Book list for a person with lots of interest in Physics?

[nervousring]

I'm sorry if you get this question often. I wish there was a definitive list at the top of Google searches but there wasn't.

I want to learn physics from textbooks. I know basics of Trigonometry. I went through a third of Kline's calculus and found it doable and enjoyable. I also tried Spivak. While the lessons seem to make sense, the "proof this and this" leaves me a little stumped as to where I should start from.

susanrigetti.com has a famous blog post "So you want to learn physics?" and I've often seen people disagreeing with particular books but not presenting their own comprehensive lists. So to keep this thread short in case it is not good for this forum, I'll want to know if it is a "good enough" list. If not, please let me know the books I should go through, starting from a good calculus book I think, to understanding graduate level physics.

Thanks

 

[PhDeezNutz]

Well I can only tell you the books I used in undergrad.

calculus 1-3 - Stewart
Linear Algebra - Larson
Diff Eq - Boyce, DePrima
Mathematical Methods - Boas
E&M - Griffiths
Quantum 1 and 2 - Griffiths
Classical Mechanics - Marion and Thornton
Thermodynamics - Schroeder
Optics - Hecht

 

[andresB]

I suppose Susan's list is ok.

I think Young and freedman is an ok book for introductory mechanics and a first course on electromagnetism. But you probably want to supplement it with thinks like the Feynman lectures or Alonso & Finn. It is an ok first reading for modern physics, but you should strive for something a little higher level like Alonso & Finn.

Though, my biggest disagreement is in quantum mechanics. I found Griffiths to be not enough if you are going to be a physicists. It is a good first reading, it has good exercises but it is just not enough on its own for undergrad QM. Go shankar or Cohen-Tannoudji.

 

[madscientist_93]

Ms.Susan's list of books consist mostly of mainstream texts which are alright for an average student. However, if you want to seriously learn physics from the scratch, you cannot forget older treatises which have better pedagogy and a lot of thought provoking problems in my opinion.

For introductory mathematics I recommend Analytic Geometry,Differential Calculus, Integral Calculus, Vector Analysis and Differential equations by HB Phillips

A small list of Mechanics books to accompany your contemporary texts.

Introductory :
Mechanics,Molecular Physics, Heat and Sound by Millikan,Roller,Watson (One of the best introductory texts in all of physics in my opinion.)

Introduction to Mechanics and Heat by Nathaniel Frank
Intermediate - Advanced:
Mechanics by Wallace Arthur and Saul K Fenster

Introduction to Theoretical Mechanics by Robert Becker (Beware this book is not for the faint of the heart. This has some really good problems.)

A treatise on dynamics of a particle by EJ Routh ( This book has some great problems/ examples , also do check out his works on dynamics of rigid bodies)

Dynamics by Horace Lamb

Higher Mechanics by Horace Lamb

Principles of Mechanics by Synge and Griffith

Theoretical mechanics: an introduction to mathematical physics by Ames and Murnaghan

Theoretical Mechanics by Bradbury

Mechanics by Slater and Frank

An elementary treatise on Theoretical Mechanics by Jeans

The dynamics of particles and of rigid,elastic and fluid bodies by Arthur Gordon Webster

Statics and Dynamics of a particle by MacMillan

Dynamics of Rigid bodies by MacMillan

Newton - Euler Dynamics by Mark Aderma

Mechanics by Landau, Lifshitz

Mechanics by Sommerfeld

Theoretical Mechanics of Particles and Continua by Fetter and Walecka

Advanced Dynamics by Timoshenko and Young

Classical Dynamics and Advanced Dynamics by Donald Greenwood

Introduction to Dynamics by Percival and Richards

A treatise on the analytical dynamics of particles and rigid bodies by ET Whittaker( How could I forget this !)

So many books, so little time...

As a proponent of open science, I hope its alright to post this here. Guide to finding articles/books

 

[madscientist_93]

I suppose Susan's list is ok.

I think Young and freedman is an ok book for introductory mechanics and a first course on electromagnetism. But you probably want to supplement it with thinks like the Feynman lectures or Alonso & Finn. It is an ok first reading for modern physics, but you should strive for something a little higher level like Alonso & Finn.

Though, my biggest disagreement is in quantum mechanics. I found Griffiths to be not enough if you are going to be a physicists. It is a good first reading, it has good exercises but it is just not enough on its own for undergrad QM. Go shankar or Cohen-Tannoudji.

For an introductory book on QM do check out Fundamentals of Quantum Mechanics ; Particles, Waves, and Wave Mechanics by Sidney Borowitz

 

[nervousring]

Well I can only tell you the books I used in undergrad.

calculus 1-3 - Stewart
Linear Algebra - Larson
Diff Eq - Boyce, DePrima
Mathematical Methods - Boas
E&M - Griffiths
Quantum 1 and 2 - Griffiths
Classical Mechanics - Marion and Thornton
Thermodynamics - Schroeder
Optics - Hecht

Thanks! Did you do all the maths books before physics? Or simultaneously?

