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{{Short description|Theoretical physics textbook series by Lev Landau and Evgeny Lifshitz}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019|cs1-dates=y}}
{{Infobox book
| name              = Course of Theoretical Physics
| title_orig        =
| translator        =
| image             = Landau & Lifshitz - Volume 1 - Mechanics.jpg
| image_size        = 125px
| caption           = Cover of the first volume, ''Mechanics'' (Russian Edition)
| author            = [[Lev Landau]] (Vol. 1–3, 5–8)<br>[[Evgeny Lifshitz]] (Vol. 1–10)<br>{{nowrap|{{ill|Vladimir Berestetskii|ru|Берестецкий, Владимир Борисович}} (Vol. 4)}}<br>[[Lev Pitaevskii]] (Vol. 4, 9–10)
| illustrator       =
| cover_artist      =
| country           = [[Soviet Union]]
| language          = [[Russian language|Russian]], [[German language|German]], [[English language|English]], [[French language|French]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Japanese language|Japanese]]<!-- others TBD -->
| series            =
| subject           = [[Physics]]
| genre             = [[Textbook]]
| publisher         = Russian: [[Fizmatgiz]], [[Fizmatlit]], [[Nauka (publisher)|Nauka]]<br/>English: [[Addison-Wesley]], [[Butterworth-Heinemann]], [[Pergamon Press]]<br/>German: [[Akademie Verlag]], [[Verlag Harri Deutsch]], [[Europa-Lehrmittel]]<br/>Chinese: [[Higher Education Press]]
| pub_date          =
| english_pub_date  =
| media_type        =
| pages             =
| isbn              =
| oclc              =
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| congress          =
| preceded_by       =
| followed_by       =
}}
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 Landau composed much of the series in his head while in an [[NKVD]] prison in 1938–1939.<ref>
{{cite book
|author-first=Richard |author-last=Rhodes
|date=1995
|title=Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb
|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]
|page=33
}}</ref> However, almost all of the actual writing of the early volumes was done by Lifshitz, giving rise to the witticism, "not a word of Landau and not a thought of Lifshitz".<ref>
{{cite book
|author-first=Anton Z. |author-last=Capri
|date=2007
|title=From Quanta to Quarks: More Anecdotal History of Physics
|publisher=[[World Scientific]]
|page=112
}}</ref> The first eight volumes were finished in the 1950s, written in [[Russian language|Russian]] and translated into [[English language|English]] in the late 1950s by [[John Stewart Bell]], together with John Bradbury Sykes, M. J. Kearsley, and W. H. Reid. The last two volumes were written in the early 1980s. {{ill|Vladimir Berestetskii|ru|Берестецкий, Владимир Борисович}} and [[Lev Pitaevskii]] also contributed to the series. The series is often referred to as "'''Landau and Lifshitz'''", "'''Landafshitz'''" (Russian: "Ландафшиц"),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://written.ru/articles/notes/simplicity |script-title=ru:О простоте |date=2006-06-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://zlo.rt.mipt.ru/?read=7096295 |script-title=ru:Форум-ФРТК-МФТИ: чем ландафшиц не понравился? |language=ru |date=2011-02-18 |access-date=2012-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803090235/http://zlo.rt.mipt.ru/?read=7096295 |archive-date=2017-08-03 |url-status=dead}}</ref> or "'''Lanlifshitz'''" (Russian: "Ланлифшиц") in informal settings.
