The dynamics of the interstellar medium I [-III]. 3 offprints. Von Karman copies

Spitzer, Lyman, Jr. (1914-97). The dynamics of the interstellar medium. I [- III]. 3 offprints from Astrophys. J. 93-95 (1941-42). 369-379; 232-244; 329-344pp. 242 x 172 mm. Original printed wrappers. Fine copies, from the library of Theodore von Karman (1881-1963), with his characteristic docketing on the front wrappers. First Separate Editions. Spitzer earned his PhD in astrophysics in 1938 at Princeton University under Henry Norris Russell, and succeeded Russell as chair of Princeton's astrophysical department in 1947. He worked in many areas of theoretical astrophysics, including spectral line formation and the dynamical evolution of star clusters, but his most important work was on the physics of the interstellar medium, a field he helped to found. "[Spitzer's] interest in interstellar matter dated back to the late 1930s, when he was struck by the fact that elliptical galaxies contained old stars but no large amounts of interstellar gas, whereas spiral galaxies, which contained gas, also had young stars. He concluded that stars must still be forming from clouds of gas and dust, and he began a theoretical study of the physics of interstellar matter that lasted almost six decades. Spitzer worked on the theory of the heating and cooling of interstellar gases, stressing the presence and importance of interstellar magnetic fields, the likelihood of pressure equilibrium among various components and the significance of interstellar dust grains. His investigations . . . established the field of interstellar matter as a rich discipline" ("Lyman Spitzer, Jr.," Physics Today 50 (1997): 123-24). Spitzer also was the first to propose (in 1946) a large telescope in space, an idea that was realized over four decades later with the launching of the Hubble Space Telescope. This set of offprints is from the library of Hungarian physicist Theodore von Karman, founder of Cal Tech's Jet Propulsion Laboratories. Karman emigrated to the United States in the late 1920s, where he joined the faculty of the California Institute of Technology as director of the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory; his contributions to fluid dynamics helped to lay the scientific foundation of aviation and space exploration. .…