Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2014
„Principles of Physics“ goes through almost all of classical physics starting from mechanics and thermodynamics, continuing with waves and optics and ending with electricity and magnetism - all of which also show the mathematics necessary for understanding it.
The book follows the basic organization of an introductory physics course and covers all of the topics with sufficient depth and accompanies explanations of the concepts with helpful colourful figures.
In a book about the basic principles of physics one of the most important goals is as Albert Einstein has said: “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.” For a book that is meant for undergraduate students, this book has done it.
The concepts in the book also have worked example problems and also some that the student has to solve on his or her own. One of the certainly good aspects is that the exercises are not only numerical problems, rather some require the reader to explain a concept such as a neutral atom etc.
Although the sheer length of the book might make it seem threatening, if you only need to brush up on a few concepts, you can find them easily.
The mathematics needed for understanding the concepts include integral and differential calculus.
The book contains all the essentials, showing different applications for varied laws of physics and introducing the working principles of some of the instruments that students might work with in a physics lab.
I would consider “Principles of Physics” good as a textbook to read before a lecture on a specific topic, as the student can familiarize himself with the definitions and mathematics used.
Labels: book review, Principles of Physics