The Theory of Electricity

THE first edition of Prof. Livens' “Theory of Electricity,” published in 1918, was reviewed in NATURE in 1919 (vol. 103, p. 142), and therefore the present notice need only take account of the changes introduced in the new edition. In its present form the book has been very much curtailed-from about 700 large octavo pages to rather more than 400 crown octavo pages-but the clear print characteristic of the series of the Cambridge University Press has been retained. A considerable amount of matter, relating principally to the detailed treatment of a considerable number of special problems, has been omitted in all cases where a full account is given in other books, but we are glad to note that the very careful and full discussions of fundamental principles and points of difficulty, so characteristic of the first edition of the book, have been retained in their entirety. Consequently, the work can be as highly recommended as before as an introduction to the theoretical side of electromagnetism, and in conjunction with such a detailed text-book as that of Jeans, gives as full an account of the theory in all its aspects as is to be found in any language.The Theory of Electricity.By Prof. G. H. Livens. Second edition. Pp. vi + 427. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1926.) 16s. net.