S. Yu. Lukyanov, Photoelements. Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow–Leningrad, 1948, 371 pp., 209 figs.

The book under review is the first large, long-awaited Soviet monograph on photoelements. It is a serious, thorough work devoted to one of the very important fields of modern applied electronics.

As is clear from the preface to this book and from its contents, its main attention is devoted to photoelements, i.e., photoelectric devices, their properties, characteristics, and questions of application. Since the conscious use and further improvement of photoelements require a clear understanding of the physics of photoelectronic, as well as secondary-electronic, processes, the author quite rightly devotes considerable attention to this question, assigning to it the first four chapters of the book. The next four chapters are devoted to the technology of manufacture and to the characteristics of photoelements and photomultipliers; then two chapters deal with photoresistances and valve photoelements; and, finally, the last two chapters concern applications of photoelements in sound cinema and in television.

The book is read with great interest. It is written by a well-known specialist with great knowledge of the subject and in a good style. Particularly attractive in it are Chapters II and III, devoted to the external photoeffect; Chapter VI, devoted to the properties of vacuum photoelements (which could, however, have been somewhat expanded through a fuller account of the method of photoelectric investigations); and Chapters XI and XII, devoted to applications of photoelements in sound cinema and television. The presentation of the material in the book is of the most modern and physically very lucid character. The book brings together a large amount of material on the problem of photoelements, the study of which will be of good service to every scientific worker and engineer wishing to become thoroughly acquainted with physical and applied photoelectronics. This is also aided by the large list of principal original articles in this field.

The book is not without certain individual shortcomings, which, however, are on the whole of no very great significance. Let us note the following here: 1) the insufficiently clear exposition of the phenomena of gaseous amplification of photocurrents (the absence of the denominator in Townsend’s formula, which obscures the meaning of the ignition phenomenon and makes it difficult to understand the dependence of the ignition potential on the strength of the primary current, etc.); 2) the absence of an exposition of the elements of the physical properties of semiconductors, whose active films are used in modern photoelements and photomultipliers. One may then express regret that the book, dated 1948, could not include, at least in the form of an addendum, certain novelties in this field. Finally, one may express regret that, in the applications of photoelements, the author limited himself only to sound cinema and television. There is no dispute—these are indeed very important fields; but besides them there are also a number of other important areas of application of photoelements, and where else can the reader become thoroughly acquainted with them, if not in a book like the one under review?

Despite these remarks, in summary, it may be said that the present book fully satisfies the principal, essential requirements for monographic literature on applied photoelectronics, and therefore it can be highly recommended to all who wish to become thoroughly acquainted with this field.

N. D. Morgulis