to each of us that we have utterly failed to notice it. The importance of time cannot be exaggerated, whether it be its nature or its quantity. This book reveals that there is a surprising amount of information on the subject, 5)et it remains an elusive property of the scientists, philosophers and savants. The book is divided into seven parts, arranged and written so as to presenl an informative story, readable and digestible to the intellectually curious. A basis is used of an alphabetical list of some varieties of time encountered in science, philosophy, and everyday life, as a preparation for elaboration later in the book. A part on time measurement discusses natural time, earth time and clock time, the calendar of today and the future, and standard time. The various phases of time are so interlocked and interwoven that in the remainder of the divisions of the book, free use is made of whatever phase fits in with the particular discussion at hand. Hence there is to be found in several instances the Theory of Time I)imensions as originally advanced by P. D. Ouspensky, the research of Eddington, Jeans and Einstein, and the Michelson-Morely experiment. The method of these injections is clever, being submerged in division titles of adventures in time science and time dimensions, time and again, from time to thne, and time withom end. The material used, taken in its entirety comprises a collection of facts arguments, theories and fancies well pieced together and bearing on the nature of time rather than on quantity. The reader of this book will certainly receive a stimulus to his imagination. It raises innumerable questions; it certainly makes clear the disorganization that exists in knowledge of the subject; and it reveals the vastness of the subject to be beyond present comprehension. A feeling is developed akin to that experienced when peering through a telescope into limitless space. R. H. OI'P|£R3~IANN. t(URZES LEHRBUCH DER PHYSIKALISCHENCHEMIE, von Dr. Karl Je!linek. Heft 1, 314 pages, illustrations, tables, 16 X 25 cms. Deventer, #2. E. Kluwer Ltd., I938. Price 8.5o R.M. Physical chemistry is a subject which is becoming important in many fields of scientific pursuit. It is a factor to be contended with in physics, mineralogy, medicine and others. In fact, progress in the state of knowledge in this line in general, together with its special branches, places it: as a separate and distinct study and a recognition of this by workers in fields more or less dependent is at hand. There is need for a short but comprehensive and thorough text for thcsc workers,
BOOK REVIEWS.
28 9
THE BOOK OF TI.~[g, by Gerald Lynton Kaufnmn. 287 pages, plates, 15 X 22 cms. New York, Julian Messner, Inc., I938. Price $3.oo. " I t is always difficult to define the abstract. Yet it is essential to establish the meaning of a concept before taking up its study. I n the case of Time, however, we find ourselves confronted with the most abstract of deductions. We are dealing with a combination of concept and percept; with an abstract which constantly merges into something concrete, while manifesting itself simultaneously in our consciences, in our physical bodies, and in the world of Things-in-themselves. Hence, the more we search through dictionaries and encyclopedias for a definition of Time, the more disappointed we must become, for every definition of Time is in terms of Time itself." Thus is the opening paragraph of this book, which is an a t t e m p t to make popular a subject that is so near to each of us that we have utterly failed to notice it. The importance of time cannot be exaggerated, whether it be its nature or its quantity. This book reveals that there is a surprising amount of information on the subject, 5)et it remains an elusive property of the scientists, philosophers and savants. The book is divided into seven parts, arranged and written so as to presenl an informative story, readable and digestible to the intellectually curious. A basis is used of an alphabetical list of some varieties of time encountered in science, philosophy, and everyday life, as a preparation for elaboration later in the book. A part on time measurement discusses natural time, earth time and clock time, the calendar of today and the future, and standard time. The various phases of time are so interlocked and interwoven that in the remainder of the divisions of the book, free use is made of whatever phase fits in with the particular discussion at hand. Hence there is to be found in several instances the Theory of Time I)imensions as originally advanced by P. D. Ouspensky, the research of Eddington, Jeans and Einstein, and the Michelson-Morely experiment. The method of these injections is clever, being submerged in division titles of adventures in time science and time dimensions, time and again, from time to thne, and time withom end. The material used, taken in its entirety comprises a collection of facts arguments, theories and fancies well pieced together and bearing on the nature of time rather than on quantity. The reader of this book will certainly receive a stimulus to his imagination. It raises innumerable questions; it certainly makes clear the disorganization that exists in knowledge of the subject; and it reveals the vastness of the subject to be beyond present comprehension. A feeling is developed akin to that experienced when peering through a telescope into limitless space. R. H. OI'P|£R3~IANN. t(URZES LEHRBUCH DER PHYSIKALISCHENCHEMIE, von Dr. Karl Je!linek. Heft 1, 314 pages, illustrations, tables, 16 X 25 cms. Deventer, #2. E. Kluwer Ltd., I938. Price 8.5o R.M. Physical chemistry is a subject which is becoming important in many fields of scientific pursuit. It is a factor to be contended with in physics, mineralogy, medicine and others. In fact, progress in the state of knowledge in this line in general, together with its special branches, places it: as a separate and distinct study and a recognition of this by workers in fields more or less dependent is at hand. There is need for a short but comprehensive and thorough text for thcsc workers,