PhysTech Journal

                CENTERCOM PUBLISHERS AND
         MOSCOW INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY
                         PRESENT

a new quarterly journal for students, teachers, professors, and 
scientists interested in natural sciences and humanities, in the part 
related to natural sciences (history and philosophy of science, etc.)


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We welcome you among our readers, subscribers, and contributors. Please, 
send your requests to get the first paper-version issue of Phystech 
Journal free of charge to

   infomag@glas.apc.org

You can also order the first issue free of charge from

   SCINA International, Inc.
   P.O.Box 1177
   Aberdeen SD 57402, USA



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The Journal was founded by Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

In our Journal you can read

-- Reviews and original articles, written by famous scientists as well as by
   those who only start their careers in physics, mathematics, and computer
   science;

-- Articles that deal with the methods of teaching most sophisticated topics in
   the physics and mathematics curriculum and include many interesting
   problems which help deeper understanding of these topics;

-- Essays devoted to culture and philosophy as well as humanitarian problems
   the Mankind is faced with;

-- Notes on various events in the history of science, technology,
   and education that have been unknown before to wide public;

The range of topics covered in the journal is very wide and every reader will
be able to find an intriguing article, note, or problem.


CONTENTS OF THE FIRST ISSUE

GENERAL SECTION

Yury G. Krasnikov 
   TO READERS OF THE JOURNAL

Nikolai V. Karlov (rector of MIPT)
   MOSCOW INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY


REVIEWS

Yury M. Belousov (MIPT) and
   Voldemar P. Smilga (Kurchatov Center, MIPT)
   MUON METHOD OF SUBSTANCE INVESTIGATION.
   PRINCIPLE AND APPLICATIONS
Muon spectroscopy is a new method for studying materials and is a good example
of how methods of one branch of science---elementary particles physics---prove
useful in quite a different branch---solid-state physics. The method offers new
possibilities to both theorists and experimentalists. The basics of muon
spectroscopy method and its numerous applications are considered in detail.

Valery Ya. Krivnov
   (Institute of Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences)
   ELECTRON-ELECTRON CORRELATIONS AND PEIERLS' INSTABILITY IN
   ONE-DIMENSIONAL SYSTEMS
The problem of Peierls' instability in one-dimensional systems is considered
with allowance made for electron-electron and electron-phonon correlations.
The ground-state energy as a function of the lattice deformation parameter is
found for weakly nonideal systems. This function is universal for the models
with a correlation gap in the excitation spectrum. In this case correlation
effects magnify the instability with respect to the transition into the Peierls
state.

PROFESSOR TO STUDENT

Vladimir P. Krainov (MIPT)
   SELF-CONSISTENT APPROXIMATION:
   COMPARISON OF EXACT AND SELF-CONSISTENT SOLUTIONS TO
   A SIMPLE QUANTUM-MECHANICAL PROBLEM
A simple quantum-mechanical problem is solved exactly and its self-consistent
solution is derived. Although the use of self-consistent approximation is not
formally justified, it is shown by direct comparison that the approximation
yields a good solution to the problem in a wide range of parameters.

Vladimir A. Ovchinkin (MIPT)
   THE EXAMINATION ON THERMODYNAMICS AND
   MOLECULAR PHYSICS AT MIPT
MIPT's thermodynamics and molecular physics curriculum is reviewed and
illustrated with examination problems, for some of which commented solutions
are given.


ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Aleksei I. Lobanov (MIPT)
   ON THE STABILITY OF NONLINEAR DIFFERENCE SCHEMES
A theorem which relates stability of a nonlinear difference scheme with
stability of an auxiliary linear problem (Frechet derivative of the exact
solution to the original differential problem) is stated and proved. The
approximation proposed is applied to analyzing the stability of some difference
schemes for a parabolic equation (nonlinear heat-conduction equation) and
hyperbolic one (Hopf and Korteweg-de Vries equations).

FIRST STEP (Debuts)

Mikhail A. Savrov (MIPT) 
   BROWNIAN MOTION AND PROPAGATION OF QUANTUM
   PARTICLE. THE FRACTAL NATURE OF BROWNIAN PATH
A symmetry between functional integrals in quantum mechanics and the theory of
Brownian motion is discussed. The well-known Brownian paths turn out to belong
to an extensively studied class of fractals, which generates interest among
physicists and mathematicians.

HUMANITIES

Aleksei V. Pimenov (MIPT) 
   THE HUMANITIES AT MIPT

E. Zheltova and E. Gorokhovskaia 
   (Institute of History of Science and Technology, 
   Russian academy of Sciences; MIPT) 
   THE MYTH OF FLIGHT AND THE FLYING MACHINE

HISTORY PAGE

Yury Yu. Zhitkovskii 
   (Institute of Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences) 
   THE FIRST YEARS OF THE INSTITUTE
The year of 1947... The Soviet Union is short of highly qualified physicists
capable of developing defense programs. Having passed several hard exams, 
young people from all over the Soviet Union go to Moscow to study at a
physico-technical department of the Moscow State University. At the moment,
they did not know that the department they study at would be a basis for a new
institute---the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. The author
recollects what was it all about.