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LXXXVI. Notices respecting JSew Boohs. 



Collected Papers in Physics and Engineering. Bv James 

 Thomson, D.Sc, LL.D., F.K.S. Pp. civ + 484. Cambridge 

 University Press, 1912. 

 rPHESE papers have been collected and arranged with unpublished 

 -■- material and brief annotations by Sir Joseph Larmor and 

 James Thomson (the son). They are preceded by an introductory 

 and biographical essay containing many details of great interest and 

 by a reprint of an obituary notice written by Dr. J. T. Bottomley ; 

 also by a list of 28 scientific terms introduced by James Thomson. 

 Though many of these have not been adopted {e.g. Crinal, funal, 

 hesion, disply, expansity) yet amongst the rest there are many 

 which are in everyday use, e.g. radian, interface, poundal, numeric, 

 forcive, torque. Though he was overshadowed by his greater 

 brother, yet he received due recognition of his work, which was 

 that of a pioneer. He is no doubt best known for his theoretical 

 work on congelation and liquefaction and by his contributions to 

 the development of ideas in connexion with Dr Andrews' ex- 

 periments on the continuity of the gas and liquid states. But the 

 papers dealing with these important questions represent only a 

 small fraction of his work ; yet, because this work is mainly of 

 an engineering type, it has inevitably been in part superseded by 

 the tremendous developments which have since taken place in 

 engineering theory and practice. JNo one opening these pages will 

 fail to be struck by the great originality displayed in them. No 

 one recognized this more than his brother Lord Kelvin, and it is 

 very pleasing to see from the biographical notice how much the 

 two brothers contributed to each other's work. 



Many of the papers appeared in somewhat inaccessible journals 

 and will be new to the majority of physicists. This fact makes 

 their publication in collected form of more than usual interest. 



Department of Commerce. U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. 

 0. H. Tittm^xx, Superintendent. 



(A) Geodesy, The California-Arashington Arc of Primary 



Triaugulation. By A. L. Baedwix. Special Publication 



Xol3 (quarto pp. 78). Washington, 1913. 



(A) This volume deals with the measurement of an arc extending 



over about 577 miles from 39° 5' X. to 47° 23' X., near the 



meridian of 122° 30' W> The field observations were taken 



between 1903 and 1906. The volume is mainly occupied with 



observational details and descriptions of the stations. There are, 



however, some results of general interest relating to the degree 



of accuracy obtained. It is concluded that if the ascertained 



facts of atmospheric refraction are borne in mind, vertical angles 



can be measured with greater accuracy than is generally believed. 



Determinations, for instance, were made of the height of Mount 



Shasta involving the measurement of vertical angles from six 



