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Potential scattering
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BOOK REVIEWS
concept by describing an approach to physical problems for which Weisskopf has won special fame, and which they characterize by "his insistence on looking at (the problem) from a variety of angles, a n d . . , his attempt to reduce to bare m i n i m u m formal derivations". To decide how near this ideal the distinguished contributors to the volume have managed to come may be left to the reader: in any case, the result of the experiment has been to elicit a most readable collection of ingenious, instructive or provocative considerations on a wide variety of topics of fundamental theory and of nuclear and sub-nuclear physics. The book will be thoroughly enjoyed not only by the physicist to whom it is addressed, but by the whole community of workers in these fields. L.R.
V. DE ALFARO and T. REGGE, Potential scatterin# (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1965. ix-205 p. 25 glds.) A complete, elegant treatment of the analytical properties, with respect to wave-number and angular m o m e n t u m , of the S-matrix derived from a non-relativistic potential. L.R.
K. A. BRUECKNER,(ed.) Adcances in theoreticalphysics (vol. 1) (Academic Press, New York, 1965. x-323 p. $12) Another series of the "advance" type is inaugurated with this volume. The aim is to publish survey articles on a wide variety of topical theoretical questions, in the hope thus to "provide a unifying element which may, to some extent, offset the present fragmentation of theoretical physics". I a m at a loss to understand how the mere juxtaposition of heterogeneous material could help to bring about any real unification: such a progress could only result from the conscious effort of the individual physicist, who will have to gather his information from the frightening chaos which our overcrowded library shelves offer. It will be no help to him to have one more hotch-potch served, when what he longs for is neatly sorted out intelligence. The articles in this volume, however excellent they may be, duplicate in part equally good ones published in other similar series. The physicists would be better served if these articles were made available separately (as is done in England by the Physical Society for the articles appearing in its outstanding "Progress" volumes). Here they are: G. Baker, Pad6 approximation method; W. Brenig, Giant dipole resonance; A. L. Fetter and M. K. Watson, Optical model; J. M. Green and J. L. Johnson, Hydromagnetic equilibrium and stability; K. R. Greider, Heavy ion transfer reactions; M. H. Mittleman, Elastic scattering of electrons by atoms. L.R.
P. A. M. DIRAC, Lectures on quantum mechanics (Academic Press, New York, 1964. v-87 p. $3.50) A course of four lectures in the best Dirac style on the quantization of a Hamiltonian scheme, including auxiliary conditions, or constraints. The way to handle these is discussed very fully, to a high degree of generality. Quantization on curved and flat surfaces is then considered, with special reference to the Born-Infeld electrodynamics. The text seems to be a verbatim record of the lectures. L.R.
•
BOOK REVIEWS
concept by describing an approach to physical problems for which Weisskopf has won special fame, and which they characterize by "his insistence on looking at (the problem) from a variety of angles, a n d . . , his attempt to reduce to bare m i n i m u m formal derivations". To decide how near this ideal the distinguished contributors to the volume have managed to come may be left to the reader: in any case, the result of the experiment has been to elicit a most readable collection of ingenious, instructive or provocative considerations on a wide variety of topics of fundamental theory and of nuclear and sub-nuclear physics. The book will be thoroughly enjoyed not only by the physicist to whom it is addressed, but by the whole community of workers in these fields. L.R.
V. DE ALFARO and T. REGGE, Potential scatterin# (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1965. ix-205 p. 25 glds.) A complete, elegant treatment of the analytical properties, with respect to wave-number and angular m o m e n t u m , of the S-matrix derived from a non-relativistic potential. L.R.
K. A. BRUECKNER,(ed.) Adcances in theoreticalphysics (vol. 1) (Academic Press, New York, 1965. x-323 p. $12) Another series of the "advance" type is inaugurated with this volume. The aim is to publish survey articles on a wide variety of topical theoretical questions, in the hope thus to "provide a unifying element which may, to some extent, offset the present fragmentation of theoretical physics". I a m at a loss to understand how the mere juxtaposition of heterogeneous material could help to bring about any real unification: such a progress could only result from the conscious effort of the individual physicist, who will have to gather his information from the frightening chaos which our overcrowded library shelves offer. It will be no help to him to have one more hotch-potch served, when what he longs for is neatly sorted out intelligence. The articles in this volume, however excellent they may be, duplicate in part equally good ones published in other similar series. The physicists would be better served if these articles were made available separately (as is done in England by the Physical Society for the articles appearing in its outstanding "Progress" volumes). Here they are: G. Baker, Pad6 approximation method; W. Brenig, Giant dipole resonance; A. L. Fetter and M. K. Watson, Optical model; J. M. Green and J. L. Johnson, Hydromagnetic equilibrium and stability; K. R. Greider, Heavy ion transfer reactions; M. H. Mittleman, Elastic scattering of electrons by atoms. L.R.
P. A. M. DIRAC, Lectures on quantum mechanics (Academic Press, New York, 1964. v-87 p. $3.50) A course of four lectures in the best Dirac style on the quantization of a Hamiltonian scheme, including auxiliary conditions, or constraints. The way to handle these is discussed very fully, to a high degree of generality. Quantization on curved and flat surfaces is then considered, with special reference to the Born-Infeld electrodynamics. The text seems to be a verbatim record of the lectures. L.R.