==Impact==
The presentation of material is advanced and typically considered suitable for [[Graduate school|graduate-level]] study.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Administrivia/booklist.html |title=A Physics Book List |website=math.ucr.edu |access-date=2017-07-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author-last=Aboites |author-first=Vicente |date=2005-11-01 |title=Feynman: The Lectures and the Man |journal=[[Physics Today]] |volume=58 |issue=11 |pages=12 |doi=10.1063/1.4796780 |issn=0031-9228}}</ref> Despite this specialized character, it is estimated that a million volumes of the ''Course'' were sold by 2005.<ref name=":1"/>
The series has been called "renowned" in [[Science (journal)|''Science'']] and "celebrated" in ''[[American Scientist]].''<ref>{{Cite journal |author-last=Livingston |author-first=Katherine |date=1990-08-03 |title=Book reviews |journal=Science |language=en |volume=249 |issue=4968 |pages=571–572 |doi=10.1126/science.249.4968.571 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=17735292 |bibcode=1990Sci...249..571C}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Extras/Reviews_Landau_Lifshitz.html |title=Landau and Lifshitz reviews |website=[[MacTutor History of Mathematics archive]] |access-date=2017-07-25}}</ref> A note in ''[[Mathematical Reviews]]'' states, "The usefulness and the success of this course have been proved by the great number of successive editions in Russian, English, [[French language|French]], [[German language|German]] and other languages."<ref name=":0"/> At a [[centenary]] celebration of Landau's career, it was observed that the ''Course'' had shown "unprecedented longevity."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.aps.org/units/fhp/newsletters/fall2009/lubkin.cfm |title=Centenary of Lev Landau |author-last=Lubkin |author-first=Gloria B. |date=2009 |website=[[American Physical Society]] |language=en |access-date=2017-07-25}}</ref>
In 1962, Landau and Lifshitz were awarded the [[Lenin Prize]] for their work on the ''Course''. This was the first occasion on which the Lenin Prize had been awarded for the teaching of physics.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qqqQ8pTdxfEC&pg=PA253 |title=Pedagogy and the Practice of Science: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives |author-last=Hall |author-first=Karl |date=2005 |publisher=[[MIT Press]] |isbn=978-0-26211288-8 |editor-last=Kaiser |editor-first=David |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA |pages=253–286 |language=en |chapter="Think Less about Foundations": A Short Course on Landau and Lifshitz's ''Course of Theoretical Physics''}}</ref>
==English editions==
[[File:Seattle Urban Hike - Physics Books at University of Washington Book Store (1797565938).jpg|thumb|Course of Theoretical Physics]]
The following list does not include reprints and revised editions.
=== Volume 1 ===
* {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|date=1960
|title=Mechanics
|edition=1st |volume=1
|publisher=[[Pergamon Press]]
|asin=B0006AWV88
}}
** {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|date=1969
|title=Mechanics
|edition=2nd |volume=1
|publisher=[[Pergamon Press]]
|isbn=978-0-201-04146-0
}}
** {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|date=1976
|title=Mechanics
|edition=3rd |volume=1
|publisher=[[Butterworth-Heinemann]]
|isbn=978-0-7506-2896-9
}}
Volume 1 covers [[classical mechanics]] without special or general relativity, in the [[Lagrangian mechanics|Lagrangian]] and [[Hamiltonian mechanics|Hamiltonian]] formalisms.
=== Volume 2 ===
* {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|date=1951
|title=The Classical Theory of Fields
|edition=1st |volume=2
|publisher=[[Addison-Wesley]]
|asin=B0007G5B42
}}
** {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|date=1959
|title=The Classical Theory of Fields
|edition=2nd |volume=2
|publisher=[[Pergamon Press]]
}}
** {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|date=1971
|title=The Classical Theory of Fields
|edition=3rd |volume=2
|publisher=[[Pergamon Press]]
|isbn=978-0-08-016019-1
}}
** {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|date=1975
|title=The Classical Theory of Fields
|edition=4th |volume=2
|publisher=[[Butterworth-Heinemann]]
|isbn=978-0-7506-2768-9
}}
Volume 2 covers [[relativistic mechanics]] of particles, and [[classical field theory]] for fields, specifically [[special relativity]] and [[electromagnetism]], [[general relativity]] and [[gravitation]].
