Bibliography

S. V. Vonsovsky and Ya. S. Shur. Ferromagnetism, State Publishing House of Technical-Theoretical Literature, Moscow—Leningrad, 1948, 816 pp., price 38 rubles 50 kopecks, print run 6000.

Our conceptions of ferromagnetism in their present form arose and developed mainly over the last 20 years. During this same time, a very large number of experimental investigations were carried out, and truly major successes were achieved in the field of obtaining new magnetic materials. Suffice it to say that permanent magnets now being manufactured possess approximately 10 times more energy than magnets produced 20 years ago.

To a very considerable extent, the successes in the development of the theory of ferromagnetism are connected with the work of Soviet scientists. Investigations of radio-frequency magnetic spectra, which, as is now recognized, are important for atomic physics and at the same time for communications engineering, were first begun as early as 1913 by Arkad’ev, who at the same time created the phenomenological theory of magnetic spectra. As the authors rightly point out, “the works of Frenkel and Dorfman (1927) and Landau and Lifshitz (1935) provided the physical substantiation of Weiss’s hypothesis of ferromagnetic domains.” “The beginning of the modern theory of the technical magnetization curve of ferromagnets was laid by the well-known works of Akulov (1928), who established the universal law of magnetic anisotropy for ferromagnetic crystals.” The works of Soviet scientists laid the foundation of the modern theory of coercive force, hysteresis, the theory of the reversible permeability, and the theory of magnetization curves of polycrystalline magnetic materials. The authors of the monograph—Vonsovsky and Shur—are known to a wide circle of physicists for their theoretical and experimental investigations. Vonsovsky is the creator of the quantum theory of galvanomagnetic phenomena in ferromagnets, the author of numerous works on quantum ferromagnetism, on the theory of the magnetic-anisotropy constant, and on the magnetism of alloys. Vonsovsky and Shur gave an explanation of the anisotropy of the coercive force in single crystals and of the influence of magnetic treatment on their properties. Shur is responsible for a large number of very complex and subtle experimental investigations. He was the first to obtain reliable results in studying the anisotropy of the coercive force in single crystals, discovered an entirely new type of treatment that produces a significant improvement in magnetic properties—the so-called thermomechanical treatment; Shur investigated in the most detailed manner magnetic texture and its influence on the properties of ferromagnets.

Despite the great need for specialized literature on questions of ferromagnetism, up to the present time not a single textbook or monograph had been published in our country in which the modern theory of ferromagnetism was systematically set forth. In recent years only one book had appeared, devoted to these questions—Akulov’s Ferromagnetism. However, despite all the merits of that book, it cannot serve as a textbook on ferromagnetism,

since, as the author himself indicates in the preface, it sets forth, basically, only the works of Akulov and his students. The monograph by Vonsovskii and Shur fills an existing gap. In it all the most important ferromagnetic phenomena and the modern conceptions of their nature are systematically presented. The authors have included in their book the results of the most recent investigations carried out already in the postwar period.

The book by Vonsovskii and Shur is not only the most modern, but at the same time also the most complete monograph on ferromagnetism, considerably more complete than Becker and Döring’s monograph and Bitter’s book, published abroad. The material is presented by Vonsovskii and Shur with as much consistency as possible. To facilitate reading, the authors precede the major sections with a brief and clear explanation of the essence of the phenomena under consideration from the standpoint of modern views. It should be noted that the monograph fully reflects the above-mentioned role of national science in the development of the doctrine of ferromagnetism, and references are given to all works published on this question.

The first chapter contains the basic information from electrodynamics and a brief survey of the principal experimental data and conclusions of the theory on the magnetic properties of substances. In the second chapter, after a brief consideration of Weiss’s classical theory, the modern quantum theory of ferromagnetism is presented. Special attention is devoted here to the question of the criterion of ferromagnetism.

In the same chapter the authors set forth the thermodynamic theory of the ferromagnetic transition and the theory of ferromagnetism of alloys. The third chapter is devoted to the presentation of experimental data proving the reality of the existence of regions of spontaneous magnetization (§ 29), and to a description of the basic regularities in technical magnetization (§ 30). A detailed presentation of the theory of magnetization and hysteresis is preceded by a model description of magnetization processes in Chapter IV. A large part of the fifth chapter (§§ 37—40) is devoted to the theory of magnetic anisotropy of ferromagnetic crystals, which, as is known, determines the character of the processes of magnetization and remagnetization.

In Chapter VI the modern theory of domain structure is presented, a theory developed chiefly by the works of Soviet scientists (Landau, Lifshitz, Vonsovskii, Shirobokov). In the same chapter the authors consider the phenomena of magnetic texture, i.e. the preferential orientation of the regions of spontaneous magnetization in some one direction, and note the practical significance of this phenomenon. Chapter VII is devoted to the theory of initial and reversible susceptibility. It should be noted that here, on p. 381, the authors adhere to the very widespread point of view that in a state of residual magnetization one may approximately consider the concentration of phases whose spins make obtuse angles with the magnetization to be equal to zero. As was shown in the reviewer’s work, such an assumption is incorrect for polycrystals even in the crudest approximation. Chapter VIII is devoted to the exposition of the classical theory of magnetization of single crystals, developed by Akulov. In the same chapter the question of the influence of elastic stresses on the course of the magnetization curves and the law of approach of the magnetization of polycrystals to saturation is considered. In Chapter IX the modern theory of ferromagnetic hysteresis is presented, and at the same time the results of numerous experimental investigations are described. In the tenth chapter the phenomenon of magnetostriction is considered, which, as is known, plays a large role in magnetization processes. In Chapter XI the basic properties of technical ferromagnetic materials are examined. Although special literature exists on this question, nevertheless the inclusion in a monograph devoted to ferromagnetism of a similar chapter should be considered advisable. In it the reader will find all the necessary information on the magnetic materials currently used and on

Bibliography

possible methods for improving their magnetic characteristics. The twelfth chapter is devoted to questions of magnetodynamics. The authors rightly note that priority in this field belongs to Arkad′ev and his students. Since questions of magnetodynamics, and especially studies of the frequency curves of magnetic permeability, are at present attracting general interest, perhaps more space should have been devoted to this question than has been done. Chapter XIII, devoted to the electrical properties of ferromagnets, concludes the monograph.

In conclusion it should be said that, in order to read the book, knowledge of the fundamentals of higher mathematics and of a physics course at the level of the curricula for higher educational institutions is sufficient. The book should be especially recommended to students, graduate students, and research workers—metal physicists—as well as to all who wish to become thoroughly acquainted with the modern theory of ferromagnetism.

E. Kondorskii