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Physical Properties of Crystals – Their Representation by Tensors and

Matrices

Article  in  Physics Bulletin · December 1985

DOI: 10.1088/0031-9112/36/12/027

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Book reviews
The Adam
Hilger Preview
New Technology in
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Leading workers describe recent
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in water data acquisition.
November 1985 240pp 240 x 160mm illus
hardcover 0-85274-558-3 £35.00/$49.00
IoP members £28.00
Linear Accelerators for
Radiation Therapy
D Greene (Christie Hospital and Holt
Radium Insitute, Manchester)
Medical Physics Handbook 17
A useful text providing the postgraduate
student with a basic understanding of
the wide range of technology involved
in the design and operation of linear
accelerators for radiotherapy. Invalu-
able as a background text for individuals
working through the more detailed
technical material in manufacturers'
manuals and as a guide for senior
medical physicists when they need to
make decisions about the choice of
available equipment.
November 1985 194pp 210 x 150mm illus
hardcover 0-85274-557-5 £19.50/$33.00
IoP members £15.60
Microscopy of
Semiconducting Materials
1985
Edited by A G Cullis (RSRE,
Malvern) and D B Holt (Imperial
College, London)
Institute of Physics
Conference Series 76
Fourth Oxford Conference on the
Microscopy of Semiconducting
Materials. St Catherine's College,
Oxford. March 1985.
November 1985 530pp 240 x 160mm illus
hardcover 0-85498-167-5 £49.50/$80.00
IoP members £39.60
Optical Measurements in
Fluid Mechanics 1985
Edited by P H Richards (CEGB,
Marchwood Engineering Laboratories)
Institute of Physics
Conference Series 77
Sixth International Conference on
Photon Correlation and Other
Techniques in Fluid Mechanics.
Cambridge, UK. July 1985.
November 19K5 2()4pp 240 x 160mm illus
hardcover ()-S549H-lbH-3 £25.00/540.00
IoP members £20.00
Adam Hilger Ltd
Bristol and Boston
For further details circle 11 on reply sheet
506
Prout, when so many names have
chased a theory of matter? It so hap-
pens that this chemist and philosopher
has slipped bv for a variety of reasons
and consequently never received due
attention in the history of science. The
author has brilliantly used Prout to
bring out themes additional to the
theory of matter. These are, on the one
hand, Prout's practical side (with
inroads into organic analysis, urine
chemistry and the problems of diges-
tion and sensation) and, on the other,
his theoretical leanings, which are pro-
jected through the Bridgewater Treat-
ise and his support for natural theology
and vitalism. The entire work, there-
fore, constitutes an intriguing picture
of matter, medicine, molecular theory,
biochemistry, natural theology and
particle physics. It is a major contribu-
tion to the history of science, and
hence a necessary purchase for those
whose interests lie in this direction.
Brian Gee
Crystallography
Surface Crystallography: An Introduc-
tion to Low Energy Electron Diffraction
L J Clarke 1985 Chichester: John Wiley
xiii+329 pp price £31.50 ISBN 0 471
90513 5
This book provides a very readable
introduction to low energy electron dif-
fraction and brings the reader up to
date in the current thinking and prac-
tice of LEED.
The subject of surface crystallogra-
phy is a vast one: indeed, as the author
states, thousands of papers have been
written on the subject of LEED alone. In
this book, Clarke has brought together
many of the developments which have
occurred and are now occurring in the
field of LEED. Some of these are only
covered briefly; however, with 376
specific and other general references,
the reader is given plenty of opportun-
ity to follow up areas of interest.
One important area, which is becom-
ing increasingly so as the complexity
of the surface structures studied
increases, is the comparison of theoret-
ical with experimental data. Clarke dis-
cusses a number of the problems in
making this comparison a reliable one
and also compares some of the reliabil-
ity factors in current use. Finally there
is a review of other surface techniques
which yield structural information
directly or indirectly.
One disappointing aspect of the
book, more so in some chapters than
others, is the occurrence of occasional
discrepancies between text, figures
and figure captions, which impair the
overall readability.
The introductory nature of this book
makes it useful for undergraduates
interested in surface crystallography,
yet its wide and up to date coverage
makes it a valuable reference for those
active in research in the subject.
S P Tear
Physical Properties of Crystals - Their
Representation by Tensors and Mat-
rices J F Nye 1985 Clarendon Press:
Oxford University Press xvii+329 pp
price £15 (paperback) ISBN 0 19
851165 5
A review of a well-known and trusted
work such as this is difficult. It is 28
years since Professor Nye's book first
appeared in hardback form. The
paperback version is to be welcomed
and should influence a wider circle of
physicists than before. I reflect that it is
14 years since I used this book for
undergraduate teaching, and then it
was as a 'teacher's guide' rather than a
recommended text. The rigour of rep-
resenting or even discussing crystal
properties by tensors and matrices,
and indeed crystallography in general,
seems to have gone out of fashion. I
confess that it wasn't until this year,
having changed career from academia
to industrial research, that I needed to
consult this text; how useful and re-
assuring it is.
Quite simply, this is a definitive
book. By contemporary standards stu-
dents may find it rather dry and hard
work unless it accompanies a good lec-
ture course. Very few changes have
been made to the original version, but
seven pages of supplementary notes
and references have been inserted at
the end.
P J Dobson
Fields and spins
Microwave Magnetics Ronald F
Soohoo 1985 London: Harper and Row
x+262 pp price £49.50 ISBN 0 06
046367 8
Microwave magnetics is concerned
with the interaction of electromagnetic
fields with electron spins. It is a subject
with implications for classical electro-
magnetism, and applications which
include microwave superconductor
devices. The author is a leading author-
ity, so his book will be welcomed by
physicists and engineers alike.
Chapters on the theory of micro-
Waves, including the use of Maxwell's
equations, are followed by a discussion
of the relevant physical principles of
magnetism. The resonance behaviour
of magnetic materials including ferrites
and garnets is discussed, and the book
closes with an account of Josephson
junctions. Bad proof-reading of names
detracts from the value of this work, a
prize example being a reference on p99
to the Chemical Rubble Company!
E P Wohlfarth