Problem books in Physics

Posted on June 7, 2011 by damitr

Mir also published a number of Problem Books in Physics and Mathematics. In this post we will looking at problem books in Physics. The most famous of these in India is the one by Irodov. Problems in General Physics is an indepensible book for those who are trying to get through to touch exams. So popular is the book that many Solutions to the book have been publised, which discuss the problems when they are solved.

The typical format the books have two sections:

1. Questions and problems

2. Solutions to Problems

Sometimes the solutions are discussed, as how to arrive at them and what is the significance, but for simpler problems [simple according to the authors] only the numerical values are given.  Here is a list of the problem books that I know of [was helped by a friend in compiling this list]

S. P. Myasnikov, T. N. Osanova

Title Authors Year Pages
1 Problems in General Physics V. S. Wolkenstein, G. Leib, A. Troitsky 1975 349
2 Problems in Physics V. G. Zubov, V. P. Shalnov 1974 290
3 Problems in elementaty physics I.P. Gurskii. 1987 510
4 Problems in Physics A.A. Pinsky 1980 333
5 Problems in School Physics I.V. Savelyev 1984 302
6 Collected problems in physics S. Kozel, E. Rashda, S. Slavatinskii 1986 181
7 General Methods of Solving Physics Problems B.S. Belikov 1984 285
8 Problems in Theoretical Physics L. G. Grechko et al. 1977 447
9 Problems in Physics N.I. Goldfarb 1990 378
11 Physics problems for the technician R.A. Gladkova, L.S. Zhdanov. 1982 404
12 Selected questions and problems in physics R. Gladkova and N. Kutylovskaya 1989 357
13 Problems in General Physics I.E. Irodov 1981 386
14 A collection of questions and problems in Physics L.A. Sena. 1988 335
15 Questions and Problems in School Physics L V Tarasov; A N Tarasova 1987 238
16 Problems in Elementary Physics B. Bukhovtsev … [et al.] 1973 438
17 Problems in Atomic and Nuclear Physics I.E. Irodov 1983 283
18 A collection of problems on the equations of mathematical physics V. S. Vladimirov (Ed.) 1986 284
A Collection of Problems on The Equations of Mathematical Physics A.V. Bitsadze, D.F. Kalinichenko 1980 332
21 Key problems of physics and astrophysics

(Though not a problem book in the sense of this post, discusses lot of research problems which were unsolved, worthy of being researched)

 V.L. Ginzburg 1978 167
22 Physical problems for Robinsons V. Lange 1976 134
23 Selected problems on physics S. P. Myasnikov, T. N. Osanova 1990 476
24 Problems of Crystal Physics with Solutions N. V.Perelomova, M. M. Tagieva. 1983 336
25 Collection of Problems on the Dynamics of a Point in a Central Force Field Ye. N. Polyakhova 1974 145
27 Collection of Problems in Theoretical Mechanics V. Meshchersky 1968 307
28 Problems In Mathematical Physics With Solutions I. V. Misyurkeyev 1966 168
29 Problems in Undergraduate Physics V. L. Ginzburg, L. M. Levin, M. S. Rabinovich and D. V. Sivukhin, E. S. Chetverikova,  S. P Streklov, I. A. El’stin and S. E. Khaikin,  I. A. Yakovlev 1965 Volume 1 – 208

Volume 2 – 220

Volume 3 – 296

Volume 4 – 260
30 Problems On The Equations Of Mathematical Physics M. M. Smirnov 1967 108
31 Problems in Physics P. L. Kapitza 19
32 Aptitude Test Problems in Physics S. Krotov (Ed.) contributing authors A. I. Buzdin, V. A. Il’lin, I. V. Krivchenkov, N. A. Sveshnokov 1990 310
Collection Of Problems In Classical Mechanics G. L. Kotkin; V. G. Serbo 1971 288
A Collection Of Problems On Mathematical Physics B. M. Budak; A. A. Samarskii; A. N. Tikhonov 1964 733
Problems In Electrodynamics V.V. Batygin; I.N. Toptygin 1964 513
Problems In Quantum Mechanics I.I. Gol’dman, V.D. Krivchenkov, V.I. Kogan, V.M. Galitskii and edited by D. Ter Haar 1975 489
Posted in books, mir books, mir publishers, soviet, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 45 Comments

Physics For Everyone

Posted on June 3, 2011 by damitr

The great Lev Landau along with Alexander I. Kitaigorodsky published a volume on popular physics titled Physics for Everyone. This one volume was later expanded into 4 volumes by Kitaigorodosky.