=== Volume 3 ===
* {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|date=1958
|title=Quantum Mechanics: Non-Relativistic Theory
|edition=1st |volume=3
|publisher=[[Pergamon Press]]
}}
** {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|date=1965
|title=Quantum Mechanics: Non-Relativistic Theory
|edition=2nd |volume=3
|publisher=[[Pergamon Press]]
}}
** {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|date=1977
|title=Quantum Mechanics: Non-Relativistic Theory
|edition=3rd |volume=3
|publisher=[[Pergamon Press]]
|isbn=978-0-08-020940-1
}}
Volume 3 covers [[quantum mechanics]] without special relativity.
=== Volume 4 ===
* {{cite book
|author-first1=Vladimir B. |author-last1=Berestetskii |author-link1=Vladimir Berestetskii
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|author-first3=Lev P. |author-last3=Pitaevskii |author-link3=Lev Pitaevskii
|date=1971
|title=Relativistic Quantum Theory
|edition=1st |volume=4
|publisher=[[Pergamon Press]]
|isbn=978-0-08-017175-3
}}
**{{cite book
|author-first1=Vladimir B. |author-last1=Berestetskii |author-link1=Vladimir Berestetskii
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|author-first3=Lev P. |author-last3=Pitaevskii |author-link3=Lev Pitaevskii
|date=1982
|title=Quantum Electrodynamics
|edition=2nd |volume=4
|publisher=[[Butterworth-Heinemann]]
|isbn=978-0-7506-3371-0
}}
The original edition comprised two books, labelled part 1 and part 2. The first covered general aspects of [[relativistic quantum mechanics]] and relativistic [[quantum field theory]], leading onto [[quantum electrodynamics]]. The second continued with quantum electrodynamics and what was then known about the [[strong interaction|strong]] and [[weak interaction]]s. These books were published in the early 1970s, at a time when the strong and weak forces were still not well understood. In the second edition, the corresponding sections were scrapped and replaced with more topics in the well-established quantum electrodynamics, and the two parts were unified into one, thus providing a one-volume exposition on relativistic quantum field theory with the electromagnetic interaction as the prototype of a quantum field theory.
=== Volume 5 ===
* {{cite book
|date=1951
|title=Statistical Physics
|edition=1st |volume=5
}}
** Early version: {{cite book
|author-first=Lev D. |author-last=Landau |author-link=Lev Landau
|date=1938
|title=Statistical Physics
|publisher=[[Clarendon Press]]
|asin=B00085BKZG
}}
** {{cite book
|date=1968
|title=Statistical Physics
|edition=2nd |volume=5
}}
** {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|date=1980
|title=Statistical Physics
|edition=3rd |volume=5
|publisher=[[Butterworth-Heinemann]]
|isbn=978-0-7506-3372-7
}}
Volume 5 covers general [[statistical mechanics]] and [[thermodynamics]] and applications, including [[chemical reaction]]s, [[phase transitions]], and [[condensed matter physics]].
=== Volume 6 ===
* {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|date=1959
|title=Fluid Mechanics
|edition=1st |volume=6
|publisher=[[Pergamon Press]]
|isbn=978-0-08-009104-4
}}
* {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|date=1987
|title=Fluid Mechanics
|edition=2nd |volume=6
|publisher=[[Butterworth-Heinemann]]
|isbn=978-0-08-033933-7
}}
Volume 6 covers [[fluid mechanics]] in a condensed but varied exposition, from ideal to [[viscosity|viscous]] fluids, includes a chapter on relativistic fluid mechanics, and another on [[superfluid]]s.
=== Volume 7 ===
* {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|date=1959
|title=Theory of Elasticity
|edition=1st |volume=7
|publisher=[[Pergamon Press]]
}}
* {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|date=1970
|title=Theory of Elasticity
|edition=2nd |volume=7
|publisher=[[Pergamon Press]]
|isbn=978-0-08-006465-9
}}
* {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|date=1986
|title=Theory of Elasticity
|edition=3rd |volume=7
|publisher=[[Butterworth-Heinemann]]
|isbn=978-0-7506-2633-0
}}
Volume 7 covers [[Elasticity (physics)|elasticity]] theory of solids, including [[Viscosity#Viscosity in solids|viscous]] solids, vibrations and waves in crystals with [[dislocation]]s, and a chapter on the mechanics of [[liquid crystal]]s.
