but above all for inspiration.




ATOMIC THEORIES OF ENERGY[6]

[6] Read before the St. Louis Academy of Science.


A theory involving some sort of a discrete or discontinuous structure of
energy has been put forward by Prof. Max Planck of the University of
Berlin. The various aspects of this theory are discussed and elaborated by
the late M. Henri Poincaré in a paper entitled "L'Hypothèse des Quanta,"
published in the _Revue Scientifique_ (Paris, Feb. 21, 1912).

A paper in which a discontinuous or "atomic" structure of energy was
suggested was prepared by the present writer fifteen years ago but remains
unpublished for reasons that will appear later. Although he has no desire
to put in a claim of priority and is well aware that failure to publish
would put any such claim out of court, it seems to him that in connection
with present radical developments in physical theory the paper, together
with some correspondence relating thereto, has historical interest.
Planck's theory was suggested by thermodynamical considerations. In the
paper now to be quoted the matter was approached from the standpoint of a
criterion for determining the identity of two portions of matter or of
energy. The paper is as follows:


_Some Consideration on the Identity of Definite Portions of Energy_