The Interstellar Medium

This work represents the first comprehensive review in world literature of the interstellar medium in all its aspects. Using data derived from optical and radioastronomical techniques, the authors discuss a wide range of topics, such as the presence and origin of molecules in space, the distribution of interstellar gas and dust, the diffusion of cosmic rays in the Galaxy and their interaction with interstellar gas, and the application of the theory of gravitational instability to the formation of stars and galaxies. The authors have expanded, revised, and updated the Russian text (1963) for this translation, in the effort to make their presentation as straightforward and basic as possible. A full knowledge of physical theoretical methods is not prerequisite to understanding the volume since the authors provide many of the derivations of necessary formulas within the text.