This book differs from others dealing with the same subject, in that it is an endeavor to present, in a popular manner, the present state of our knowledge and the significance of the new theories of electricity and matter. The manner of presentation is not argumentative, as the facts, as they are now understood, are simply stated, no attempt being at first made to uphold them by mathematical analysis. In this the author is most successful, and there should be little difficulty to those interested in the subject in following him. The origin and development of the electron theory are first presented, and the bearing of this considered, first as regards the electron, next the electric discharge, thermo, voltaic and dynamic electricity, magnetism, induced currents and radiation. Then the author takes up the measurements which have been made, and upon which the theory as presented has been based. The relations of this theory to light, magneto optics and radioactivity are discussed. In this study the author has been impressed by the opportunity of simplifying the dimensions of electrical quantities as they are usually given, based upon the standards of time, length and mass. He shows that by adopting a new unit, that of electricity—the unit, of course, being the electron—that much simpler expressions for the dimensions are obtained, and the significance of these expressions is clearly shown.
There is a preface to the book, written by Dr. G. Johnston Stoney.
—Electrical Review, Volume 50 [1907]
