CONTENTS
| Page | |
| Chapter I Introduction | 1 |
| SECTION I | |
| Chapter II Historical survey | 6 |
| Astronomical aberration of light: Bradley's guiding ideas. Optical refraction uninfluenced by the Earth's motion: Fresnel's explanation. Aberration as measured by a water-telescope. Theoretical views of Cauchy. Views of Sir George Stokes as to constitution of the aether: suggested partial analogy of material substances like pitch; irrotational viscous motion unstable, also involves dissipation of energy: irrotational character of finite motions of the aether explained by its high rigidity or rotational elasticity. Maxwell's formulation of Fresnel's theory. The general absence of any optical influence of the Earth's motion suggests that the aether may move along with the Earth: the difficulties of this mode of explanation. Maxwell's discussion of electrodynamic theory relative to moving bodies. Introduction of atomic electric charges into the aether theory. Aether stagnant. Alleged difficulties of the electric theory. Maxwell's original scheme effective for systems at rest: nature of its adaptation to moving systems. A constitutive aether affords the only explanation of an atomic constitution of matter: the various atomic theories: electric aspect of an atom. MacCullagh's optical aether is the electric aether. Molecules may be systems of electrons: the duality of positive and negative dynamically necessary. Maxwell's elimination of ' electricity ' from the theory is available for ordinary electrodynamics, but cannot be extended to problems involving radiation. | |
| Chapter III General kinematic theory of optical rays in moving media | 30 |
| Specification of a ray: ray-velocity: wave-velocity: wave-front: principle of Least Time: application to a moving medium. Theories of aberration: if the aether moves sensibly its motion must be irrot- | |
