Abstract
THIS clear and systematic presentation of the fundamental facts and theories of atomic physics consists of three parts, each complete in itself. The first part deals with the experimental basis of the subject; starting with the atomic nature of electricity and the carriers of the atomic charge, the composition of the elements is developed with special reference to the contribution of the mass-spectrograph and Wilson cloud-track methods. The elementary quantum is introduced through Einstein's photo-electric equation and Millikan's verification, after which the work of Planck, and the quantum in X-rays and spectral series are described, concluding with a survey of critical potentials. Part II, on the theory of atomic structure, opens with a detailed survey of the Bohr atom, the deficiencies of which lead to a systematic derivation of the Hamiltonian functions used in general dynamics, as an introduction to a good account of the Schrodinger and de Broglie wave mechanics. This is illustrated by detailed application to the hydrogenic atom and to the theory of radiation. The compression of such a survey of wave mechanics into 40 pages naturally presupposes a good knowledge of mathematics. Part III is devoted to further applications and to molecular, atomic and nuclear radiations. Each part ends with a short summary, and an appendix gives a simple derivation of the leading results of relativity theory as used in atomic physics.
An Introduction to Atomic Physics
By Dr. John Thomson. Pp. ix + 228 +4 plates. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1935.) 10s. 6d. net.
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B., N. [Book Reviews]. Nature 136, 934 (1935). https://doi.org/10.1038/136934a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/136934a0