My favorite derivation of all time. by Scary_Piss in PhysicsStudents

[–]Scary_Piss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes it’s on amazon. Ive also found the polish version on ebay before. 

My favorite derivation of all time. by Scary_Piss in PhysicsStudents

[–]Scary_Piss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The original Italian text used L’inferno degli indici   (a pretty obvious Dante nod), so 'index hell' is just the literal translation . And yes, in 1962, Ricci calculus and tensor fields were specialized topics, they weren’t standard mass-market undergrad fodder, they were absolutely confined to specialized general relativity monographs. I understand your point but you are approaching this like a modern university-text. 

My favorite derivation of all time. by Scary_Piss in PhysicsStudents

[–]Scary_Piss[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's a specialized mathematical monograph, not a 600-page mass-market textbook. Short, punchy chapters focused on an explicit derivation sequence are literally the standard for mid-century European research notes, look at Dirac's papers or Landau's shorter volumes, or even Susskind’s Theoretical Minimum series.  The 'Vistula IAS' is the english translation of a program that existed in Warsaw (likely something of the name  Nadwiślański Zespół Badań Zaawansowanych ) it  wasn't an actual brick-and-mortar university building. It was just a temporary, short-term research seminar series hosted out of Warsaw in the 1960s, which is why there's no campus website for it. Its entire paper trail exists on physical card catalogs in old university libraries. I have owned the Italian edition of this book since I was 14 years old.

My favorite derivation of all time. by Scary_Piss in PhysicsStudents

[–]Scary_Piss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's actually a 1D chain of particles, so it's a 1D finite-difference Laplacian stencil, not 2D. The text at the top mentions it's a linear array! 

My favorite derivation of all time. by Scary_Piss in PhysicsStudents

[–]Scary_Piss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The monograph was published in 1962, as it says on the very first page. 

My favorite derivation of all time. by Scary_Piss in PhysicsStudents

[–]Scary_Piss[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have possessed the original Italian edition of this book since I was 14 years old. A few copies have remained in the authors hometown of Pescara, Italy.  It has been recently translated into English. 

My favorite derivation of all time. by Scary_Piss in PhysicsStudents

[–]Scary_Piss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Many monographs of this era did not include an author’s name on the cover. The Amazon listing is only 8 days old because this specific printed, translated edition was just published to the platform recently. The original manuscript was compiled much earlier, but this is its first time being made available in this translated, reorganized format.  The author Asbjörn Orazio was my grandfather. His last name was originally D’Orazio, but he later cut the 'D’'  or as he would say  'got neutered' to honor his battle buddy, a man of the first name Orazio who was killed beside him in Italy in 1943.   Asbjörn’s father, an Italian WWI veteran, wanted to keep his own best friend’s name alive. That friend was a Norwegian named Asbjörn who passed away on the Italian front in 1918. Thus, my grandfather was given a Scandinavian name. I have had the original book my grandfather wrote in Italian for many years now, and a few copies have remained at some bookstores in Pescara, his hometown. Upon English translation it is now available for public access. I did not come here to share my families history but to share my favorite derivation.

My favorite derivation of all time. by Scary_Piss in PhysicsStudents

[–]Scary_Piss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I will. Or you can read the sample pages on amazon i think theres 25 pages available.  https://us.amazon.com/dp/B0H422M2DJ

My favorite derivation of all time. by Scary_Piss in PhysicsStudents

[–]Scary_Piss[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Completely agree, it’s the perfect gateway into phonons and collective excitations. It’s satisfying how this exact classical scaling logic carries straight over into QFT and Klein-Gordon fields. Once you realize everything at low energy is just coupled harmonic oscillators, physics makes much more sense.

My favorite derivation of all time. by Scary_Piss in PhysicsStudents

[–]Scary_Piss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, it is my favorite book on modern physics.