Customer Reviews

Physics of Shock Waves and High-Temperature Hydrodynamic Phenomena (Dover Books on Physics)

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The republication by Dover Publications of this masterwork by Ya. B. Zel'dovich and Yu. P. Raizer will be welcomed by all workers dealing with high-temperature (radiating) flows. This book is a virtual "Bible" for studies of shocks and radiation fronts in high speed aeronautics, astronautics (re-entry), astrophysics, fireballs, shock tubes, and very intense explosions.

Zel'dovich was a physicist of extraordinary breadth of interests. The style of this book is to give heuristic explanations followed by rigorous analysis. It is insightful for both beginning students and researchers in the field. This book is an ABSOLUTE MUST for anyone working on the subjects listed above.

The Dover edition binds both original volumes as one, and is based on the very scarce second printing, in which most of the typographical errors in the first printing were corrected. All other errors noted over the years since the original edition went out of print have been collected and corrected in this version, which should be virtually error free.

I URGE anyone working in astrophysics and high-temperature flow physics to buy, read, enjoy, and be enlightened by this masterpiece.

This majisterial work by the famous Russian physicist/astrophysicist Yakov B. Zeldovich is the first and last book to refer to when studying the hydrodynamics of compressible fluids at high temperatures. The author's primary goal is to describe (as well as possible in a roughly 1000 page text) the physics, chemistry, and radiation diagnostics (i.e. radiative transfer) of a 20 kt thermonuclear explosion in the atmosphere. This book will be of use to a wide range of physicists and astrophysicists in other areas of research as well, though. The book begins with a (brief) discussion of the basics of the physics of shocks (and the hydrodynamics/thermodynamics of supersonic flow in general). More detailed topics include a detailed discussion of the ionization of the air (i.e. a change of adiabatic index from 7/5 to 5/3), the broad band spectrum of the explosion, and many others. Any absolute must have for any scientist studying compressible/supersonic flows.

I've wasted many credit hours taking physics courses all the way up through grad school and never learned a damned thing! This book reignited my interest in physics. It explains how to think about the physics and what things mean as opposed to the typical nonsense of here's the equation and the solution (solution obtained by some absurd change of variable or transformation that you will never be able to guess if you lived a 1.0E12 years!) Gives great insight on physical modeling. This is one of few physics books I cannot live without. This is one of 3 books that allowed me to get a Ph.D!

However, it is not for beginers. You must have some experience in fluid mechanics and quantum mechanics in order to appreciate the material. The book is not going to tell you how to solve problems, but focus on the meaning of results.

You only have to read a couple of chapters from this book if you are a beginner in shock wave science to gain a basic undestanding. This is an excellent book together with Courant's book Supersonic Flow and Shock Waves (Applied Mathematical Sciences) (v. 21)

The fields of shock waves and high temperature hydrodynamics have been exhaustively examined in the literature and, while more recent treatments exist, there is still no better introduction than this enduring classic. The mathematically correct presentation of most of the relevant physics quickly enables applied mathematicians and engineers working in these disciplines to achieve the level of understanding necessary to start producing useful results. It can be read in its entirety as a solid introduction to more specialised topics or simply serve as an excellent reference. And the price of this beautifully reprinted volume from Dover is irresistible.

This book is a classic. I have used it for years. It originally came in two volumes. Someone borrowed my old Volume I and failed to return it. I now have both volumes in one convenient package.

This book is a true classic, written by the great Zel'dovich
a long time ago. Dover's two-volumes-in-one book new edition
provides an excellent opportunity to enrich every physics
library, private or institutional.

This rare gem presents theory, experiments, and applications in a comprehensive and accessible manner. This is a must-have for theorists and experimentalists: it brings theorists back to earth, and gives experimentalists scientific rigor.

I am happy to see this outstanding text in print once again. This book is a must have for all who are interested in the subject of radiation-hydrodynamics.