Aldo Treves - Böcker

The thirtieth anniversary of the death of Beppo Occhialini, the cosmic-ray physicist associated among other things to the fundamental discoveries of the electron-positron pairs and of the pion thanks to his contributions to the development of the controlled cloud chamber and of new nuclear emulsions, is the occasion to publish his memoirs on the main events of his scientific life, which he dictated shortly before his death. This second edition of The Scientific Legacy of Beppo Occhialini takes us by the hand to appreciate the admiration if not the veneration he had for Patrick Blackett, the ironic rudeness of Lord Rutherford, or the troubled relationship with Cecil Powell. A particularly thorny aspect concerns the role played by some physicists during the Second World War and the way Occhialini elaborated the complex personal situations experienced by each of them. Occhialini’s memoirs are enriched by his short autobiography originally published as an encyclopedia entry in the 1970s. Aselection of relevant historical studies and personal reminiscences mainly concerning his scientific activity before his coming to Milan is reproposed, together with some personal notes from friends and colleagues.

The thirtieth anniversary of the death of Beppo Occhialini, the cosmic-ray physicist associated among other things to the fundamental discoveries of the electron-positron pairs and of the pion thanks to his contributions to the development of the controlled cloud chamber and of new nuclear emulsions, is the occasion to publish his memoirs on the main events of his scientific life, which he dictated shortly before his death. This second edition of The Scientific Legacy of Beppo Occhialini takes us by the hand to appreciate the admiration if not the veneration he had for Patrick Blackett, the ironic rudeness of Lord Rutherford, or the troubled relationship with Cecil Powell. A particularly thorny aspect concerns the role played by some physicists during the Second World War and the way Occhialini elaborated the complex personal situations experienced by each of them. Occhialini’s memoirs are enriched by his short autobiography originally published as an encyclopedia entry in the 1970s. Aselection of relevant historical studies and personal reminiscences mainly concerning his scientific activity before his coming to Milan is reproposed, together with some personal notes from friends and colleagues.

In autumn of 1949, Enrico Fermi returned to Italy after an eleven-year absence to deliver nine lectures, six in Rome and three in Milan. Apart from subsequent limited publication, this material has been seen little by the larger scientific community. This volume represents the first time that these nine lectures have been published in English. The nine lectures collected in this book represent a precious document of Fermi’s view on topics with which he had engaged in the previous decades. They were addressed to the young Italian physicists and to a more general audience only then beginning to recover from the physical and moral disruption of the war. Published in collaboration with the Italian Physical Society (SIF), the book includes a presentation of the president of SIF, Angela Bracco, an introduction written by the editors, and two substantial essays: one on Fermi’s life, written by Francesco Guerra/Nadia Robotti, and a second on Fermi’s skill in talking about Physics in a clear and sparkling manner, written by Vincenzo Barone. The volume appears as a contribution to the 70th anniversary of Fermi's death and should appeal not only to students of physics but to both those with an interest in the history of science in general and those who wish for a clearer picture of the life and mind of this pioneering physicist.

In autumn of 1949, Enrico Fermi returned to Italy after an eleven-year absence to deliver nine lectures, six in Rome and three in Milan. Apart from subsequent limited publication, this material has been seen little by the larger scientific community. This volume represents the first time that these nine lectures have been published in English. The nine lectures collected in this book represent a precious document of Fermi’s view on topics with which he had engaged in the previous decades. They were addressed to the young Italian physicists and to a more general audience only then beginning to recover from the physical and moral disruption of the war. Published in collaboration with the Italian Physical Society (SIF), the book includes a presentation of the president of SIF, Angela Bracco, an introduction written by the editors, and two substantial essays: one on Fermi’s life, written by Francesco Guerra/Nadia Robotti, and a second on Fermi’s skill in talking about Physics in a clear and sparkling manner, written by Vincenzo Barone. The volume appears as a contribution to the 70th anniversary of Fermi's death and should appeal not only to students of physics but to both those with an interest in the history of science in general and those who wish for a clearer picture of the life and mind of this pioneering physicist.

Based on graduate school lectures in contemporary relativity and gravitational physics, this book gives a complete and unified picture of the present status of theoretical and observational properties of astrophysical black holes. The chapters are written by internationally recognized specialists. They cover general theoretical aspects of black hole astrophysics, the theory of accretion and ejection of gas and jets, stellar-sized black holes observed in the Milky Way, the formation and evolution of supermassive black holes in galactic centers and quasars as well as their influence on the dynamics in galactic nuclei. The final chapter addresses analytical relativity of black holes supporting theoretical understanding of the coalescence of black holes as well as being of great relevance in identifying gravitational wave signals.With its introductory chapters the book is aimed at advanced graduate and post-graduate students, but it will also be useful for specialists.

Transitions from the innermost shells of iron, especiallythe K- and L-shelllines, provide a powerful tool forprobing the physical characteristics of hot plasmas in X-raysources. Their strength and purity allow importantconclusions to be drawn even with modest energy resolution.They should also help in studying the regions around blackholes and neutron stars. In this book the state of the artand themost recent theoretical and experimentalobservations are presented. The book will be a valuablesource for future satellite missions. It addresses bothresearchers and graduate students in astrophysics.

The book collects 29 papers which have been particularly influential in the development of accretion theory. As an introductory paper a recent review on the subject is reported. An extensive list of references closes the volume.