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[Phys-l] Full Text Searches on Book Archives - Relayed




Folks,

on a list devoted to the history of instruments called Rete, I encountered a thread which would not be out of place for Stumpers or PHYS-L lists.

The initial question: What is meant by General Physics versus Particular Physics?
This led to a reference to a paper on the potential for searching numerous archival text databases where full text search is available, addressing the question for example: How did the Whirlpool Nebula come by its name?

This is so pertinent to the interests of readers of this list, I thought I would relay the note here for your interest.
Enjoy!

Brian W


****************************************************************

Dear Paolo,

This is the sort of question where databases with full-text search capability can help. I've just put the exact phrase "particular physics" into Google Book Search, limiting the date range to 1800-1900, and that produced some fifty hits. Up to you to go through them and see how the term was used...a fair number look to be definitions of the term. You might also be able to discern whether there was any difference between British and US usage, and when the term was in most frequent use.

I actually published an article last year on using full-text search capability databases to research the origin of scientific terminology:
W. Tobin, *Full-text search capability: a new tool for researching the development of scientific language. The ‘Whirlpool Nebula’ as a case study, *Notes & Records of the Royal Society, vol 62, pp. 187-196 plus electronical supplementary material (2008), which is available for free download from:
http://rsnr.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/62/2/187.full.pdf+html

Best wishes,
William Tobin

Evans, Rand wrote:
Paolo and all,
The use of the terms "General Physics" and "Particular Physics" were used pretty generally certainly up to the first half of the 19th century. In 1840 an American, Alonzo Gray, published a textbook titled "Chemistry:Containing the Principles of the Science" (published by Gould, Newman and Saxton in New York.) He writes the followng:

II. Chemistry employs, in part, the method of general physics, and, in part, the method of particular physics. By the latter we mean that its object is, in part, to describe particular bodies or substances, by giving an account of the various properties of each one, before calling the attention to another. It invites our attention to the phenomena only of imperceptible distance. With some aid from calculation and observation, it depends for discovery chiefly upon experiment, and has therefore been called experimental philosophy. Its object is a knowledge of the constitution of substances and of the phenomena attending a change of constitution.

III. Natural History employs the method of particular physics, observes the phenomena of perceptible distance, and depends for discovery chiefly upon observation, with some aid from experiment and calculation. Its object is a knowledge of natural objects. It embraces Zoology, or the study of animals, Botany, or the study of plants, Mineralogy, which treats of minerals, and Geology, which describes and accounts for the condition of the crust of the earth. The physiology of plants and animals is sometimes referred to Botany and Zoology respectively, and sometimes regarded as a fourth distinct branch of Natural Science.

I hope this is of some help.
Best,
Rand
Rand B. Evans, Ph.D.
Emeritus Professor of Psychology
________________________________________
From: Paolo Brenni [pbrenni@imss.fi.it]
Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2009 2:14 AM
To: rete@maillist.ox.ac.uk
Subject: [rete] General and particular physics

Dear Retians,
I need an information. Up to 1830-40 circa in Italy, France and in other
continental European countries, physics (and its teaching) was divided
in "physique générale" and "physique particulière". The first included
the general laws and the phenomena of mechanics and celestial mechanics,
while the second was dedicated to optics, acoustics, magnetism and
electricity.

Did such subdivision exist in Great Britain or in the USA?
If yes,. what denominations were used for these two branches of physics?

Thanks for your help
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* only -- e-mail to fix a time) *
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* http://pagesperso-orange.fr/tobin/ or *
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