pt. I. the rise of the mechanical view. the great mystery story ; The first clew ; Vectors ; The riddle of motion ; One clew remains ; Is heat a substance? ; The roller-coaster ; The rate of exchange ; The philosophical background ; The kinetic theory of matter
pt. II. The decline of the mechanical view. The two electric fluids ; The magnetic fluids ; The first serious difficulty ; The velocity of light ; Light as a substance ; The riddle of color ; What is a wave? ; Longitudinal or transverse light waves? ; Ether and the mechanical view
pt. III. Field, relativity. The field as representation ; The two pillars of the field theory ; The reality of the field ; Field and ether ; The mechanical scaffold ; Ether and motion ; Time, distance, relativity ; Relativity and mechanics ; The time-space continuum ; General relativity ; Outside and inside the elevator ; Geometry and experiment ; General relativity and its verification ; Field and matter
pt. IV. Quanta. continuity-discontinuity ; Elementary quanta of matter and electricity ; The quanta of light ; Light spectra ; The waves of matter ; Probability waves ; Physics and reality.