Bibliography

N. Bohr. Abhandlungen über Atombau aus den Jahren 1913—1916. Autorisierte deutsche Übersetzung mit einem Geleitwort von N. Bohr von Dr. N. Stintzing pp. XX + 156., 1921. Fr. Vieweg Verlag.

The present collection, whose appearance can of course only be welcomed, contains translations of nine famous memoirs by N. Bohr, which laid a firm foundation for the theory of line spectra of the elements on the basis of the quantum theory and Rutherford’s atomic model. To these nine memoirs is appended a translation of a new and important memoir appearing in print for the first time. The article was to have appeared in the April issue of the Philosophical Magazine for 1916 and was withdrawn by the author in view of the appearance of Sommerfeld’s work, in which a number of problems touched upon by Bohr were resolved. The title of the memoir is “The Application of the Quantum Theory to Periodic Systems.” Proceeding from views close to the ideas of P. Ehrenfest and connected with the so-called “adiabatic invariants,” Bohr considers from this standpoint: 1) the conditions that must be satisfied in the stationary states of the atom, 2) the nature of the emitted and absorbed light in transitions between different stationary states, 3) the probability of various stationary states in statistical equilibrium. The new memoir contains a large number of new positions and proposals not developed in detail. In particular, the transition to the most general “correspondence principle” is outlined quite distinctly. It is only by such “correspondence” that Bohr explains, for example, the success of Debye’s theory of the dispersion of the hydrogen molecule. Thus Bohr’s first printed memoir is the natural forerunner of the new cycle of works devoted to the “correspondence principle.” These new works are an entirely new epoch in quantum theory; therefore the collection under review is quite self-contained and at present already has historical significance as a completed stage.

In a rather long introduction, written by the author himself, the latter sets forth the essence of his new works in connection with the “correspondence principle.”

The German translation has been carefully checked and revised by the author himself.

S. Vavilov.