P. I. LUKIRSKY. Foundations of Electronic Theory. State Publishing House, Moscow—Leningrad, 1929, pp. 333, price 4 rubles 50 kopecks.

“Foundations of Electronic Theory” by P. I. Lukirsky is a course of university lectures. As the author himself indicates, he confines himself to presenting questions that can be treated by “classical” electronic theory, intending to devote a special book to phenomena requiring the introduction of quanta. Despite a certain artificiality in such a division, the possibility of thoroughly developing the theory of several important phenomena speaks in its favor. At the same time, however, the inadequacy of the theories presented should have been emphasized somewhat more strongly than the author does. Thus, the “classical” electronic theory of metals is allotted nearly 40 pages, and only on the last page are its weak points noted. The limitations of classical conceptions in the chapter on optical phenomena are assessed somewhat more clearly; unfortunately, this chapter is perhaps too short.

As regards exposition, the book illuminates in detail a whole series of questions, especially those connected with experimental problems. In describing experiments and in setting forth their theory, the book is far from being a compilation of a general course of physics, over which it undoubtedly stands much higher.

nucleus. In the theoretical treatment of fundamental questions, however, the author evidently finds himself compelled at times to sacrifice completeness of exposition, limiting himself to the communication of ready-made formulas. Thus, in the question of the mass of the electron, he gives an elementary derivation of the mass of the electron at small velocities, but gives as ready-made the formulas of Abraham and Lorentz, which give the dependence of mass on velocity. He also retains the somewhat obsolete notation of longitudinal and transverse mass and, in my opinion, shows excessive caution on the question of the electromagnetic nature of mass. In the question of the role of electrons in dielectrics and conductors, the formulas of Debye and Lorentz are given without derivation.

One might perhaps have wished for a strengthening of the theoretical side. However, within the limits set for himself by the author, he has given a thorough and richly informative exposition of the foundations of electronic theory. The book lacks bibliographical references. For textbooks this is generally accepted, but Lukirsky’s book sometimes touches on such special questions that at least some references would not have been superfluous. It is also a pity that there is no alphabetical index.

Yr. Landau.