McCormmach studied the history of German physics in the 19th and 20th centuries. His novel Night Thoughts of a Classical Physicist consists of the fictional reminiscences of an elderly German physics professor named Viktor Jacob who reflects on the revolutionary developments (relativity theory, quantum theory, and atomic physics) at the beginning of 20th century physics. The fictional character Viktor Jacob is partly based on Paul Drude (who died by suicide in 1906). In the novel, Viktor Jacob recalls Paul Drude as a friend.
With his wife Christa Jungnickel, Russell McCormmach co-authored a biography of Henry Cavendish and a history of German theoretical physics in the 19th and early 20th century. His biography of the 18th century English naturalist John Michell was published in 2012.
In 1969 he founded the journal Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences (now named Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences), for which he was the editor-in-chief for its first ten years.
^Lankford, John (1988). "Review of Intellectual Mastery of Nature: Theoretical Physics from Ohm to Einstein: Vol. 1, The Torch of Mathematics, 1800-1870 by Christa Jungnickel; Russell MacCormmach". The Journal of Higher Education. 59 (2): 231–233. doi:10.2307/1981694. JSTOR1981694.
^Forman, Paul (March 1991). "Reviewed work: Intellectual Mastery of Nature; Theoretical Physics from Ohm to Einstein. Vol. 1, The Torch of Mathematics, 1800-1870; Vol. 2, The Now Mighty Theoretical Physics, 1870-1925 by Christa Jungnickel & Russell McCormmach". Philosophy of Science. 58 (1): 129–132. doi:10.1086/289603. JSTOR187893.
^Home, R. W. (December 2016). "Review of『Russell McCormmach. The Personality of Henry Cavendish—A Great Scientist with Extraordinary Peculiarities』by Russell McCormmach". Isis. 107 (4): 845–846. doi:10.1086/689782.