Publications in the history of physics during 1973

Abstract

More than 50 books and 14 periodicals published in 1973 have been analyzed for contributions to the history of physics. The subjects most frequently discussed were optics, ether, relativity, mechanics, and atomic or nuclear physics. A survey of this literature is presented in the form of a chronological review of relevant aspects of the history of physics, from Chinese optics in the 5th century B.C. to the discovery of parity nonconservation in the 20th century A.D. Brief comments are made on current controversies among historians of science, such as the significance of ’’anticipation’’ of modern ideas in the writings of earlier scientists, and the role of experiment in the work of Galileo and Einstein. The most important new publication by a single author is James Bell’s The Experimental Foundations of Solid Mechanics, a treatise which seems to have been ignored by most historians of physics.