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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Referee's report by Joseph Larmor, on a paper 'The application of the kinetic theory of gases to to electric, magnetic & optical properties of diatomic gases' by George Walker Walker

Reference number: RR/15/273

Date: 08 February 1901

Description

Sectional Committee: Physics and Chemistry

Not recommended for publication in Philosophical Transactions, in its present form. The illustrations might be reduced in scale into woodcuts. The calculations are given at too great a length and there is little evidence of acquaintance with recent attempts in the same direction, with the attempt at a theory of diatomic molecules expounded by Boltzmann in his 'Vorlesungen [uber Gastheorie]', or with the attempts at optical theory by [Paul] Drude and other writers. If it were customary to publish degree dissertations in England, as in Germany, the essay might very well appear in this form. An abstract of this paper should appear in a publication of the Royal Society, leaving out the algebraic details and unsupported expressions of opinion.

Describes what such an abstract ought to obtain; namely a full account of the investigation of the effect produced on isolated ions by a train of electric[?] waves, which is interesting and new. If the author can disentangle and state in a general argument the grounds for the formula regarding the dielectric constant of a gas, this would also be new and striking. The case might be met by the publication of a copious abstract. Less meritorious pieces of physical mathematics have recently appeared in full in the Transactions.

He has reason to believe that Professor [George Francis] Fitzgerald and Professor J J Thomson ave already reported on this essay.

[Published in Proceedings of the Royal Society, 1901].

Endorsed on verso as received 8 February 1901.

Reference number
RR/15/273
Earliest possible date
08 February 1901
Physical description
Standardised form (type A)
Page extent
2 pages
Format
Manuscript

Creator name

Joseph Larmor

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Citation

Joseph Larmor, Referee's report by Joseph Larmor, on a paper 'The application of the kinetic theory of gases to to electric, magnetic & optical properties of diatomic gases' by George Walker Walker, 08 February 1901, RR/15/273, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/rr_15_273/referees-report-by-joseph-larmor-on-a-paper-the-application-of-the-kinetic-theory-of-gases-to-to-electric-magnetic-optical-properties-of-diatomic-gases-by-george-walker-walker, accessed on 20 January 2026

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  • Referee Reports

    This collection contains reports on scientific papers submitted for publication to the Royal Society. Started in 1832 when the system was formalised, it is a record of the origins of peer review publishing in practice.

    Dates: 1832 - 1954

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