Electrical Papers

A self-taught authority on electromagnetic theory, telegraphy and telephony, Oliver Heaviside (1850–1925) dedicated his adult life to the improvement of electrical technologies. Inspired by James Clerk Maxwell's field theory, he spent the 1880s presenting his ideas as a regular contributor to the weekly journal, The Electrician. The publication of Electrical Papers, a year after his election to the Royal Society in 1891, established his fame beyond the scientific community. An eccentric figure with an impish sense of humour, Heaviside's accessible style enabled him to educate an entire generation in the importance and application of electricity. In so doing he helped to establish that very British phenomenon, the garden-shed inventor. Illustrated with practical examples, the subjects covered in Volume 1 include voltaic constants, duplex telegraphy, microphones and electromagnets.

Preface; 1. Comparing electromotive forces; 2. Voltaic constants; 3. On the best arrangement of Wheatstone's bridge for measuring a given resistance with a given galvanometer and battery; 4. Sensitiveness of Wheatstone's bridge; 5. On an advantageous method of using the differential galvanometer for measuring small resistances; 6. On the differential galvanometer; 7. On duplex telegraphy (part 1); 8. On duplex telegraphy (part 2); 9. Notes on Mr. Edison's electrical problem; 10. On the resistance of galvanometers; 11. On a test for telegraph lines; 12. On the electrostatic capacity of suspended wires; 13. On telegraphic signalling with condensers; 14. On the extra current; 15. On the speed of signalling through heterogeneous telegraph circuits; 16. On the theory of faults in cables; 17. On electromagnets, etc.; 18. Magneto electric current generators; 19. On induction between parallel wires; 20. Contributions to the theory of the propagation of current in wires; 21. Dimensions of a magnetic pole; 22. Theory of microphone and resistance of carbon contacts; 23. The earth as a return conductor; 24. The relations between magnetic force and electric current; 25. The energy of the electric current; 26. Some electrostatic and magnetic relations; 27. The energy of the electric current; 28. The induction of currents in cores; 29. Remarks on the Volta force, etc.; 30. Electromagnetic induction and its propagation (part 1).

A self-taught authority on electromagnetic theory, telegraphy and telephony, Oliver Heaviside (1850-1925) dedicated his life to electrical technologies. The publication of Electrical Papers in 1892 established his fame among the British reading public. The subjects covered in Volume 1 include voltaic constants, duplex telegraphy, microphones and electromagnets.