I suppose Susan's list is ok.

I think Young and freedman is an ok book for introductory mechanics and a first course on electromagnetism. But you probably want to supplement it with thinks like the Feynman lectures or Alonso & Finn. It is an ok first reading for modern physics, but you should strive for something a little higher level like Alonso & Finn.

Though, my biggest disagreement is in quantum mechanics. I found Griffiths to be not enough if you are going to be a physicists. It is a good first reading, it has good exercises but it is just not enough on its own for undergrad QM. Go shankar or Cohen-Tannoudji.

Oh alright. I think she had multiple QM books listen for Graduate studies.

Ms.Susan's list of books consist mostly of mainstream texts which are alright for an average student. However, if you want to seriously learn physics from the scratch, you cannot forget older treatises which have better pedagogy and a lot of thought provoking problems in my opinion.

For introductory mathematics I recommend Analytic Geometry,Differential Calculus, Integral Calculus, Vector Analysis and Differential equations by HB Phillips

A small list of Mechanics books to accompany your contemporary texts.

Introductory :
Mechanics,Molecular Physics, Heat and Sound by Millikan,Roller,Watson (One of the best introductory texts in all of physics in my opinion.)

Introduction to Mechanics and Heat by Nathaniel Frank
Intermediate - Advanced:
Mechanics by Wallace Arthur and Saul K Fenster

Introduction to Theoretical Mechanics by Robert Becker (Beware this book is not for the faint of the heart. This has some really good problems.)

A treatise on dynamics of a particle by EJ Routh ( This book has some great problems/ examples , also do check out his works on dynamics of rigid bodies)

Dynamics by Horace Lamb

Higher Mechanics by Horace Lamb

Principles of Mechanics by Synge and Griffith

Theoretical mechanics: an introduction to mathematical physics by Ames and Murnaghan

Theoretical Mechanics by Bradbury

Mechanics by Slater and Frank

An elementary treatise on Theoretical Mechanics by Jeans

The dynamics of particles and of rigid,elastic and fluid bodies by Arthur Gordon Webster

Statics and Dynamics of a particle by MacMillan

Dynamics of Rigid bodies by MacMillan

Newton - Euler Dynamics by Mark Aderma

Mechanics by Landau, Lifshitz

Mechanics by Sommerfeld

Theoretical Mechanics of Particles and Continua by Fetter and Walecka

Advanced Dynamics by Timoshenko and Young

Classical Dynamics and Advanced Dynamics by Donald Greenwood

Introduction to Dynamics by Percival and Richards

So many books, so little time...

As a proponent of open science, I hope its alright to post this here. Guide to finding articles/books

So are these more like supplementary texts to her list or you think I should study these ones first and then study from her list if I like?

For an introductory book on QM do check out Fundamentals of Quantum Mechanics ; Particles, Waves, and Wave Mechanics by Sidney Borowitz

Thanks!

 

[Frabjous]

I'm sorry if you get this question often. I wish there was a definitive list at the top of Google searches but there wasn't.

I want to learn physics from textbooks. I know basics of Trigonometry. I went through a third of Kline's calculus and found it doable and enjoyable. I also tried Spivak. While the lessons seem to make sense, the "proof this and this" leaves me a little stumped as to where I should start from.

susanrigetti.com has a famous blog post "So you want to learn physics?" and I've often seen people disagreeing with particular books but not presenting their own comprehensive lists. So to keep this thread short in case it is not good for this forum, I'll want to know if it is a "good enough" list. If not, please let me know the books I should go through, starting from a good calculus book I think, to understanding graduate level physics.

Thanks

It’s good enough for the undergraduate stuff. Everybody is going to quibble with it, but at the end of the day the question is ”does the book work for YOU?” If one of the books doesn’t work for you, ask and you will get suggestions for many alternatives. There is no perfect list of books.

 

[PhDeezNutz]

@nervousring yes, typically you complete a number of math courses before you’re allowed to take upper level undergrad courses (3000-4000 level).

However 2000 level physics is often taken concurrently with said math courses.

 

[nervousring]

@caz @PhDeezNutz thanks! I was having huge analysis paralysis. I think I'm going to continue with Kline and intro to mechanics in Young's book :D

 

[madscientist_93]

Thanks! Did you do all the maths books before physics? Or simultaneously?

Oh alright. I think she had multiple QM books listen for Graduate studies.

So are these more like supplementary texts to her list or you think I should study these ones first and then study from her list if I like?

Thanks!

