Lectures on Theoretical Physics: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 04:30, 15 December 2020

Revision as of 11:54, 14 January 2021

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Sommerfeld was a well known German theoretical physicist who played a major role in developing [[old quantum theory]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sommerfeld|first1=A.|last2=Bopp|first2=F.|date=1951-01-26|title=Fifty Years of Quantum Theory|url=https://science.sciencemag.org/content/113/2926/85|journal=Science|language=en|volume=113|issue=2926|pages=85–92|doi=10.1126/science.113.2926.85|issn=0036-8075|pmid=17808940|bibcode=1951Sci...113...85S}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Born|1952|pages=282–283}}</ref> He was renowned as a great teacher of theoretical physics in the early 20th century.<ref>{{harvnb|Eckert|2013|p=420, 433|ps="Planck was the authority, Einstein the genius, and Sommerfeld the teacher"}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Born|1952|pages=275, 286,287}}</ref><ref name="PeierlsMulti">{{Cite journal|last=Peierls|first=R. E.|author-link=Rudolf Peierls|date=November 1951|title=Lectures on Theoretical Physics|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/168887a0|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=168|issue=4282|pages=887|bibcode=1951Natur.168Q.887P|doi=10.1038/168887a0|issn=1476-4687|s2cid=4154078}}</ref><ref name=Hermann /><ref name=Lindsay /> [[Wolfgang Pauli]] wrote in 1951 that Sommerfeld was "the epitome of the scholar and the teacher".<ref>{{harvnb|Eckert|2013|p=420}}</ref> Another physicist, summarizing "the roles of the most important exponents of theoretical physics in its 'golden age'",<ref>{{harvnb|Eckert|2013|p=433}}</ref> wrote that "Planck was the authority, Einstein the genius, and Sommerfeld the teacher" in a 1973 biography of [[Max Planck]].<ref name=Hermann>{{Cite book|last=Hermann|first=Armin|url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/max-planck-mit-selbstzeugnissen-und-bilddokumenten/oclc/1073826264&referer=brief_results|title=Max Planck mit Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten|date=2017|page=56|isbn=978-3-499-50198-2|language=German|oclc=1073826264}}</ref> Summarizing public reception of Sommerfeld's teaching style, [[Robert Bruce Lindsay]] wrote in 1954 that it "is generally admitted that as an effective lecturer Sommerfeld has been rarely if ever surpassed."<ref name=Lindsay />

The textbooks, originally published in German, were based on series of his lectures, which were made to be self-consistent within each section, at the [[University of Munich]] that ran over a three-year cycle.<ref name="PeierlsMulti" /> In addition to specialized classes, Thethe set of lectures presented by the book represent Sommerfeld's standard introductory courses in physics that he gave in Munich, with each subject taught over one semester for a total of three years.<ref name="Born286">{{harvnb|Born|1952|pages=286}}</ref> Sommerfeld continued this cycle of lectures for over thirty years at the University, which were very popular and influential.<ref name="Lindsay" />

In addition to his normal lectures, Sommerfeld also specializedlectured coursesin asspecialized wellcourses, includedincluding courses in [[atomic physics]] that form the subject of another of his books: ''[[Atomic Structure and Spectral Lines]]'', which was published in 1919.<ref name="Born286" /> The world-famous textbook is known as the "Bible of atomic physics".<ref>{{harvnb|Eckert|2013|p=xi}}</ref> His other previous works included another lecture series titled ''Three lectures on atomic physics'', which was published in 1926 by [[Methuen Publishing]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=L.e.p.|date=1 June 1928|title=Three lectures on atomic physics: By Arnold Sommerfeld, F.R.S., Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Munich, translated by Dr. Henry L. Brose. 70 pages, 18 × 12 cm., cloth. New York, E. P. Dutton and Company. Price, $1|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016003228912831|journal=Journal of the Franklin Institute|language=en|volume=205|issue=6|pages=898–899|doi=10.1016/S0016-0032(28)91283-1|issn=0016-0032}}</ref> He had also edited the book series ''Die Theorie des Kreisels'', which was based on a set of lectures given by his mentor [[Felix Klein]].<ref>{{harvnb|Born|1952|pages=278}}</ref>

