Experimental Physics Textbook Written by the First Physics Professor of Kiryu Technical College

Abstract

In 1915, Tadaroku Ohtashiro (1881–?) was appointed as the first Professor of Physics at the Kiryu Dyeing and Weaving Vocational School, which was a forerunner of Kiryu Technical College, which itself was later integrated into Gunma University. In the same year, he published a textbook titled “Quantitative Physics.” Contrary to the title, the book is actually a manual for laboratory physics. The unique features of the textbook are that it contains a large number of real experimental values that were obtained by the Professor’s own measurements, and a detailed explanation of experimental error. In this paper, I explore, based on historical documents related to him, Prof. Ohtashiro’s thoughts regarding how physics should be taught.