optics of metals

In Max Born's Optik, when he discusses the optics of metals, he has a table
of values of n and n\kappa for various metals. He remarks that n is often
less than 1, which implies that the speed of light in the metal is greater
than in a vacuum; that the value of the dielectric constant computed
from these values is negative, which is meaningless; and that some formulas
he established don't seem to be consistent with these values. He explains
all of this. The issue of the speed of light he resolves by talking about
group velocity and by claiming that the instance of faster than light
travel doesn't count as a signal, which is the real issue. The issue of
the negative dielectric constant and the inconsistency with earlier theory
he deals with by referring to the discussion in Chapter I of difficulties even
in the case of nonconducting materials, where the issue is resolved by
considering the separate effects of electrons and nuclei in the material.

The corresponding section of Born and Wolf doesn't mention these difficulties.

Any idea why the interesting discussion was removed?

Also, both books refer to a paper of A.Kundt from the late 19th century
which directly measured the dielectric constants of metals by making
extremely thin metal prisms. Any idea where one might find this article
online? Has this work been reproduced by any modern research? These days
they might have better ways of setting up the same experiment.
--
Ignorantly,
Allan Adler <ara@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
* Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT CSAIL. My actions and
* comments do not reflect in any way on MIT. Also, I am nowhere near Boston.
.