=== Volume 8 ===
* {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|date=1960
|title=Electrodynamics of Continuous Media
|edition=1st |volume=8
|publisher=[[Pergamon Press]]
|isbn=978-0-08-009105-1
}}
* {{cite book
|author-first1=Lev D. |author-last1=Landau |author-link1=Lev Landau
|author-first2=Evgeny M. |author-last2=Lifshitz |author-link2=Evgeny Lifshitz
|author-first3=Lev P. |author-last3=Pitaevskii |author-link3=Lev Pitaevskii
|date=1984
|title=Electrodynamics of Continuous Media
|edition=2nd |volume=8
|publisher=[[Butterworth-Heinemann]]
|isbn=978-0-7506-2634-7
}}
Volume 8 covers electromagnetism in materials, and includes a variety of topics in condensed matter physics, a chapter on [[magnetohydrodynamics]], and another on [[nonlinear optics]].
=== Volume 9 ===
* {{cite book
|author-first1=Evgeny M. |author-last1=Lifshitz |author-link1=Evgeny Lifshitz
|author-first2=Lev P. |author-last2=Pitaevskii |author-link2=Lev Pitaevskii
|date=1980
|title=Statistical Physics, Part 2: Theory of the Condensed State
|edition=1st |volume=9
|publisher=[[Butterworth-Heinemann]]
|isbn=978-0-7506-2636-1
}}
Volume 9 builds on the original statistical physics book, with more applications to condensed matter theory.
=== Volume 10 ===
* {{cite book
|author-first1=Evgeny M. |author-last1=Lifshitz |author-link1=Evgeny Lifshitz
|author-first2=Lev P. |author-last2=Pitaevskii |author-link2=Lev Pitaevskii
|date=1981
|title=Physical Kinetics
|edition=1st |volume=10
|publisher=[[Pergamon Press]]
|isbn=978-0-7506-2635-4
}}
Volume 10 presents various applications of [[kinetic theory of gases|kinetic theory]] to condensed matter theory, and to metals, insulators, and phase transitions.
== See also ==
* [[Lectures on Theoretical Physics]]
* [[List of textbooks on classical and quantum mechanics]]
* [[List of textbooks in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics]]
* [[List of textbooks in electromagnetism]]
*[[The Theoretical Minimum]]
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [[Internet Archive]]: {{cite web |url=https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22L.D.+Landau+%26+E.M.+Lifshitz%22 |access-date=2013-11-02 |title=Internet Archive}} (for volumes 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8) and {{cite web |url=https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22V.B.+Berestetskii%2C+E.M.+Lifshitz+%26+L.P.+Pitaevskii%22 |access-date=2013-11-02 |title=Internet Archive}} (for volume 4), and {{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/ost-physics-landaulifshitz-statisticalphysics |access-date=2016-08-10 |title=Internet Archive |date=1969 |publisher=Internet Archive}} (for volume 5).
* [[Britannica Online]]: [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/140626/Course-of-Theoretical-Physics ''Course of Theoretical Physics'']
* [[Internet Archive]]: [https://archive.org/details/landau-and-lifshitz-physics-textbooks-series/Vol%201%20-%20Landau%2C%20Lifshitz%20-%20Mechanics%20%283rd%20ed%2C%201976%29/ Landau-Lifschitz Vol. 1-10]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Course Of Theoretical Physics}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:Classical mechanics]]
[[Category:Nauka (publisher) books]]
[[Category:Physics textbooks]]
[[Category:Quantum mechanics]]
[[Category:Series of non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Statistical mechanics]]
[[Category:Pergamon Press books]]