I recommend using the books in my list as a reference. No author can explain all theories satisfactorily. For example: Take Kleppner and Kolenkow's Introduction to Mechanics. Its Rigid body mechanics, oscillations chapters leave a lot to be desired. From my search, I found Routh and Whitaker's Textbooks with great chapters on rigid bodies. I found a great chapter on oscillations in Wallace, Fenster book. And these books are relatively old and no one mentions them anymore except for some authors who strictly add references in their book.

People tend to over look older treatises on physics, when recommending books to new learners which I don't agree with. If you really wish to master mechanics, read the same topic from multiple textbooks, papers and understand their various perspectives,insights and finally form your own conclusion for the topic. If you sincerely wish to understand physics, i think this is the way albeit being a long and tiring way. However if clearing exams is your objective, stick to one or two books.

 

[nervousring]

I recommend using the books in my list as a reference. No author can explain all theories satisfactorily. For example: Take Kleppner and Kolenkow's Introduction to Mechanics. Its Rigid body mechanics, oscillations chapters leave a lot to be desired. From my search, I found Routh and Whitaker's Textbooks with great chapters on rigid bodies. I found a great chapter on oscillations in Wallace, Fenster book. And these books are relatively old and no one mentions them anymore except for some authors who strictly add references in their book.

People tend to over look older treatises on physics, when recommending books to new learner which I don't agree with. If you really wish to master mechanics, read the same topic from multiple textbooks, papers and understand their various perspectives,insights and finally form your own conclusion for the topic. If you sincerely wish to understand physics, i think this is the way albeit being a long and tiring way. However if clearing exams is your objective, stick to one or two books.

I'm interested in understanding. I'm not sure "mastery" is what I want in mechanics but I would like to understand at least the fundamentals of everything in a typical UG as well as a PG course :)

 

[PhDeezNutz]

@nervousring I think all of us have analysis paralysis when we start physics. It’s intimidating for sure.

best of luck!

one piece of advice:

lower 2000 level physics will be intuitive. When you get to 3000 - 4000 level you need to learn how to let go of comfortable pictures and slowly learn ideas that make no sense at first. It may even take years for those ideas to solidify but you got to keep on trucking.

/soapbox

 

[PhDeezNutz]

Introduction to Theoretical Mechanics by Robert Becker (Beware this book is not for the faint of the heart. This has some really good

“Theoretical Mechanics” sounds like grad material. I really wished we had more exposure to canonical transformations, action-angle variables etc in undergrad. Then again maybe I’m being overzealous.

How does this text compare to Goldstein in your opinion?

 

[madscientist_93]

“Theoretical Mechanics” sounds like grad material. I really wished we had more exposure to canonical transformations, action-angle variables etc in undergrad. Then again maybe I’m being overzealous.

How does this text compare to Goldstein in your opinion?

Becker's Introduction to Theoretical mechanics is of advanced ( Edit: I should have written intermediate ) undergrad level unlike Goldstein. Alternatives / books on the same level of Goldstein would be

E.T Whittaker's : A treatise on the analytical dynamics of particles and rigid bodies

The dynamics of particles and of rigid, elastic and fluid bodies by AG Webster

Dynamics of a system of Rigid bodies volume 1 and Volume 2 by EJ Routh

Introduction to Dynamics by Perceival and Richards

Mechanics by Florian Scheck

Theoretical Mechanics of Particles and continua by Fetter, Walecka

and ofcourse the infamous

Mechanics by Landau, Lifshitz

 

[andresB]

Becker's Introduction to Theoretical mechanics is of advanced undergrad level unlike Goldstein. Alternatives / books on the same level of Goldstein would be

Unlike goldstein? We used with goldstein in the second course of "intermediate" mechanics, advanced undergrad is good place for it, IMHO.

Alonso & Finn for introductory mechanics
Marion for intermediate on-analytical mechanics
Goldstein for analytical mechanics.

I should have done more exercises of young & freedman in introductory mechanics, though.

 

[MidgetDwarf]

Unlike goldstein? We used with goldstein in the second course of "intermediate" mechanics, advanced undergrad is good place for it, IMHO.

Alonso & Finn for introductory mechanics
Marion for intermediate on-analytical mechanics
Goldstein for analytical mechanics.

I should have done more exercises of young & freedman in introductory mechanics, though.

I really like Alonso and Finn. Too bad it is out of print and the available English copies are expensive.

 

[andresB]

I really like Alonso and Finn. Too bad it is out of print and the available English copies are expensive.

It was popular in my university for some reason, and that was good because in my undergrad days in a low tier 3rd world university when most of us didn't have access to internet and pirate copies of books, we studied with whatever we had at hand.

I only had Griffiths and Messiah for QM, and the gap in between those was painful.