Ether and Reality A Series of Discourses on the Many Functions of the Ether of Space

Among the widely agreed facts of physics in the late nineteenth century was the existence of luminiferous ether: the medium through which light was thought to travel. Theorised to be a highly rarefied substance, the ether accounted for the movement of light, gravity and even heat across a vacuum. It also had great implications for spiritualism. Where thought was not proven to be a result of chemistry in the brain, the presence of ether allowed for the idea that cognition and emotion might exist independently of a physical body. First published in 1925, this monograph by the eminent physicist and ether advocate Sir Oliver Lodge (1851–1940) was written for the non-scientific reader. With a focus on straightforward explanations rather than mathematical theory, his book still represents a fascinating introduction to the topic today.

Prologue on science and philosophy; 1. The ether and its vibrations; 2. Fundamental notions about an ether; 3. On waves; 4. The ether as transmitter of force; 5. Action at a distance; 6. Electricity and its action across space; 7. Magnetism; 8. Electromagnetism; 9. Matter as one of the forms of ether energy; 10. Life and mind and their use of the ether; Epilogue: the ultimate physical reality.

In the late nineteenth century, it was generally acknowledged among the scientific community that light must move through a substance, just as sound waves move through air. That substance was luminiferous ether. First published in 1925, this monograph introduces the non-scientific reader to the theory of ether and its effects.