Sommerfeld was a well known German theoretical physicist who played a major role in developing old quantum theory. He was renowned as a great teacher of theoretical physics in the early 20th century. Wolfgang Pauli wrote in 1951 that Sommerfeld was "the epitome of the scholar and the teacher". Another physicist, summarizing "the roles of the most important exponents of theoretical physics in its 'golden age'", wrote that "Planck was the authority, Einstein the genius, and Sommerfeld the teacher" in a 1973 biography of Max Planck. Summarizing public reception of Sommerfeld's teaching style, Robert Bruce Lindsay wrote in 1954 that it "is generally admitted that as an effective lecturer Sommerfeld has been rarely if ever surpassed."
The textbooks, originally published in German, were based on series of his lectures, which were made to be self-consistent within each section, at the University of Munich that ran over a three-year cycle. In addition to specialized classes, the set of lectures presented by the book represent Sommerfeld's standard introductory courses in physics that he gave in Munich, with each subject taught over one semester for a total of three years. Sommerfeld continued this cycle of lectures for over thirty years at the university, which were very popular and influential.
In addition to his normal lectures, Sommerfeld also lectured in specialized courses, including courses in atomic physics that form the subject of another of his books: Atomic Structure and Spectral Lines, which was published in 1919. The world-famous textbook is known as the "Bible of atomic physics". His other previous works included another lecture series titled Three lectures on atomic physics, which was published in 1926 by Methuen Publishing. He had also edited the book series Die Theorie des Kreisels, which was based on a set of lectures given by his mentor Felix Klein.
Lindsay, R. B. (February 1954). "Mechanics. Lectures on Theoretical Physics, Volume I". Physics Today. 7 (2): 18–19. Bibcode:1954PhT.....7b..18S. doi:10.1063/1.3061512. ISSN 0031-9228. /wiki/Robert_Bruce_Lindsay
Sommerfeld, A.; Bopp, F. (1951-01-26). "Fifty Years of Quantum Theory". Science. 113 (2926): 85–92. Bibcode:1951Sci...113...85S. doi:10.1126/science.113.2926.85. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17808940. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.113.2926.85
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Eckert 2013, pp. 420, 433"Planck was the authority, Einstein the genius, and Sommerfeld the teacher" - Eckert, Michael (2013). Arnold Sommerfeld : science, life and turbulent times 1868–1951. New York, NY: Springer. ISBN 978-1-4614-7461-6. OCLC 852251854. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/852251854
Born 1952, pp. 275, 286, 287 - Born, Max (1 November 1952). "Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld 1868-1951". Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society. 8 (21): 274–296. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1952.0018. JSTOR 768813. S2CID 161998194. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbm.1952.0018
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Hermann, Armin (2017). Max Planck mit Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten (in German). p. 56. ISBN 978-3-499-50198-2. OCLC 1073826264. 978-3-499-50198-2
Lindsay, R. B. (February 1954). "Mechanics. Lectures on Theoretical Physics, Volume I". Physics Today. 7 (2): 18–19. Bibcode:1954PhT.....7b..18S. doi:10.1063/1.3061512. ISSN 0031-9228. /wiki/Robert_Bruce_Lindsay
Eckert 2013, p. 420 - Eckert, Michael (2013). Arnold Sommerfeld : science, life and turbulent times 1868–1951. New York, NY: Springer. ISBN 978-1-4614-7461-6. OCLC 852251854. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/852251854
Eckert 2013, p. 433 - Eckert, Michael (2013). Arnold Sommerfeld : science, life and turbulent times 1868–1951. New York, NY: Springer. ISBN 978-1-4614-7461-6. OCLC 852251854. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/852251854
Hermann, Armin (2017). Max Planck mit Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten (in German). p. 56. ISBN 978-3-499-50198-2. OCLC 1073826264. 978-3-499-50198-2
Lindsay, R. B. (February 1954). "Mechanics. Lectures on Theoretical Physics, Volume I". Physics Today. 7 (2): 18–19. Bibcode:1954PhT.....7b..18S. doi:10.1063/1.3061512. ISSN 0031-9228. /wiki/Robert_Bruce_Lindsay
Peierls, R. E. (November 1951). "Lectures on Theoretical Physics". Nature. 168 (4282): 887. Bibcode:1951Natur.168Q.887P. doi:10.1038/168887a0. ISSN 1476-4687. S2CID 4154078. /wiki/Rudolf_Peierls
