An Introduction to the Study of Stellar Structure (Dover Books on Astronomy) [Paperback]

S. Chandrasekhar (Author), Space (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 21, 2010 | Series: Dover Books on Astronomy

Rigorous examination of relationship between loss of energy, mass, and radius of stars in a steady state. Unabridged, corrected republication of original (1939) edition. "The material is throughout presented with enviable crispness and clarity of expression. The work will undoubtedly become an indispensable handbook for future researchers in the field." — Nature.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (July 21, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486604136
• ISBN-13: 978-0486604138
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #226,695 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars classic explanations of stars, February 28, 2005

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Introduction to the Study of Stellar Structure (Dover Books on Astronomy) (Paperback)

This reprint of the 1939 book by Chandrasekhar lets you read through one of the major works on the evolution of a star. The author takes physics equations, labouriously discovered over centuries, in terrestrial environments. He applies them logically to the vastly different circumstances of a star. Yet, step by step, he shows how we can arrive at an understanding of stellar processes that jibes with much that was observable in the 1930s. A tribute to the precision and insight of his thinking, as well as to the power of physics to model phenomena anywhere in the universe.

Actually, in the subsequent decades, the equations derived in the book held up quite well as coherent explanations of stars. While the field has moved on, the explanatory pedagogy given in this book may still often be seen in recent astrophysics texts.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chandrasekhar on Stellar Structure, November 23, 2008

By 

Dimitri Mihalas (Santa Fe, New Mexico) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Introduction to the Study of Stellar Structure (Dover Books on Astronomy) (Paperback)

This is one of the greatest classics in the astrophysical literature. I bought my first copy of the Dover edition in 1964, when I was a graduate student. I finally

wore it out (the cover fell off), and I was happy to see it still in print by

Dover, so I could buy another.

This book contains Chandra's masterful thoughts about, and analysis of, stellar structure, particularly on the structure of white dwarfs. It was his work at Cambridge in the `30s that showed that the mass of a white dwarf could not exceed a certain limit (universally known as the "Chandrasekhar Limit"), or the relativistically degenerate electrons in its core could not support the weight of the overlying layers, and the star would collapse. In principle the collapse could proceed without limit, and the star could collapse to "a point". This seminal work, for which, ironically, he received the Nobel Prize some 50 or so years later, was ridiculed by Eddington, then regarded as the "most authoritative astrophysicist in Britain", and Chandra chose to immigrate to the United States. (FORTUNATE for us!)

There as a Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago for several decades, he mastered diverse fields, and wrote definitive monographs on Radiative Transfer, Stellar Dynamics, Plasma Physics, and General Relativity. He seemed to take special delight in working on G.R., and produced a virtual faculty-sized group of graduate students all of whom distinguished themeselves in that field.

It is interesting to speculate why R.H. Fowler, also Professor at Cambridge, who with Stoner, who had worked out the theory of relativistic degeneracy (!), did not support Chandra's work against Eddington's illogical attack. It is also interesting to speculate why Chandra did not make the connection between his work and Karl Schwarzschild's previous discovery of the first exact solution of Einstein's equations of general relativity: a singularity in which an amount of matter greater than the "Schwarzschild Limit" collapses to a point, which today we would call a "black hole".

But it must be remembered that an equation of state for matter at nuclear densities and above did not yet exist; and Chandra had such high standards of rigor he would not have time to waste on speculations, nor the temperment to do so.

This book is a jewel. It is required reading for all serious students (at all levels, from first year graduate students to distinguished professors) of astrophysics. In it they will find scientific analysis of the greatest clarity, with the deepest insight, which sets the standard for all subsequent work in the field.

Unfortunately they will not learn about Chandra's incisive clarity on every matter, whether scientific or pracitical, nor about the depth of his humanity and generosity. THAT they should seek to learn from his colleagues who are still alive (Chandra lived into his 80s), and from his many students.

0 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good condition, April 21, 2009

By 

Adnan M K (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Introduction to the Study of Stellar Structure (Dover Books on Astronomy) (Paperback)

Condition of the book is as described. I would like to buy from this seller again