== Volumes ==

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=== ''Mechanics'' ===

'''''Mechanik''''', the first volume of Sommerfeld's ''Vorlesungen über Theoretische Physik'', was published in 1947 by Akademische Verlagegesellschaft Becker und Erler and subsequently translated into English by [[Martin O. Stern]] and published as '''''Mechanics''''' in 1953 by the [[Academic Press]]. [[Paul Peter Ewald]] wrote a foreword for the English edition where he attempts to summarize Sommerfeld's lecture style and use the information to explain why all Sommerfeld had so many successful students.<ref name=Lindsay />

The book was reviewed by [[Robert Bruce Lindsay]],<ref name="Lindsay">{{Cite journal|last=Lindsay|first=R. B.|author-link=Robert Bruce Lindsay|date=February 1954|title=Mechanics. Lectures on Theoretical Physics, Volume I|url=http://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.3061512|journal=Physics Today|language=en|volume=7|issue=2|pages=18–19|doi=10.1063/1.3061512|bibcode=1954PhT.....7b..18S|issn=0031-9228}}</ref> [[Rudolf Peierls]],<ref name="PeierlsMulti" /><ref name="PeierlsOne">{{Cite journal|last=Peierls|first=R. E.|author-link=Rudolf Peierls|date=May 1954|title=[Short Reviews]|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/173932d0|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=173|issue=4411|pages=932|doi=10.1038/173932d0|bibcode=1954Natur.173..932P|s2cid=39003607|issn=1476-4687}}</ref> [[William V. Houston]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Houston|first=W. V.|author-link=William V. Houston|date=May 1953|title=Mechanics, Lectures on Theoretical Physics|url=http://aapt.scitation.org/doi/10.1119/1.1933476|journal=American Journal of Physics|language=en|volume=21|issue=5|pages=399|doi=10.1119/1.1933476|bibcode=1953AmJPh..21..399S|issn=0002-9505}}</ref> and several others.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Byers|first=A. C.|date=April 1953|title=Mechanics. Lectures on theoretical physics, Volume I|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0016003253904116|journal=Journal of the Franklin Institute|language=en|volume=255|issue=4|pages=354–355|doi=10.1016/0016-0032(53)90411-6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Leggett|first=D. M. A.|date=1953|title=Review of Mechanics. Lectures on Theoretical Physics, Vol. 1|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43415023|journal=Science Progress (1933- )|volume=41|issue=163|pages=515–516|jstor=43415023|issn=0036-8504}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Prager|first=W.|date=1953|title=Review of Mechanics|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43634072|journal=Quarterly of Applied Mathematics|volume=11|issue=3|pages=373|jstor=43634072|issn=0033-569X}}</ref> In his 1954 review of the volume, Lindsay wrote that Sommerfeld's "clarity is indeed remarkably well exemplified" by the mechanics textbook and he praised the book for its "many ingenious comments to help the learner over the rough spots".<ref name="Lindsay" /> Lindsay noted regret for the lack of an extended discussion of mass and force in physics before going on to write that the "book can be heartily recommended to all students of physics on the undergraduate senior and elementary graduate levels in American universities".<ref name="Lindsay" />

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* Table of contents:

{{Ordered list |list_style_type=upper-roman |Kinematics of Deformable Bodies |Statics of Deformable Bodies |Dynamics of Deformable Bodies |Vortex Theory |Theory of Waves |Flow With Given Boundaries |Supplementary Notes On Selected Hydrodynamic Problems |Supplements To The Theory OpOf Elasticity }}

