Men of Physics: Lord Rayleigh-The Man and His Work presents an appraisal of the significance of Rayleigh's scientific work, together with extracts from his published papers.
The book starts by providing a biographical sketch of John William Strutt, Third Baron Rayleigh (1842-1919). The text then discusses Lord Rayleigh's contributions to science, including the physical phenomena, optical instruments, electrical standards, and the theory of relativity. Selections from Rayleigh's scientific papers, which are included in the book, are also considered. These selections include papers about the theory of resonance; the intensity and polarization of the scattered light; the manufacture and theory of diffraction-gratings; and the binaural effect. Other selected papers include those about the application of the principle of reciprocity to acoustics; the stability of fluid flow; the Rayleigh disk; and acoustic streaming. The study of surface waves in elastic solids; the discovery and isolation of argon; sound propagation; and electromagnetic radiation are the other topics included in the selection of papers in the book.
Physicists will find the book invaluable.