The theoretical values of the physical constants

London: Taylor & Francis, 1942. Inscribed to Raymond Birge Eddington, Arthur (1882-1944). The theoretical values of the physical constants. Offprint from Proc. Phys. Soc. 54 (1942). 491-504pp. London: Taylor & Francis, 1942. 260 x 182 mm. Original printed wrappers, a little worn. Very good copy, inscribed by Eddington on the front wrapper: "With grateful acknowledgements, A. S. Eddington." The recipient was American physicist Raymond T. Birge (1887-1980), whom Eddington had cited in his paper; see below. Birge's signature on the front wrapper; pencil markings and annotations by Birge on several pages. First Separate Edition. Eddington's greatest contributions to physics were in astrophysics (particularly stellar structure) and relativity theory. His intuitive insight into the profound problems of nature, coupled with his mastery of the mathematical tools, led him to illuminating results in a wide range of problems: the motions and distribution of the stars, the internal constitution of the stars, the role of radiation pressure, the nature of white dwarfs, the dynamic of pulsating stars and of globular clusters, the sources of stellar energy, and the physical state of interstellar matter. In addition, he was the first interpreter of Einstein's theory of relativity in English, and made his own contributions to its development; and he formulated relationships between all the principal constants of nature (DSB). Eddington's fascination with the fundamental constants of nature (e.g. the speed of light, the mass and charge of the electron, etc.) helped to stimulate his efforts to find a bridge between quantum theory and relativity. In the present paper he calculated the principal physical constants using the theory developed in his Relativity Theory of Protons and Electrons (1936), comparing them with the experimentally derived values published in Raymond Birge's paper in Reports and Progress in Physics, 8 (1941) and finding "satisfactory agreement with Birge's values as they stand" (p. 491). Eddington presented this copy of his paper to Birge "with grateful acknowledgements." Birge was chairman from 1933 to 1953 of the UC Berkeley physics department, which he helped to shape into one of the most prestigious in the world. He played a critical role in introducing modern quantum physics to the United States. DSB. . (Inventory #: 38688)