Course of Theoretical Physics

Course of Theoretical Physics
Cover of the first volume, Mechanics (Russian Edition)
Author(s)	Lev Landau (Vol. 1–3, 5–9) Evgeny Lifshitz (Vol. 1–10) Vladimir Berestetskii (Vol. 4) Lev Pitaevskii (Vol. 4, 8–10)
Country	Russia
Language	Russian, English
Subject(s)	Physics
Genre(s)	Textbook
Publisher	Russian: Fizmatgiz, Fizmatlit, Nauka English: Addison-Wesley, Butterworth-Heinemann, Pergamon Press

The Course of Theoretical Physics is a ten-volume series of books covering theoretical physics that was initiated by Lev Landau and written in collaboration with his student Evgeny Lifshitz starting in the late 1930s. It is said that Laudau composed much of the series in his head while in an NKVD prison in 1938-39.^[1] However, almost all of the actual writing of the early volumes was done by Lifshitz, giving rise to the often repeated witticism, "not a word of Landau and not a thought of Lifshitz".^[2] The first eight volumes were finished in the 1950s, written in the Russian language, and translated into English by the late 1950s. The last two volumes were written in the early 1980s. Vladimir Berestetskii and Lev Pitaevskii also contributed to the series. The series is often referred to as "Landau and Lifshitz" in informal settings.

Impact

The books are well known for their concise and accurate formulation of the laws of physics. Generations of physicists, both in Russia and around the world, have been educated in physics through this series. The presentation of material is advanced, requires a foundation of physics, and is suitable for graduate-level study.

Russian editions

English editions

Note that reprints and revised editions are not listed.

Volume 1

• L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz (1960). Mechanics. Vol. 1 (1st ed.). Pergamon Press. ASIN B0006AWV88. 
  • L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz (1969). Mechanics. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Pergamon Press. ISBN 978-0-201-04146-0. 
  • L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz (1976). Mechanics. Vol. 1 (3rd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-750-62896-9. 

Volume 2

• L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz (1951). The Classical Theory of Fields. Vol. 2 (1st ed.). Addison-Wesley. ASIN B0007G5B42. 
  • L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz (1959). The Classical Theory of Fields. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). Pergamon Press. 
  • L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz (1971). The Classical Theory of Fields. Vol. 2 (3rd ed.). Pergamon Press. ISBN 978-0-080-16019-1. 
  • L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz (1975). The Classical Theory of Fields. Vol. 2 (4th ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-750-62768-9. 

Volume 3

• L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz (1958). Quantum Mechanics: Non-Relativistic Theory. Vol. 3 (1st ed.). Pergamon Press. 
  • L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz (1965). Quantum Mechanics: Non-Relativistic Theory. Vol. 3 (2nd ed.). Pergamon Press. 
  • L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz (1977). Quantum Mechanics: Non-Relativistic Theory. Vol. 3 (3rd ed.). Pergamon Press. ISBN 978-0-080-20940-1. 

Volume 4

• V.B. Berestetskii, E.M. Lifshitz, L.P. Pitaevskii (1971). Relativistic Quantum Theory. Vol. 4 (1st ed.). Pergamon Press. ISBN 978-0-080-17175-3. 
  • V.B. Berestetskii, E.M. Lifshitz, L.P. Pitaevskii (1982). Quantum Electrodynamics. Vol. 4 (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0750633710. 

Volume 5

• Statistical Physics. Vol. 5 (1st ed.). 1951. 
  • Early version: L.D. Landau (1938). Statistical Physics. Clarendon Press. ASIN B00085BKZG. 
  • Statistical Physics. Vol. 5 (2nd ed.). 1968. 
  • L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz (1980). Statistical Physics. Vol. 5 (3rd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-750-63372-7. 

Volume 6

• L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz (1959). Fluid Mechanics. Vol. 6 (1st ed.). Pergamon Press. ISBN 978-0-080-09104-4. 
  • L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz (1987). Fluid Mechanics. Vol. 6 (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-080-33933-7. 

Volume 7

• L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz (1959). Theory of Elasticity. Vol. 7 (1st ed.). Pergamon Press. 
• L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz (1970). Theory of Elasticity. Vol. 7 (2nd ed.). Pergamon Press. ISBN 978-0-080-06465-9. 
• L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz (1986). Theory of Elasticity. Vol. 7 (3rd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-750-62633-0. 

Volume 8

• L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz (1960). Electrodynamics of Continuous Media. Vol. 8 (1st ed.). Pergamon Press. ISBN 978-0-080-09105-1. 
• L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz, L.P. Pitaevskii (1984). Electrodynamics of Continuous Media. Vol. 8 (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-750-62634-7. 

Volume 9

• L.P. Pitaevskii, E.M. Lifshitz (1980). Statistical Physics, Part 2. Vol. 9 (1st ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-750-62636-1. 

Volume 10

• L.P. Pitaevskii, E.M. Lifshitz (1981). Physical Kinetics. Vol. 10 (1st ed.). Pergamon Press. ISBN 978-0-750-62635-4. 

Notes

1. ^ Richard Rhodes (1995). Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb. Simon & Schuster. p. 33. 
2. ^ Anton Z. Capri (2007). From Quanta to Quarks: More Anecdotal History of Physics. World Scientific. p. 112. 

External links

• Course of Theoretical Physics on Britannica Online.
• All ten volumes on Amazon.com