Ritz on the Optics of Moving Bodies
Ritz on the Optics of Moving Bodies.
Excerpt, with English translation, from Walter Ritz’s 1908 article
"Critical Researches on the Electrodynamic Theories
of Cl. Maxwell and H.-A. Lorentz“
Robert S. Fritzius – Shade Tree Physics
Installed 1 Oct 1998 – Latest Update 05 Sep 2003
Walter Ritz’s preliminary statements related to the optics of moving bodies versus his long-term intentions may have been confused. (1)(2)
In his original "Recherches critiques sur l’Électrodynamique Générale" Ritz said: [English translation] "The velocity of light then depends on that possessed by the body which emits it at the instant of emission. From that instant, the velocity of the particles remains invariable, no matter what the subsequent motion of P is, even when the particles pass through ponderable bodies or electric charges. I said in the Introduction that this hypothesis, which is demanded by the superposition principle, is only temporary; and is contrary to that of action and reaction. But the advantage of being as close as possible to the corresponding hypotheses of Lorentz makes it preferable for the goal that I intend here." (3)
This following excerpt of his further comments on the subject (with an English translation) shows that Ritz seems to have seen the need for some kind of environmental influence on his fictitious particles on the order of Tolman’s extinction theorem or that of Ewald and Oseen. The French text on the left below is from Gesammelte Werke Walther Ritz Oeuvres, pp 443-444, published by the Société suisse de Physique, Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1911. The original article was "Recherches Critiques sur les Theories Electrodynamiques de Cl. Maxwell et de H.-A. Lorentz," published in Archives des Sciences physiques et naturelles, 36, 209, 1908.
Emphasis has been added by using bold text. Editorial insertions in the English translation are enclosed in [square brackets]. J.G. Fox’s quote from the Ritz material is underlined.
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