When asked to explain the Galilean non-invariance of classical electromagnetism on the basis of pre-relativistic considerations alone, students--and sometimes their teachers too--may face an impasse. Indeed, they often argue that a pre-relativistic physicist could most obviously have provided the explanation "at a glance", on the basis of the…

This textbook is a course in natural science and astronomy. The contents include mechanical properties of bodies; mechanics of solids; mechanics of fluids; nature and production of sound; nature and transmission of light; excitation and characteristic effects of electricity; properties and magnets; theoretical astronomy; and descriptive astronomy.