Few phenomena have stirred the imaginations of solar scientists as much
as the explosive energy of solar flares. In The Physics of Solar Flares,
first published in 1988, Einar Tandberg-Hanssen and A. Gordon Emslie
approach this subject by drawing heavily on experimental data from the
Solar Maximum Mission, as well as other ground-based and space-borne
instruments. The data are incorporated into many theoretical
investigations. The authors put the main emphasis on understanding the
underlying physical processes. Starting from the language of physics,
the authors guide the reader into the more specialised concepts of solar
physics. The book is divided into two main parts: four chapters set the
essentials of physics needed to attack the complexities of flare
phenomena, and then a further four treat different aspects of the
phenomena. This important book is aimed primarily at beginning graduate
students who are assumed to have knowledge of basic physics.