Title Author Year Pages
Physics for Everyone: Motion, Heat L. D. Landau, A. I. Kitaigorodsky 1978 478
Physics for Everyone – Book 1 – Physical Bodies L. D. Landau, A. I. Kitaigorodsky 1980 248
Physics for Everyone – Book 2 – Molecules L. D. Landau, A. I. Kitaigorodsky 1980 244
Physics for Everyone – Book 3 – Electrons A. I. Kitaigorodsky 1981 248
Physics for Everyone – Book 4 – Photon and Nuclei A. I. Kitaigorodsky 1981 235

Update: All the books in the Physics for Everyone series are now up:

Physics for Everyone – Motion and Heat. (All credits to the original uploader)

Book 1- Physical Bodies.

Book 2  – Molecules.

Book 3 – Electrons.

Book 4 – Photons and Nuclei.

 

Posted in books, mir books, soviet, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 41 Comments

Little Mathematics Library

Posted on June 2, 2011 by damitr

Just like the Science for Everyone series, Mir Publishers also ran a series in mathematics called the Little Mathematics Library. Here are some of the books from that series. Please add the books that are not listed here and are not known to me [there will be a lot for sure]
Some the titles are gems in mathematics and mathematical thinking, for example Induction in Geometry and Proof in Geometry are really well developed. The books though are small in size (typical size below 100 pages) are packed with a mathematical punch. Though small in size the contents are not diluted, as it happens in many small mathematics books. The books are quite rigorous in treating the material at hand.

Title Author Year Pages
Pascal’s triangle Vladimir A Uspenski 1973 86
Method of successive approximations N. Ya. Vilenkin 1979 109
The fundamental theorem of arithmetic L. A. Kaluzhnin 1979 35
The kinematic method in geometrical problems Yu. I. Lyubich, L. A. Shor 1980 55
Calculus of rational functions G.E. Shilov 1976 50
Complex numbers and conformal mappings A.I. Markushevich 1982 62
Geometrical constructions with compasses only A. Kostovskii 1986 77
Proof in geometry A I Fetisov 1982 64
Algebraic equations of arbitrary degrees A.G. Kurosh 1977 35
Gödel’s incompleteness theorem Vladimir A Uspenski 1987 102
The Euler Characteristic Yu A Shashkin 1989
Elements of Game Theory Ye Venttsel 1980
Method of coordinates A S Smogorzhevsky 1984 47
Plotting graphs G.E. Shilov, S Sosinsky 1978 29
Systems of linear equations L.A. Skorniakov. 1988 64
Differentiation explained V.G. Boltyansky 1977 62
Recursion sequences A I Markushevich 1975 48
Solving equations in integers A.O. Gelfond 1978 56
Shortest lines: variational problems L.A. Lyusternik 1973 103
Fascinating fractions N.M. Beskin 1986 86
An unusual algebra I.M. Yaglom 1978 127
The methods of mathematical induction. I S Sominsky 1975 63
Inequalities P P Korovkin. Sergei Vrubel 1986 71
Stereographic projection B. A. Rosenfeld; N. D. Sergeeva 1986 50
The Monte Carlo method I.M. Sobol. 1975 72
Dividing a segment in a given ratio N.M. Beskin. 1975
Lobachevskian geometry A S Smogorzhevsky 1982 69
Systems of linear inequalities A. S. Solodobnikov 1979 122
Induction in geometry L. I. Golovina and I. M. Yaglom 1979 132
Post’s machine V.A. Uspensky 1983 88
Areas and logarithms A.I. Markushevich 1981 69
Remarkable curves A.I. Markushevich 1980 47
Posted in books, little mathematics library, mir books, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 41 Comments

Science for Everyone

Posted on September 6, 2010 by damitr

Science for Everyone is a long running series from Mir Publishers. Most of the titles that I have collected are from used book shops.

Some of the titles are by others and some from library and some of the titles I have only seen on the internet.

Some of the titles that I have are as follows:

