Physical Processes in the Interstellar Medium

by Lyman S. Spitzer Jr.

Discusses the nature of interstellar matter, with a strong emphasis on basic physical principles. Summarizes the present state of knowledge about the interstellar medium and provides the latest observational data. Physics and chemistry of the interstellar medium are treated, with frequent references to observational results. The overall equilibrium and dynamical state of the interstellar gas are described, with discussions of explosions produced by star birth and star death and the initial phases of cloud collapse leading to star formation.

Genres: Physics, Textbooks, Astronomy

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Jeff Greason · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather foundational text in modeling the processes of the interstellar medium and galactic regions based on basic physics. The subject matter is a challenging one, but by sticking with simple physical models at first and then providing the results of more detailed modeling as correction factors to the basic physics, Spitzer provides a good foundation for understanding the processes present in the regions between the stars.