BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. L. HUGHES AND L. A. DU-BRIDGE, Photoelectric Phenomena, McGraw Hill Book Company, New York and London, 1932.

A. L. Hughes and L. A. DuBridge, Photoelectric Phenomena.

Photoelectric phenomena are now becoming the focus of attention in physics, since they are connected with a whole series of fundamental questions concerning the interaction of radiant energy and electrons and the theory of metals; at the same time they are of outstanding importance in technology, where photoelements have found exceptionally wide application.

The number of works on the photoelectric effect has increased especially strongly over the last five years; the last review book, by Gudden (“Die Lichtelektrischen Erscheinungen”), published in 1928, is at present incomplete and obsolete. Therefore the need for a complete and connected presentation of recent achievements in the field of photoelectric phenomena has long been ripe both abroad and among us, where questions connected in one way or another with this field of physics are being developed in hardly every laboratory. In view of this, the very fact of the appearance of the book by Hughes and DuBridge, major specialists in photoelectricity, should be met by all those interested in these questions with particular satisfaction.

The most immediate examination of this book shows that here we have an exceptionally valuable contribution to world literature. It may be called an encyclopedia of the photoelectric effect: encompassing all questions connected with the physical side of photoelectric phenomena, it gives a complete picture of the state of our knowledge on these questions by the end of 1932 and can be of very great help in becoming acquainted with them.

The book is written and published with great thoroughness and love for the subject: as can be judged from the preface, it was conceived long ago, before 1928, and was prepared gradually; this circumstance could not fail to affect the quality of the exposition, which is distinguished by exceptional clarity.

The book contains 519 pages (14 chapters and an appendix); the first chapters are devoted to the so-called external photoeffect, then follow the volume photoeffect (photoionization and photoconductivity), photogalvanic phenomena, the photoeffect in liquids, the photoeffect in x-rays and gamma rays; the last two chapters are devoted to the technology of photoelements and their application. In the final chapter all somewhat controversial questions are set apart, such as, for example, the Marx effect and others; thanks to this the reader also receives an idea of unresolved questions and can give them a proper evaluation.

Particularly complete and clearly developed is the material of the first chapters—this is precisely the field, the boundary of the photoeffect and the distribution of velocities, in which both authors are major specialists. In the chapter on the theories of the photoeffect, an attempt is made for the first time to present the latest theories in connected form. The authors themselves stipulate that, being experimentalists, they could not provide an exhaustive analysis of all the subtleties of modern theories; therefore, to specialists in this field it may seem incomplete, especially since several very important works appeared quite recently, already after the publication of this book. In this respect, an excellent supplement to the book ...

Bibliography

Of interest is the survey article by Leon Linford (Recent Developments in the Study of the External Photoelectric Effect, Rev. of Modern Physics, 5, 1, January 1933), likewise by a major specialist in the field of photoelectricity, in which all the works that appeared up to January 1933 are analyzed in detail. An annoying feature common to both authors is the fact that the work of our Soviet physicists, Tamm and Shubin, is not given the attention it deserves, although it is emphasized that their theory pertains only to the normal photoeffect and is inapplicable to explaining the selective photoeffect in the generally accepted sense of the word.

In reading the chapter on the selective photoeffect, one feels that the authors are working in another field, as a result of which a certain lack of clarity is noticeable. It is possible to welcome the introduction of new terminology: spectral and polarization (vector) selectivity are distinguished.

In the chapter on photoconductivity, the analysis of the work of Pohl’s school on elucidating the photoelectric nature of the photographic image and on the coloration of crystals is valuable; perhaps it would have been more correct to single out this question into a separate chapter—on the consequences of the photoeffect in crystal lattices. The two chapters on photoelectric technique and on the applications of photocells, of course, by no means cover all the material and give only a general survey in this field. The need for a more detailed account, as the authors themselves indicate, disappeared after the appearance of a number of books written by specialists in this field (K. Fleischer und H. Teichmann, Die Lichtelektrische Zelle und ihre Darstellung; H. Simon und R. Suhrmann, Lichtelektrische Zellen und ihre Anwendungen, 1932).

The so-called Sperrschichteffekt is assigned to the chapter on photogalvanic phenomena; unfortunately, very little space is devoted to it, which is especially felt in the USSR, where a great deal is being done to elucidate the nature of this effect and for its practical applications.

All the chapters are constructed according to a single plan, which considerably facilitates use of the book; a very brief mention of older works is followed by a detailed exposition of the most recent work, and finally a résumé, containing some criticism and outlining a number of questions that arise and are to be resolved. For us it is pleasant to note the high appraisal given to the work of our Soviet physicists Lukirskii and Prilezhaev, and Tamm and Shubin. According to the information available to us, the book is being translated into Russian.

I. Savostyanova