The Physics of Astrophysics Volume I: Radiation [Hardcover]

Frank H. Shu (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1991 | ISBN-10: 0935702644 | ISBN-13: 978-0935702644

This two-volume text is for new graduates on astronomy courses who need to get to grips with the physics involved in the subject. Four problem sets, averaging three problems per set, accompany each volume. The problems expand on the material covered in the texts and represent the level of calculational skill needed to write scientific papers in contemporary astrophysics. Volume I. "Radiation" deals with the emission, absorption, and scattering of radiation by matter, radiative transfer, statistical physics, classical electrodynamics, and atomic and molecular structure. Volume II. "Gas Dynamics", is a self-contained textbook. It can be used as the text for a one semester course on the interactions of matter and radiation and electromagnetic fields of macroscopic scale in both the strongly collisionil and collisionless regimes. It covers single-fluid shocks, and fronts; mapetohydrodynamics and plasma physics, their applications to self-graviting spherical masses, accretion disks, spiral density waves, star formation, and dynamo theory. Over 200 photos, line drawings, and tables amplify the major points of the text.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Students who opt to follow this pair of excellent texts are going to equip themselves with a strong background in the physics of astrophysics, and receive a compelling invitation to use this new-found knowledge to explore the many exciting areas of modern astronomy. --Nature --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Frank Shu is a Professor of Astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his PhD from Harvard University in 1968. Shu has written a number of expository articles for the lay public, and is the author of a best-selling introductory textbook in astronomy and astrophysics, The Physical Universe. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and Academia Sinica.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 429 pages
• Publisher: University Science Books (June 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0935702644
• ISBN-13: 978-0935702644
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,465,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #56 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Chemistry > Nuclear Chemistry

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not very good intro to subject, September 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Physics of Astrophysics Volume I: Radiation (Hardcover)

When I had this book for a class in graduate school, I found that it never really helped me with any of the problems, and in general did not describe the topics well at all. I would recommend sticking to Rybicki and Lightman for a much better exposition.