- Basic Notions of Condensed Matter Physics by Philip W Anderson is an accessible introduction to some of the most significant concepts in the physics of condensed matter. ©1984 ISBN 0-201-32830-5 $39.00.
- Intermediate Quantum Mechanics by Hans A Bethe and Roman Jackiw (Third Edition) deals with the theory of atomic structure, relativistic wave equations, and includes an introduction to field theory. ©1986 ISBN 0-201-32831-3 $39.00.
- Providing a detailed exposition of field theoretical methods as applied to zero temperature Fermi liquids, Theory of Interacting Fermi Systems by Philip Nozieres emphasizes methods and concepts more than specific applications. ©1964 ISBN 0-201-32834-0 $35.00.
- Useful both as a reference and for self-study, Gauge Theories of the Strong, Weak, and Electromagnetic Interactions by Chris Quigg presents a coherent and elementary introduction to gauge theories of the fundamental interactions and their applications to high-energy physics. ©1983 ISBN 0-201-32832-1 $35.00.
- Experimental Techniques in Condensed Matter Physics at Low Temperatures by Robert C Richardson and Eric N Smith provides recipes for the construction of devices used in low-temperature experimentation. ©1988 ISBN 0-201-36078-0 $35.00.
Portrait of a Nobel Prize winner
Spectroscopy with Coherent Radiation, Selected Papers of Norman F Ramsey, with commentary, World Scientific, Singapore, ISBN 9810232500.
Norman Ramsey, who shared the 1989 Nobel Prize, has made many major contributions to physics. This volume, in World Scientific's Series in 20th Century Physics, includes Methods for Spectroscopy with Coherent Radiation and Atomic Clocks; Radiofrequency and Microwave Spectroscopy Experiments; Parity, Time Reversal Symmetry and Electric Dipole Moments; Theories of Nuclear Magnetic Shielding and NMR Chemical Shifts; Theories of Nuclear Interaction in Molecules; General Principles and Theories.
Ramsey's early career, at Columbia and the MIT Radiation Laboratory, was very much involved with Isidor Rabi, and the two played vital roles in pioneering the magnetic resonance technique and in the establishment of Brookhaven National Laboratory.
This book provides a complete picture of a distinguished scientific career. Its autobiographical introduction, full of anecdotes, is especially valuable.
Some recent publications of interest
- Foundations of Quantum Chromodynamics, An Introduction to Perturbative Methods in Gauge Theories, by T Muta, World Scientific, Singapore, ISBN 9810226748. In the World Scientific series of Lecture Notes in Physics, this includes new QCD developments since the first edition of this book appeared in 1986.
- Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics, edited by J G Hirsch and D Page, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0 521 63010 X (hbk £45/US$69.95). The proceedings of the 1997 Mexican School on Nuclear Astrophysics.
- Lie groups, Lie algebras, cohomology and some applications in physics, by José A De Azcàrraga and José M Izquierdo, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0 521 59700 5 (pbk £29.95/US$105). A paperback version of the book in the series Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics, first published in hardback in 1995.
The Defining Years
in Nuclear Physics
193260sThe Defining Years in Nuclear Physics 193260s,
by M Mladenovic,
Institute of Physics Publishing,
ISBN 0750304723 (hbk £25/US$150).
This traces the evolution of nuclear physics from the discovery of the neutron and the first accelerators to its becoming one of the most important sectors of physical science. As well as science,
it includes much historical background.
Feynman anniversary increases demand
1998 marks the 10-year anniversary of the death of Richard P Feynman, whose books are increasingly in demand.
- In Quantum Electrodynamics, Feynman presents the main results and calculational procedures of quantum electrodynamics in a simple and straightforward way. ©1961 ISBN 0-201-36075-6 $35.00.
- Physics, not mathematics, is Feynman's focus in Statistical Mechanics, providing a concise introduction to basic concepts and a clear presentation of difficult topics. ©1972 ISBN 0-201-36076-4 $35.00.
- In The Theory of Fundamental Processes, Feynman considers the basic ideas of quantum mechanics, discusses relativity and the idea of antiparticles, then gives considerable attention to quantum electrodynamics. ©1961 ISBN 0-201-36077-2 $35.00.
- Theoretical questions related to electron and photon interactions at high energies are analysed by Feynman in PhotonHadron Interactions. ©1972 ISBN 0-201-36074-8 $35.00.
German dictionary
Dedicated science writer and former DESY physicist Pedro Waloschek continues his endowments to physics literature with Wörterbuch Physik, published by Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, a collection of concise definitions of some 5500 physics terms. Designed to allow non-specialists to decode physics messages in German, it also contains an EnglishGerman glossary to help them decode physics messages in English.