Title Author Year Pages
Traces of Bygone Biospheres A. V. Lapo 1987 352
Physics and Geometry of Disorder: Percolation Theory A. L. Efros 1986 259
Differential Equations in Applications V. V. Amel’kinn 1990 279
How We See What We See V. Demidov 1986 238
Aptitude Test Problems in Physics S. S. Krotov [Ed.] 1990 310
This Fascinating Astronomy V. N. Komarov 1985 303
Storming The Fortress of Fusion G. S. Voronov 1988 335
Electrons and Crystals Th. Wolkenstein 1985 174
Me or Not Me R. V. Petrov 1987 372
Elementary Kinematics of Elementary Particles G. I. Kopylov 1983 270
Flying Trains G. Zelkin 1986 151
Yes, No or Maybe Ya. I Khurgin 1985 219
Temperature Ya. A. Smorodisnky 1984 263
Physics In Your Kitchen Lab I. K. Kikoin (Ed.) 1985 189
Physical Paradoxes and Sophisms V. N. Lange 1987 232
Semiconductors Made Simple A. M. Polyakov 1985 240
Luminescence in Public Health N. N Barashkov 1988 146
Problems in Plane Geometry I. F. Sharygin 1986 408
Problems in Solid Geometry I. F. Sharygin 1986 247
In The World of Binary Stars V. N. Lipunov 1989 324
Discussions on Refraction of Light L. V. Tarasov, A. N. Tarasova 1984 239
Silhouettes of Chemistry D. N. Trifonov, L. G. Vlasov 1987 296
Ethology What animals do and why Igorʹ Akimushkin 1988 294
Encounters with physicists and physics. I.K. Kikoin. 1989 198
The Greatest speed S.R. Filonovich 1986 285
The progeny of volcanoes P.N. Erofeev 1986 327
Puppets without strings V.I. Varshavsky, D.A. Pospelov 1988 294
Mystery of minerology B.I. Srebrodolsky 1989 239
Learning about chemistry G. B. Shul’pin. 1989 230
The grand biological clock V.M. Dilman 1989 424
The nature of magnetism M.I. Kaganov, V.M. Tsukernik 1985 283
Origin and development of life on earth G.V. Voitkevich 1988 232
Modern geology N.A. Yasamanov 1990 280
Origin and chemical evolution of the earth G.V. Voitkevich 1988 238
Our planet–the Earth A.V. Byalko. 1984 304
Earth, sweet Earth Ekaterina Radkevich 1990 371
Satellite and typhoon : eye to eye S.N. Baibakov and A.I. Martynov 1987 254

Please add titles that you are aware of.

Updates:

1. Discussions on Refraction of Light is available here.

2. Encounters with Physicists and Physics is available here.

Posted in books, mir books, mir publishers, science for everyone, soviet, used books | 29 Comments

Books from the Soviet Era

Posted on September 5, 2010 by damitr

Mir Publications is a name known to most Indians associated with excellent books in almost all subjects of interest, but especially in science and mathematics. Many people who I know, confess that the science and mathematics that they have understood, they owe to Mir Publications. I couldn’t agree more. The fascination that these books left me with in my childhood has is unforgettable. Also associated publishers were Foreign Languages Publishing House, Raduga Publishers and Progress Publishers. When I say Mir later, what is meant is the books published by ensemble of these publishers from the Soviet era.

The first book that I remember reading is one from Progress was when I was in 4th Grade, the Title of the Book was All About Telescope and since then I am like Alice in Wonderland. Russian books, rather books English published in the Soviet Russia, have had an unforgettable impression on my life.  The joy that these books have provided to me over the years is immeasurable. Not only these books were cheap, they were also published in many Indian languages: Hindi, Marathi and Bengali and Tamil I know for sure. This provided an ideal platform and inspiration for many, who came to science. An entire generation of Indians came of age with the titles from Mir Publications. But with end of the Soviet era, the Mir saga came to an end. The Mir titles which at times were cheaply and easily available became scant. And finally ceased to be a part of the mainstream bookshops. Only places one could find them was in the used book shops, and that too became scarce as the years went by. This trend continues till date. To find a Mir title today even in a used book shop is nothing less than a MIRacle!!

I have collected many books from these publishers and they form most precious part of my collection.

Some of the classics of the Mir books are by Yakov Pereleman, Landau, Kitaigorodosky, Zeldovich, Matveev and the list goes on…

Some notable series were: Science for Every One, What is…, ABC of…, Physics for Everyone, Little Mathematics Library…

Many of the titles will be lost forever never to delight a new generation of readers. The knowledge that at least these books existed should not be lost. This blog is an project to make an comprehensive list of  the titles published by Mir and over the years. So that the knowledge about these titles goes to the larger community, so that in the future someone can take up their digitization and / or republication. I urge and request all the people who owe even a little bit to books by Mir to contribute their knowledge about these books here…

How you can contribute?

You can contribute to this project in many ways:

  1. Add the books which are not in the list.
  2. Add information whether e – copies of the books are available.
  3. Add the list of the books which were republished, and status of their availability.
  4. Locate hard copies of the books, in library or personal collections.
  5. Add information about the book like different editions and reprints, language translations, reviews, personal experiences.

I hope that this small endeavor will be worth the effort and these gem of books will delight generations of readers to come…

Posted in books, foreign languages publishing, mir books, mir publishers, progress publishers, raduga publishers, science for everyone, soviet, used books | Tagged , , , , , , , | 76 Comments