A Concise History of Solar and Stellar Physics

Jean Louis Tassoul, Monique Tassoul

Princeton University Press, 2004 - Science - 282 pages

"Unusually well researched and well written, this book is much more than a history. Written by two active astrophysical researchers, it has the distinction of being both a thorough history and an excellent introduction to the finer points of this difficult but important field. Rather than spoonfeeding sophisticated theory to its readers, as some books do, it leads its readers through the instructive if sometimes circuitous paths that the pioneers in the field followed. It does this so well that a reader will find even the most arcane topics to be understandable in a satisfying way. I have not seen this accomplished before so expertly."--Paul W. Hodge, Editor of The Astronomical Journal, author of Higher than Everest: An Adventurer's Guide to the Solar System

"Comprehensive without being tedious, this book is particularly valuable--indeed, exceptional--for its presentation of important problems in the field and its stress on theoretical research. I know of no other book that treats the history of stellar physics in such depth. It will broaden the perspective of students who already have a working knowledge of applied math and modern physics; this, at a time when specialization has become so prominent in astronomy. As an astronomer, I enjoyed reading this book and learned a good deal outside my own specialty."--Jack B. Zirker, former Director of the National Solar Observatory, author of Journey from the Center of the Sun

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - dinu - LibraryThing

Wonderfully written book about the history and the development of stellar physics from the earliest Mesopotamian myths to the standard model.

Contents

• The Age of Myths and Speculations: 1
• 11 Ancient Egypt and the Middle East: 2
• The Eastern Greek School: 4
• The Western Greek School: 6
• 14 The Athenian Period: 7
• 15 The Alexandrian Period: 12
• 16 From the Dark Age to the Renaissance: 16
• 17 The Emergence of Modern Astronomy: 22
• Three Centuries of Optical Discoveries 16101910: 29
• 21 Distances to the Sun and the Stars: 30
• 22 The Beginnings of Spectroscopy: 33
• 23 The Sun as a Star: 40
• 24 Solar Activity and Rotation: 43
• 25 Intrinsic Properties of Stars: 47
• 26 Binary Stars and Stellar Masses: 56
• 27 Variable and Unusual Stars: 59
• 28 The Rise of Astrophysics: 64
• The Time of Pioneers 18401910: 66
• 31 The Puzzle of the Suns Energy: 67
• 32 The First Solar Models: 73
• 33 The Pulsation Theory of Variable Stars 1: 79
• 34 The DoubleStar Problem: 81
• 35 Early Views of Stellar Evolution: 84
• 36 Outline of Solar Activity and Rotation: 88
• The NineteenthCentury Advances: 91
• The Formative Years 19101940: 94
• 41 The Beginnings of Quantitative Astrophysics: 96
• 42 The StellarEnergy Problem: 100
• 43 The Internal Structure of Stars: 103
• 44 Pre1938 Views of Stellar Evolution: 110
• 45 White Dwarfs and Neutron Stars: 114
• 46 The Pulsation Theory of Variable Stars II: 120
• 47 The Early Studies of Stellar Rotation: 123
• 48 Solar and Stellar Hydrodynamics: 128
• The Golden Age 19401970: 133
• 51 Nuclear Reactions and Energy Production in Stars: 135
• 52 Calculation of Stellar Structure: 143
• 53 A Brief Survey of Stellar Evolution: 147
• 54 Postgiant Evolution and Stellar Remnants: 156
• 55 Evolution of Close Binary Stars: 166
• 56 The Pulsation Theory of Variable Stars III: 173
• 57 Stellar Rotation and Magnetic Fields: 177
• 58 The Maturing of Solar Physics: 183
• The Era of Specialization 1970: 192
• 61 Single Double and Multiple Stars: 193
• 62 EarlyType Stars: 202
• 63 The Sun: 210
• 64 LateType Stars: 220
• 65 The Pulsation Theory of Variable Stars IV: 228
• 66 Final Stages of Stellar Evolution: 234
• Epilogue: 247
• Lanes Fully Convective Gas Spheres: 250
• Ritters Polytropic Gas Spheres: 251
• Ritters Theory of Pulsating Stars: 252
• Radial and Nonradial Stellar Pulsations: 254
• Bohrs Model of the Atom: 257
• Einsteins MassEnergy Relation: 260
• Three Important Nuclear Reactions: 263
• General Bibliography: 265
• Index of Names: 269
• Index of Subjects: 277

About the author

Jean-Louis and Monique Tassoul received the 2001 Paul and Marie Stroobant Prize of the Académie Royale de Belgique for their work on stellar rotation and stellar stability. From 1968 to 1993, Jean-Louis, whose books include Theory of Rotating Stars (Princeton), was a faculty member of the Physics Department at the Université de Montréal.

Bibliographic information

• Title: A Concise History of Solar and Stellar Physics; EBSCO ebook academic collection
• Authors: Jean Louis Tassoul, Monique Tassoul
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2004
• ISBN: 069111711X, 9780691117119
• Length: 282 pages
• Subjects: Science / Physics / Astrophysics; Science / Physics / General