"The Theory of Atomic Spectra" by E. U. Condon & George H. Shortley, taken from the Web site of Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Theory-Atomic-Spectra-U-Condon/dp/0521092094/)The memory about the book I hadn't remembered for decades suddenly appeared in my dream the night before last as the names of two co-authors, "Condon–Shortley." Even after waking up, I couldn't remember its title but thought it was probably a book about condensed matter physics. Searching the authors' names on the Internet, I found it to be a masterpiece, "The Theory of Atomic Spectra," published in 1935 [Note 1]. We can divide physics into two subfields: physics on condensed matter and that on particles and nuclei. Physics on atomic spectra belongs to the former. So, my thought was correct.
My university student days were soon after World War II and in a period of confusion, and many pirated editions of masterpieces about various topics in physics appeared in Japan. An upper-year student with a part-time job related to pirated edition publishers would often come to our classroom to advertise those editions. Once, he might have said about the bootleg version of this book, "Condon–Shortley is coming out. It's a classic book on the theory of atomic spectra." During a lecture on atomic spectra, the teacher might have said, "You can learn more about this in Condon–Shortley book." Further, I may have heard one of my classmates say, "I'm not sure if I should buy Condon–Shortley."
I majored in "atomic nuclei" and had no interest in "atomic spectra." So, I have neither wanted to read that book nor remembered it for more than 65 years after graduation. Nonetheless, I recalled the authors' names in a dream. Such is an extremely curious and mysterious phenomenon.
Notes
My university student days were soon after World War II and in a period of confusion, and many pirated editions of masterpieces about various topics in physics appeared in Japan. An upper-year student with a part-time job related to pirated edition publishers would often come to our classroom to advertise those editions. Once, he might have said about the bootleg version of this book, "Condon–Shortley is coming out. It's a classic book on the theory of atomic spectra." During a lecture on atomic spectra, the teacher might have said, "You can learn more about this in Condon–Shortley book." Further, I may have heard one of my classmates say, "I'm not sure if I should buy Condon–Shortley."
I majored in "atomic nuclei" and had no interest in "atomic spectra." So, I have neither wanted to read that book nor remembered it for more than 65 years after graduation. Nonetheless, I recalled the authors' names in a dream. Such is an extremely curious and mysterious phenomenon.
Notes
- On the publisher's website, it reads: When first published, a reviewer in Nature said that 'Its power and thoroughness leave the general impression of a work of the first rank, which successfully unifies the existing state of our knowledge, and will prove for many years a starting point for further researches and an inspiration to those who may undertake them.'
(https://www.cambridge.org/jp/academic/subjects/physics/atomic-physics-molecular-physics-and-chemical-physics/theory-atomic-spectra)
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