=== ''Electrodynamics'' ===

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=== ''Optics'' ===

The series' fourth volume, '''''Optics''''', was published in 1964 by [[Academic Press]] after being translated from the German textbook '''''Optik''''' by [[Otto Laporte]] and [[Peter A. Moldauer]]. The book was reviewed by [[Karl Meissner]],<ref name=Meissner>{{Cite journal|last=Meissner|first=K. W.|author-link=Karl Meissner|date=October 1955|title=Optics. Lectures on Theoretical Physics, Vol. IV|url=http://aapt.scitation.org/doi/10.1119/1.1934064|journal=American Journal of Physics|language=en|volume=23|issue=7|pages=477–478|doi=10.1119/1.1934064|bibcode=1955AmJPh..23..477S|issn=0002-9505}}</ref> [[Rudolf Peierls]],<ref name=PeierlsFour>{{Cite journal|last=Peierls|first=R. E.|author-link=Rudolf Peierls|date=November 1955|title=[Book Reviews]|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/176850d0|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=176|issue=4488|pages=850|doi=10.1038/176850d0|bibcode=1955Natur.176..850P|s2cid=4192749|issn=1476-4687}}</ref> and several others.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Domenicali|first=C.A.|date=March 1955|title=Optics. Lectures on theoretical physics, Vol. IV|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0016003255908553|journal=Journal of the Franklin Institute|language=en|volume=259|issue=3|pages=265|doi=10.1016/0016-0032(55)90855-3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=March 1955|title=Optics: Vol. 5 of Lectures on Theoretical Physics|url=http://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.3061948|journal=Physics Today|language=en|volume=8|issue=3|pages=16|doi=10.1063/1.3061948|issn=0031-9228|last1=Sommerfeld|first1=Arnold|last2=Laporte|first2=Otto|last3=Moldauer|first3=Peter A.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=14 January 2009|title=Optics: Vol. 5 of Lectures on Theoretical Physics|url=https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1063/1.3061948|journal=Physics Today|language=en|volume=8|issue=3|pages=16|doi=10.1063/1.3061948|issn=0031-9228|last1=Sommerfeld|first1=Arnold|last2=Laporte|first2=Otto|last3=Moldauer|first3=Peter A.}}</ref> Max Born wrote in 1952 that the book gives "a very elegant outline" of [[Cherenkov radiation]].<ref>{{harvnb|Born|1952|pages=280}}</ref> In his 1951955 review, [[Karl Meissner]] wrote that the book is characteristic of Sommerfeld's lectures, which he summarized as "[c]lear and vivid presentation[s] of the basic ideas" with an "elegance in language and of mathematical developments" and an "emphasis on physics."<ref name=Meissner /> Peierls called the book "a very welcome addition to the literature" in his 1955 review and he praised the book, like the other lectures, for "the use of powerful mathematical techniques" that are "presented and applied without losing sight of the physical ideas behind them."<ref name=PeierlsFour />

* Table of contents:

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=== ''Partial Differential Equations in Physics'' ===

