Book reviews The Planet Jupiter. The Observer’s Handbook. 2nd Edition, revised by Patrick Moore. By Bertrand Peek. Pp. 140. Faber, London. 7981. flO.OO.

When the late Bertrand Peek produced his ‘The Planet Jupiter’ (first published in 1958), the space age had barely begun and dedicated amateur observers like Peek and his colleagues could fairly claim that their observations were genuinely useful and just as valid as those of professionals working with larger-aperture telescopes. Nearly a quarter of a century later, and with the results of Pioneer and Voyager planetary space-probes now known, how does Peek’s book on Jupiter stand today?

Containing much detailed observational material, including sketches. of the planet’s features as viewed during the first half of this century. it has some interest from an historical point of view: the early chapters on observational techniques may also still be useful to amateur observers although this information can be obtained elsewhere. It is what the book does not contain that is of more serious concern.

To call the 1981 version a revised edition is highly misleading. With the exception of 46 pages which have been omitted and a Foreword by Patrick Moore which has been added. it is identical to the 1958 edition and has not been updated. And that is the pity of it. It contains nothing about the fascinating physics and chemistry of the planet: nothing new about the Great Red Spot: nothing about the discovery of volcanic activity on satellite IO; and no bibliographical references to the Pioneer and Voyager results. To say that cost considerations prevented such a revision when the present edition is being put out as a fl0 hardback is unconvincing. A new generation of enthusiastic amateur ohservcrs surely deserve to have their horizons widened and to he treated better than this.

C. M. Humphries

Cosmic Discovery. The Search, Scope and Heritage of Astronomy by Martin Harwit. Pp, 334. Harvester Press, Brighton. 7987. f 72.95.

In this hook Harwit seeks to examine whether discoveries in astronomy have followed an established pattern which can be used to assess likely developments in future research.

Harwit, who is Professor of astronomy at Cornell University, analyses a number of major cosmic discoveries. These are spread out fairly uniformly over the past few centuries. Discussion of each centres around several leading questions. namely: how did the discovery arise; what was the background of the person(s) concerned; what special techniques were used?

Endeavour. New Series. Volume 6, No. 3, 1992 (0 Pergamon Press. Printed in Great Britain). 0160-9327/92/949141-94 $03.00.

The conclusions of this study are intriguing. It would appear that major astronomical discoveries all too frequently contain a strong element of chance. On the personal front, ‘interlopers’ from other disciplines tend to feature prominently. More positively, a high correlation exists between important discoveries and new optical developments. Harwit also indulges in varied speculation on future trends, supplementing this with some valuable research recommendations.

This is an imaginative book whose appearance is particularly apposite at a time when governments are cutting back severely on research funding. Regrettably, the rather close printing of the text and uniform mediocrity of the photographs both detract from the content. However, the book should appeal to the more thoughtful reader who is concerned with the issues facing astronomy at the present time. I can recommend it.

F. Stephenson

Physical Kinetics. Landau and Lifshitz Course of Theoretical Physics. Vol. 10 by E. M. Lifshitz and L. P. Pitaevskii. Translated by J. 13. Sykes and R. N. Franklin. Pp. 452. Pergamon Press, Oxford. 1981. Paperback $25.00.

This, the tenth volume in the renowned Course of Theoretical Physics, completes the programme laid down by Landau more than forty years ago. The title of the book, which is written in the same style as the earlier volumes of the Course, may be somewhat misleading. The book deals with the theory of transport properties in a variety of physical systems. Chapter 1 gives a fairly detailed account of the kinetic theory of ordinary gases based, primarily, on a Boltzmann equation approach. Chapters 2-6 discuss the thermal, electrical, and magnetic transport properties of dilute plasmas, i.e. ionized gases. Plasmas in which electron-electron and electron-ion collisions are important are considered as well as plasmas in the collisionless limit. There is a chapter on plasmas in magnetic fields and one on instability theory. While I suspect that this first part of the book will prove the more valuable, the remaining chapters should also be very useful. These cover phonons in insulators; transport in quantum liquids and in metals; high frequency transport in superconductors; and a brief, but interesting, final chapter on the kinetics of first and second order phase transitions

Although the volume is more diverse in its selection of topics than many of the earlier volumes it exhibits the same penetrating insights and clarity of exposition as its predecessors; it is almost certain to become a ‘classic’ reference for transport

theory. Most theoreticians working in condensed matter physics and all pl.asma physicists will wish to have a copy on their shelves.

R. Evans

Marine Environmental Pollution. 2: Dumping and Mining. By R. A. Geyer. Pp. 574. Elsevier, Amsterdam. 1981. $7 17.50 (Dfl. 240.001.

Most man-made wastes discharged into the marine environment have naturally- occurring counterparts, and marine systems seem to have spare capacity for dealing with them. So, to avoid damaging pollution, the trick is to adjust the discharge to the system’s capacity, which requires much understanding of the interactions. This contribution to the problem is the second of a two-volume work (the first volume is confined to hydrocarbons). It consists of two sections each comprising eight papers by different authors, the first section on the coastal zone and the second on ocean disposal and mining. They provide case- studies of varying interest from several parts of the world. The editor’s introduction attempts to provide a structure and to draw attention to the main issues involved, although his approach may have to be more persuasive to win him support from the unconverted. The book is handsomely produced, illustrated perhaps in excess of the need, but bears the familiar signs of haste-typographical errors, ill-chosen words, and points that could have been clearer and more concise if redrafted. On the other hand the papers have reached the reader quickly and the references are up to date. It should provide useful up-dating for those who can afford it.

J. C. Smyth

Advances in Physiological Sciences, Vol. 32. Contributions to Thermal Physiology. Edited by Z. Szelenyi and M. Szekely. Pp. 561. Pergamon Press, Oxford and Akademiai Kiadd, Budapest. $60.00.

This volume contains the Proceedings of the Satellite Symposium on Thermal Physiology held at Pets under the aegis of the 1980 IUPS International Congress of Physiological Sciences. With a total of 112 contributions covering 10 specialist areas of thermal physiology, and consisting of 15 invited lectures and 97 short communications, any review must inevitably be limited in scope. Suffice it to say that invited lectures are resplendent with the names of the acknowledged doyens of each major subdivision of the subject areas. Workers such as Briick, Giradier, and Blatteis, figure prominently, together with a number of lesser known names. The invited lectures provide a broad examination of the main topical issues, while the short

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