1

I am a student who's about to take the GCE 'A' Levels, and I am very interested in taking Physics as a career. I'd like to read some books on advanced Physics concepts that are specifically beyond my country's GCE 'A' Level syllabus, detailed here, specifically from pages 7 to 25. Physics obviously requires mathematics as well, and I am also taking the GCE 'A' Level exam for maths (syllabus here, from pages 4 to 13).

In summary, the Physics syllabus covers Newtonian dynamics (in two planes, and sometimes in only one); the Zeroth and First Laws of Thermodynamics, electrostatics, current electricity, electromagnetism (and EM induction) and an introduction to quantum, semiconductor and nuclear physics. The physics syllabus does not require calculus, although the maths syllabus includes it.

I have a copy of Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 9th Edition but the 'A' Level syllabus already covers about 70-75% of the book's content (albeit without calculus). Hence my asking here for recommendations on books that I could read, with mathematical rigour that introduces me to more advanced physics. Nothing too specific - a book that covers all fields would be great.

Qmechanic
  • 201,751
SRSR333
  • 222
  • Don't forget there are plenty of resources online! Many interesting papers and reports are freely available on the internet, along with lecture notes from various universities. Example of some high powered stuff from MIT: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/nuclear-engineering/22-02-introduction-to-applied-nuclear-physics-spring-2012/lecture-notes/MIT22_02S12_lec_ch1.pdf – Matt Aug 27 '15 at 08:39

1 Answers1

3

I would recommend for the concepts & intuitions for

Newtonian Mechanics:

$\bullet$ Newtonian Mechanics: Introductory M.I.T. Physics series by A.P.French: Newtonian Mechanics by A.P. French, retd. MIT physics professor, is really as worthy as gold to have. It is designed to be a more or less self-contained introduction to Newtonian mechanics. Students with little or no grounding in the subject can be brought gradually to a level of considerable proficiency.

$\bullet$ Lectures on Physics Vol.I by Richard Feynman, Matthew Sands: These lectures are indeed the greatest inventions by Feynman for those who really wants to cherish mechanics. Though it covers many more topics than mechanics, the way he introduces concepts like energy(giving example of Dennis the menace!), conservation of momentum, work are really intuitive.

Electromagnetism:

$\bullet$ Electricity & Magnetism By Edward M Purcell: This is one of the great Berkeley Physics course series developed more or less at the same time during the publications of Feynman's lectures; he provides each & every concept rigorously with minute to minute details; the most remarkable thing is that he introduces magnetism using relativity which is quite uncommon in conventional books; also the book can be cherished for its numerical problems & in fact Purcell has written himself a key-book which explains all the problems. The con of the book is it uses Gaussian units which is quite unpopular at least in my country as they are difficult to be dealt with.

$\bullet$ Lectures on Physics Vol.II by Richard Feynman, Matthew Sands: The second series of the lectures is completely devoted to electromagnetism. No cons actually!

$\bullet$ Introduction to Electrodynamics by Griffiths: This is the common household name for studying electromagnetism; it has problems; it explains every concept quite readily; however I would prefer the above ones before reading it.

Thermodynamics:

$\bullet$ Thermodynamics by Enrico Fermi: A small & thin book actually storing the lectures of Fermi; he rigorously deduces every law intuitively & also the language is quite lucid; however I would probably like to read a physical chem book by Atkins which would provide a great base for thermodynamics before reading it.

$\bullet$ Introduction to Thermal Physics by Schroeder: This is rather a comical journey, you can say; he introduces every concepts by some easy-to-comprehend analogies that can be easily conceived; also his very own illustrations really make the study a great fun & intuitive.

Introductory Quantum Mechanics:

$\bullet$ Lectures on Physics Vol.III by Richard Feynman, Matthew Sands: Third instalment of the lectures by Feynman & the best among three; he presents each & every concept unorthodoxically & explains even the intricate concepts quite easily & is, thus, really a must for any beginner. But please be sure to have a side-by-side other book as he coins his very own terminologies that you can't find reference anywhere(eg: base states $\to$ orthogonal basis).

$\bullet$ Introduction to Modern Physics by Arthur Beiser.

$\bullet$ Introduction to Quantum Mechanics by Griffiths.

$\bullet$ Introduction to Quantum Physics: Introductory M.I.T. Physics series by A.P.French: This provides chronologically the history, development & evolution of QM in a complete way. The author explains each & every mathematical deductions before applying it to any problem; the pics, however, are really vague.

(Nothing too specific) A book that covers whole field:

$\bullet$ Fundamentals of Physics by Resnick, Halliday, Walker: All rounder classic!! You can read it as it contains from A to Z every chapters with lucid explanations & awesome colored illustrations; however, to pursue really with physics you need to study the specialized books that I have mentioned above rather than a general book.

  • Thank you for the detailed reply - The Lectures on Physics series is proving to be really useful as I read the online edition. I hope to purchase the print version soon; I am reading reviews for other books too as I go along. – SRSR333 Aug 27 '15 at 11:44