'''''Partielle Differentialgleichungen in der Physik''''', the sixth and final volume of its series, was published in 1947 by [[Dieterich'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung]] while it was translated to English by [[ErnestErnst G. Straus]] and published by [[Academic Press]] in 1949 under the title '''''Partial Differential Equations in Physics'''''. The book was reviewed by [[George F. Carrier]],<ref name=Carrier>{{Cite journal|last=Carrier|first=G. F.|author-link=George F. Carrier|date=1952|title=Review of Partial differential equations in physics|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43633950|journal=Quarterly of Applied Mathematics|volume=10|issue=2|pages=193|jstor=43633950|issn=0033-569X}}</ref> [[Michael Golomb]],<ref name=Golomb>{{Cite journal|last=Golomb|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Golomb|date=1950|title=Review of Partial Differential Equations in Physics|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1676772|journal=Science|volume=111|issue=2886|pages=414–415|jstor=1676772|issn=0036-8075}}</ref> [[Rudolf Peierls]],<ref name=PeierlsMulti /> and [[Lincoln LaPaz]].<ref name=LaPaz>{{Cite journal|last=La Paz|first=Lincoln|author-link=Lincoln LaPaz|date=1950|title=Review of Partial Differential Equations in Physics|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3029562|journal=Mathematics Magazine|volume=24|issue=2|pages=99–102|doi=10.2307/3029562|jstor=3029562|issn=0025-570X}}</ref> After summarizing the book's contents, Carrier closed his 1952 review by writing: "The book contains an excellent choice of very instructive problems and should be invaluable in teaching the technique of solving the classical type boundary value problems."<ref name=Carrier /> In his 1950 review, Golomb wrote that the book is "concise and very readable" and hatthat its "chief merit" is "its skillful handling of complex problemproblems".<ref name=Golomb /> LaPaz gave a critical review going into detail on several issues before summarizing the review himself: "In conclusion, on balancing out the few quite minor imperfections of the book under review against its many excellences, the reader will not hesitate to accord hearty commendation to author, translator and editors alike for tasks exceedingly well done."<ref name=LaPaz />

* Table of contents:

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# {{Cite book|last=Sommerfeld, Arnold|title=Optics|translator1-last=Laporte|translator1-first=Otto|translator1-link=Otto Laporte|translator2-last=Moldauer|translator2-first=Peter A.|series=Lectures on Theoretical Physics|volume=4|edition=1st pbk.|date=1964|publisher=[[Academic Press]]|isbn=978-0-323-15239-6|___location=New York|oclc=840490686|ref=none}}

# {{Cite book|last=Sommerfeld, Arnold|title=Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics|series=Lectures on Theoretical Physics|volume=5|edition=1st|date=1964|publisher=[[Academic Press]]|translator-last=Kestin|translator-first=Joseph|editor1-last=Bopp|editor1-first=Fritz|editor1-link=Fritz Bopp|editor2-last=Meixner|editor2-first=Josef|editor2-link=Josef Meixner|isbn=978-0-323-13773-7|___location=New York|oclc=834542530|ref=none}}

# {{Cite book|last=Sommerfeld, Arnold|title=Partial differential equations in physics|translator-last=Straus|translator-first=ErnestErnst G.|translator-link=Ernst G. Straus|series=Lectures on Theoretical Physics|volume=6|edition=1st|date=1949|publisher=[[Academic Press]]|isbn=978-0-12-654658-3|___location=New York|oclc=339897|ref=none}}

=== eBooks ===

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# {{Cite book|last=Sommerfeld, Arnold|translator1-last=Laporte|translator1-first=Otto|translator1-link=Otto Laporte|translator2-last=Moldauer|translator2-first=Peter A.|date=1964|title=Optics|series=Lectures on Theoretical Physics|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780123955005/optics|publisher=Academic Press|___location=New York|via=[[ScienceDirect]]|language=en|doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-395500-5.X5001-3|ref=none}}

# {{Cite book|last=Sommerfeld, Arnold|translator-last=Kestin|translator-first=Joseph|editor1-last=Bopp|editor1-first=Fritz|editor1-link=Fritz Bopp|editor2-last=Meixner|editor2-first=Josef|editor2-link=Josef Meixner|date=1956|title=Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics|series=Lectures on Theoretical Physics|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780126546804/thermodynamics-and-statistical-mechanics|publisher=Academic Press|___location=New York|via=[[ScienceDirect]]|language=en|doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-654680-4.X5001-0|ref=none}}

# {{Cite book|last=Sommerfeld, Arnold|translator-last=Straus|translator-first=ErnestErnst G.|translator-link=Ernst G. Straus|title=Partial differential equations in physics|series=Lectures on Theoretical Physics |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780126546583/partial-differential-equations-in-physics|date=1964|publisher=Academic Press|___location=New York|language=en|doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-654658-3.X5001-0|via=[[ScienceDirect]]|ref=none}}

== See also ==