In the 1950s, a dispute ignited about the origin of the theory of special relativity. This thrust considerable notoriety on a paper written by Henri Poincaré in 1905, which was firmly situated in experimental and theoretical work on electrons. Produced by an award-winning translator of Poincaré, this book contains translations of several articles by Poincaré and discusses the experimental and theoretical investigations of electrons during the previous decade that form their context. Part I presents the translations of Poincaré’s work showing radiation carries momentum and covariance of the equations of electrodynamics, continuity equation for charge, and spacetime interval. Part II contains discussion of investigations by Thomson, Becquerel, and Kaufmann of electrons in diverse contexts; contributions of Abraham, Lorentz and Poincaré to a theory of electrons that includes Lorentz transformations and explains the dependence of mass on velocity; and Poincaré’s exploration of the relativity principle, electron stability, and gravitation while rejecting absolute motion (ether) and an electromagnetic origin of mass. Part III contains the 1904 article by H. A. Lorentz presenting his transformations.The book will be a fascinating read to graduate-level students, physicists, and science historians who are interested in the development of electrodynamics and the classical, relativistic theory of electrons at the beginning of the 20th century. weiterlesen