Bibliography

S. E. Khaikin, Mechanics. State Publishing House for Technical-Theoretical Literature, Moscow–Leningrad, 1947, price 17 rubles, print run 25,000.

With the appearance of the second edition of S. E. Khaikin’s excellent book, a substantial gap in university textbook literature has been filled; the first edition of 1940 had long since disappeared from bookstore shelves.

The general spirit and character of the exposition have been preserved in the second edition as well, but it contains substantial additions. In addition, certain parts of the book have been revised.

Thus, Chapter III, “Moving Coordinate Systems,” instead of the 6 pages of the first edition, occupies 20 pages in the second. The kinematics of the special theory of relativity has been moved from Chapter III to the end of the book, where the mechanics of the theory of relativity is set out fairly fully; in Chapter III only Galileo’s principle of relativity remains. Pedagogically this is quite justified.

In Chapter X there is a substantial addition on changes in the magnitude and direction of angular momentum; this section is rather difficult for the student and can hardly be presented in physics lectures; like the theory of gyroscopes, it properly belongs in a course of theoretical mechanics; incidentally, the author has moved it entirely into small print.

In Chapter XIII, “Mechanics of a Rigid Body,” the exposition of § 95—the theory of gyroscopes—has been expanded and improved; this section, too, can hardly be presented in physics lectures; probably the lecturer will confine himself only to a qualitative interpretation of the experiment.

In Chapter XV, “Mechanics of Elastic Bodies,” a very useful section on the energy of deformation in an elastic body has been added; it would also have been useful to introduce the energy density in an elastic body; both these quantities play an essential role in understanding the phenomena of the mechanical field.

Chapter XVII—“Hydrodynamics and Aerodynamics”—has been substantially expanded. This is to be welcomed: indeed, in a general physics course it is now impossible to do without an exposition of jet propulsion and of the theory of the lift force of an airplane, circulation, the stability of flight, and to postpone this exposition to a course of theoretical mechanics.

Chapter XXI, “Acoustics,” was entirely absent from the first edition, and of course it should have been introduced, thereby creating a counterbalance to the greatly outdated tendency to drive modern acoustics out of the general physics course. It is especially pleasant to see here an exposition of the question of the energy flux of acoustic energy, but one would also like to see a definition of wave resistance; incidentally, the introduction of the concept of impedance into the theory of forced oscillations seems desirable to us. These questions are precisely those whose exposition gives acoustics a modern appearance.

Chapter XXI and the last contain a rather complete and successful exposition of the mechanics of the special theory of relativity. S. E. Khaikin is entirely right to have introduced this chapter, although it has somewhat enlarged an already extensive book; after all, the special theory of relativity has become an organic part of a general physics course and cannot be omitted.

The new edition will play a major role in improving the quality of teaching general physics. It must be remembered that the student receives his first knowledge and skills of physical thinking precisely from the course of general physics; the book on mechanics is the first with which he begins his study, and for this reason its role in the education of a physicist is especially important.

This book is one of the best textbooks in our literature. Moreover, we know of no better book in the world literature.

N. N. Andreev