From Obscurity to Enigma: The Work of Oliver Heaviside, 1872–1889

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Springer Science & Business Media, Jun 18, 2011 - Science - 334 pages

Oliver Heaviside's electromagnetic investigations - from the publication of his first electrical paper in 1972 to the public recognition awarded to him by Lord Kelvin in 1889 - have consistently attracted attention over the years, and of late have become a major source for the study of the development of field theory after Maxwell. "From Obscurity to Enigma" is the only comprehensive, in-depth analysis of Heaviside's work. It analyses and elucidates his brilliant but often close-to-indecipherable Electrical Papers and traces the evolution of his ideas against the background of growing knowledge in basic electromagnetic theory, telegraphy and telephony during these years. The book will be appreciated by historians of science and technology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and by physicists and electrical engineers, many of whom are aware of Heaviside's contributions to their respective fields.

 

Contents

Chapter II Outlining the Way
36
Chapter III The Maxwellian Outlook
66
Chapter IV From Obscurity to Enigma
180
Appendix 31 Heavisides Extended Theorem of Divergece
288
APPENDIX 32 Unification of Electricity and Magnetism1
294
APPENDIX 33 Note on Heavisides Derivation of the Mutual Energy of Two Current Systems
299
APPENDIX 41 The KR Law and the Distortionless Condition
303
APPENDIX 42 Notes on Heavisides Operational Calculus
306
Bibliography
321
Index
329
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About the author (2011)

Ido Yavetz is a Professor at The Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas at the Tel Aviv University.

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