Born 1952, pp. 286 - Born, Max (1 November 1952). "Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld 1868-1951". Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society. 8 (21): 274–296. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1952.0018. JSTOR 768813. S2CID 161998194. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbm.1952.0018
Lindsay, R. B. (February 1954). "Mechanics. Lectures on Theoretical Physics, Volume I". Physics Today. 7 (2): 18–19. Bibcode:1954PhT.....7b..18S. doi:10.1063/1.3061512. ISSN 0031-9228. /wiki/Robert_Bruce_Lindsay
Born 1952, pp. 286 - Born, Max (1 November 1952). "Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld 1868-1951". Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society. 8 (21): 274–296. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1952.0018. JSTOR 768813. S2CID 161998194. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbm.1952.0018
Eckert 2013, p. xi - Eckert, Michael (2013). Arnold Sommerfeld : science, life and turbulent times 1868–1951. New York, NY: Springer. ISBN 978-1-4614-7461-6. OCLC 852251854. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/852251854
L.e.p. (1 June 1928). "Three lectures on atomic physics: By Arnold Sommerfeld, F.R.S., Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Munich, translated by Dr. Henry L. Brose. 70 pages, 18 × 12 cm., cloth. New York, E. P. Dutton and Company. Price, $1". Journal of the Franklin Institute. 205 (6): 898–899. doi:10.1016/S0016-0032(28)91283-1. ISSN 0016-0032. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016003228912831
Born 1952, pp. 278 - Born, Max (1 November 1952). "Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld 1868-1951". Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society. 8 (21): 274–296. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1952.0018. JSTOR 768813. S2CID 161998194. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbm.1952.0018
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Lindsay, R. B. (February 1954). "Mechanics. Lectures on Theoretical Physics, Volume I". Physics Today. 7 (2): 18–19. Bibcode:1954PhT.....7b..18S. doi:10.1063/1.3061512. ISSN 0031-9228. /wiki/Robert_Bruce_Lindsay
Lindsay, R. B. (February 1954). "Mechanics. Lectures on Theoretical Physics, Volume I". Physics Today. 7 (2): 18–19. Bibcode:1954PhT.....7b..18S. doi:10.1063/1.3061512. ISSN 0031-9228. /wiki/Robert_Bruce_Lindsay
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Peierls, R. E. (May 1954). "[Short Reviews]". Nature. 173 (4411): 932. Bibcode:1954Natur.173..932P. doi:10.1038/173932d0. ISSN 1476-4687. S2CID 39003607. /wiki/Rudolf_Peierls
Houston, W. V. (May 1953). "Mechanics, Lectures on Theoretical Physics". American Journal of Physics. 21 (5): 399. Bibcode:1953AmJPh..21..399S. doi:10.1119/1.1933476. ISSN 0002-9505. /wiki/William_V._Houston
Byers, A. C. (April 1953). "Mechanics. Lectures on theoretical physics, Volume I". Journal of the Franklin Institute. 255 (4): 354–355. doi:10.1016/0016-0032(53)90411-6. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0016003253904116
Leggett, D. M. A. (1953). "Review of Mechanics. Lectures on Theoretical Physics, Vol. 1". Science Progress (1933- ). 41 (163): 515–516. ISSN 0036-8504. JSTOR 43415023. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43415023
Prager, W. (1953). "Review of Mechanics". Quarterly of Applied Mathematics. 11 (3): 373. ISSN 0033-569X. JSTOR 43634072. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43634072
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Lindsay, R. B. (February 1954). "Mechanics. Lectures on Theoretical Physics, Volume I". Physics Today. 7 (2): 18–19. Bibcode:1954PhT.....7b..18S. doi:10.1063/1.3061512. ISSN 0031-9228. /wiki/Robert_Bruce_Lindsay
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Twersky, Vic (22 January 2009). "Electrodynamics. Lectures on Theoretical Physics: Vol. III". Physics Today. 6 (12): 21–22. doi:10.1063/1.3061081. ISSN 0031-9228. https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1063/1.3061081
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Sommerfeld, Arnold; Laporte, Otto; Moldauer, Peter A. (March 1955). "Optics: Vol. 5 of Lectures on Theoretical Physics". Physics Today. 8 (3): 16. doi:10.1063/1.3061948. ISSN 0031-9228. http://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.3061948
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Silver, R S (August 1956). "Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics by Arnold Sommerfeld". Physics Bulletin. 7 (8): 222–223. doi:10.1088/0031-9112/7/8/005. ISSN 0031-9112. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0031-9112/7/8/005
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Carrier, G. F. (1952). "Review of Partial differential equations in physics". Quarterly of Applied Mathematics. 10 (2): 193. ISSN 0033-569X. JSTOR 43633950. /wiki/George_F._Carrier
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