Versuch einer theorie der electrischen und Optischen erscheinungen in bewegten körpern

Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1895. FIRST EDITION. Original printed wrappers pasted onto boards, a bit soiled; interior fine. An excellent copy preserved in a half-morocco slipcase. First edition of one of the great classical works of modern physics. In the present volume, Lorentz (1853-1928) describes his theory of electrical and optical appearances in moving bodies. He assumed the electrical nature of matter and stated that all electrical particles become shortened when in motion along the direction in which the ether drifts. In recognition of the extraordinary service rendered by Lorentz and his countryman Zeeman for their researches into the influence of magnetism upon radiation phenomena, they were awarded the 1902 Nobel Prize for physics.

Nobel Foundation Directory; Printing & the Mind of Man, 378 (b); Whetham, History of Science, p. 389.