ON A HEURISTIC VIEWPOINT OF THE CREATION AND MODIFICATION OF LIGHT

Abstract:

Between the conceptions that physicists have of gases and other ponderable matter vísa-vís MAXWELL’s theory of electromagnetic processes transpiring in so-called ‘empty space,’there exists a deep formal distinction. While for the state of a material body the specification of the position and velocity of a very large but still finite number of atoms and electrons suffices, for the specification of the state of an electromagnetic field in a given space, continuous functions are used, so that a finite number of quantities is seen as insufficient for the complete description of the its state. According to MAXWELL theory, for all purely electromagnetic phenomena, in particular for light, energy is expressed as a continuous function in space, whereas for particles nowadays physicists consider that energy is a sum over atoms and electrons. The energy of ponderable matter cannot be divided into arbitrarily small portions, but the energy …

Año de publicación:

1905

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