From the ediorial board

M.S. Aksenteva “The Editorial Board congratulates Vitalii Lazarevich Ginzburg on winning the MV Lomonosov Great Gold Medal” Phys. Usp. 39 971–972 (1996)

Special issue

V.L. Ginzburg “Radiation by uniformly moving sources (Vavilov-Cherenkov effect, transition radiation, and other phenomena)” Phys. Usp. 39 973–982 (1996)

Reviews of topical problems

A.I. Vesnitskii, A.V. Metrikin “Transition radiation in mechanics” Phys. Usp. 39 983–1007 (1996)

A.G. Fokin “Macroscopic conductivity of random inhomogeneous media. Calculation methods” Phys. Usp. 39 1009–1032 (1996)

From the history of physics

G.A. Goncharov “American and Soviet H-bomb development programmes: historical background” Phys. Usp. 39 1033–1044 (1996)

Methodological notes

G.A. Martynov “Nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, transport equations, and the second law of thermodynamics” Phys. Usp. 39 1045–1070 (1996)

A.Yu. Andreev, D.A. Kirzhnits “Tachyons and the instability of physical systems” Phys. Usp. 39 1071–1076 (1996)

Personalia

A.F. Andreev, B.M. Bolotovskii, A.V. Gurevich, V.V. Zheleznyakov, N.S. Kardashev, L.V. Keldysh, D.A. Kirzhnits, O.N. Krokhin, V.I. Ritus, V.Ya. Fainberg, E.L. Feinberg, E.S. Fradkin “Vitalii Lazarevich Ginzburg (on his eightieth birthday)” Phys. Usp. 39 1077–1079 (1996)

A.F. Andreev, B.M. Bolotovskii, V.L. Ginzburg, G.F. Zharkov, N.S. Kardashev, L.V. Keldysh, A.D. Linde, V.I. Ritus, V.Ya. Fainberg, E.L. Feinberg, E.S. Fradkin “David Abramovich Kirzhnits (on his seventieth birthday)” Phys. Usp. 39 1081–1082 (1996)

Physics news on the internet

Yu.N. Eroshenko “Physics news on the Internet (based on electronic preprints)” Phys. Usp. 39 1083–1083 (1996)