KEMBLE, Edwin C. “General Principles of Quantum Mechanics, Part I.”  In: the Physical Review Supplement, Studies in Contemporary Physics, October 1929, volume 1 #2, pp 157-215 in the issue of pp 157-240.

With: Kemble:  “General Principles of Quantum Mechanics, Part II”, in Reviews of Modern Physics, January 1930, volume 2 #1, pp 1-58 in the issue of pp 1-122. 

Both in the their original printed wrappers.  Very good condition. There is some sort of 1/4″ plastic adhesive (?) on the front hinge of both issues…I’m not sure if these actually re-enforce the pamphlet, or not, but they don’t seem to make much of an impact appearance-wise.  $150, the pair.

It is interesting to see these early issues of the Reviews of Modern Physics–especially the vol 1/2 issue under the Physical Review Supplement, which would soon changes its name to the RMP.  Kemble evidently did a service to the physics community with these well-received papers, coming at a time when there were not many writing in this area . (H. Krage points out in Quantum Generations  p. 171) that of the 284 papers published in that year (from among the 2400 members and fellows of the APS) that only 45 of them concerned themselves with quantum theory.)  Abraham Pais states in Subtle is the Lord that the Kemble paper is the first reviewing the state of quantum mechanics at the end of the decade…and at first blush, this seems to be not the case as a review of the subject, though that feeling (for me) is quickly disassociated. (There are some interesting references int eh footnotes, including some that are unexpected to me, at least, like a Bridgman paper cited from Harper’s Magazine from March 1929.  In any event if you’re not familiar with this paper it is available online and is at least worth a peek for the footnotes.) 

Arthur H. Compton, “A Quantum Theory of the Scattering of X-Rays by Light Elements” in Physical Review, volume 21, May 1923, pp. 483-502. Offered in the full bound volume, iv, 736pp. 

• The great paper is preceded in print by a ca. 175-word abstract of the paper given by Compton at the Chicago meeting of the American Physical Society, December 1 and 2, 1922, in the February issue, pg 207. 

Bound in a very sturdy green cloth. Provenance: US Geological Survey, with their bookplate. There is a Library of Congress surplus stamp on the front free end paper.  This copy was evidently not or little-used, as it is nice and fresh and in great condition.    $1750

On Compton and his “Compton Effect” 

“Compton’s achievement in 1923 was not merely in describing the effect, but also in explaining it in the context of quantum theory. Although Compton was well acquainted with quantum theory, it was only after he read a paper by Albert Einstein (1879–1955) on the linear momentum of photons that he saw a way to demonstrate it using X-rays. A photon, according to quantum theory, was the basic unit (or quantum) of electromagnetic radiation. If an X-ray photon carried linear momentum as well as energy, Compton could treat the interaction in terms of momentum and its conservation, as an X-ray photon collides with an electron in the target substance. Assuming the conservation of energy (a fundamental principle of physics), Compton had to account for all of the energy after impact. He showed that the collision resulted in a new photon of less energy (and thus greater wavelength) being scattered after contact, while the target electron took on some of the energy as well. The total energy was conserved. The shift in wavelength depended on the mass of the electron and the angle of scattering. This work was crucial in establishing experimental evidence for conceiving of electromagnetic radiation (such as light and X-rays) as composed of quanta, with both energy and directed momentum.”

“The Compton effect was important not only for its description of photon scattering, but also for its ramifications for understanding electrons. In the interaction just described, the electron was at rest. After a collision, however, the electron recoiled. Compton calculated the wavelength of the electron in motion after striking a photon, and the result became known as the Compton wavelength. Compton’s results, which support the notion that radiation behaves as both wave and particle, precipitated a flurry of fundamental work in quantum physics in the 1920s. The quantum mechanics that emerged at the end of the decade can be viewed in part as the theoretical explanation of the experimental evidence found in Compton’s laboratory. Even Werner Heisenberg’s (1901–1976)uncertainty principle, asserting the impossibility of locating the electron with accuracy, can trace its origins to the problems of electron recoil described by Compton in 1923.”

“Compton’s 1927 Nobel Prize, shared with C. T. R. Wilson (1869–1959), demonstrated the international recognition of his work and cemented his leading position in the U.S. community of physicists. He turned his research from X-rays to cosmic rays, for which he led expeditions throughout the world to measure their intensity. This work ended abruptly during World War II, when Compton entered the project to build the atomic bomb.”–Science in the Early 20th Century, by Jacob Jamblin (an interesting encyclopedia I haven’t used before…”early” meaning 1900-1950). 

See also:

Compton, Arthur Holly. Atomic Quest: A Personal Narrative. New York: Oxford University Press, 1956

Shankland, Robert S. “Compton, Arthur Holly.” In Gillispie, Charles Coulston, ed., Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. III. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1971, 366–372.

Stuewer, Roger. The Compton Effect: Turning Point in Physics. New York: Science History Publications, 1975