In this highly individual, and truly novel, approach to theoretical reasoning in physics, the author has provided a course that illuminates the subject from the standpoint of real physics as practised by research scientists. Professor Longair gives the basic insights, attitudes, and techniques that are the tools of the professional physicist, in a manner that conveys the intellectual excitement and beauty of the subject. The book is intended to be a supplement to more traditional courses for physics undergraduates, and the author assumes that his readers already have some knowledge of the main branches of physics. As the story unfolds, much of the core material of an undergraduate course in physics is reviewed from a more mature point of view. This is not, in fact, a substitute for existing texts. Rather it goes beyond them by improving the student's appreciation of the subject.

A highly original, and truly novel, approach to theoretical reasoning in physics. This book illuminates the subject from the perspective of real physics as practised by research scientists. It is intended to be a supplement to the final years of an undergraduate course in physics and assumes that the reader has some grasp of university physics. By means of a series of seven case studies, the author conveys the excitement of research and discovery, highlighting the intellectual struggles to attain understanding of some of the most difficult concepts in physics. Case studies include the origins of Newton's law of gravitation, Maxwell's equations, mechanics and dynamics, linear and non-linear, thermodynamics and statistical physics, the origins of the concepts of quanta, special relativity, general relativity and cosmology. The approach is the same as that in the highly acclaimed first edition, but the text has been completely revised and many new topics introduced.

A master teacher presents the ultimate introduction to classical mechanics for people who are serious about learning physics "Beautifully clear explanations of famously 'difficult' things," -- Wall Street Journal If you ever regretted not taking physics in college -- or simply want to know how to think like a physicist -- this is the book for you. In this bestselling introduction to classical mechanics, physicist Leonard Susskind and hacker-scientist George Hrabovsky offer a first course in physics and associated math for the ardent amateur. Challenging, lucid, and concise, The Theoretical Minimum provides a tool kit for amateur scientists to learn physics at their own pace.

A highly original, and truly novel, approach to theoretical reasoning in physics. This book illuminates the subject from the perspective of real physics as practised by research scientists. It is intended to be a supplement to the final years of an undergraduate course in physics and assumes that the reader has some grasp of university physics. By means of a series of seven case studies, the author conveys the excitement of research and discovery, highlighting the intellectual struggles to attain understanding of some of the most difficult concepts in physics. Case studies include the origins of Newton's law of gravitation, Maxwell's equations, mechanics and dynamics, linear and non-linear, thermodynamics and statistical physics, the origins of the concepts of quanta, special relativity, general relativity and cosmology. The approach is the same as that in the highly acclaimed first edition, but the text has been completely revised and many new topics introduced.

"Basic Concepts in Physics: From the Cosmos to Quarks" is the outcome of the authors' long and varied teaching experience in different countries and for different audiences, and gives an accessible and eminently readable introduction to all the main ideas of modern physics. The book’s fresh approach, using a novel combination of historical and conceptual viewpoints, makes it ideal complementary reading to more standard textbooks. The first five chapters are devoted to classical physics, from planetary motion to special relativity, always keeping in mind its relevance to questions of contemporary interest. The next six chapters deal mainly with newer developments in physics, from quantum theory and general relativity to grand unified theories, and the book concludes by discussing the role of physics in living systems. A basic grounding in mathematics is required of the reader, but technicalities are avoided as far as possible; thus complex calculations are omitted so long as the essential ideas remain clear. The book is addressed to undergraduate and graduate students in physics and will also be appreciated by many professional physicists. It will likewise be of interest to students, researchers and teachers of other natural sciences, as well as to engineers, high-school teachers and the curious general reader, who will come to understand what physics is about and how it describes the different phenomena of Nature. Not only will readers of this book learn much about physics, they will also learn to love it.

This two-part text fills what has often been a void in the first-year graduate physics curriculum. Through its examination of particles and continua, it supplies a lucid and self-contained account of classical mechanics — which in turn provides a natural framework for introducing many of the advanced mathematical concepts in physics. The text opens with Newton's laws of motion and systematically develops the dynamics of classical particles, with chapters on basic principles, rotating coordinate systems, lagrangian formalism, small oscillations, dynamics of rigid bodies, and hamiltonian formalism, including a brief discussion of the transition to quantum mechanics. This part of the book also considers examples of the limiting behavior of many particles, facilitating the eventual transition to a continuous medium. The second part deals with classical continua, including chapters on string membranes, sound waves, surface waves on nonviscous fluids, heat conduction, viscous fluids, and elastic media. Each of these self-contained chapters provides the relevant physical background and develops the appropriate mathematical techniques, and problems of varying difficulty appear throughout the text.

The purpose of this book is to thoroughly prepare the reader for research in string theory at an intermediate level. As such it is not a compendium of results but intended as textbook in the sense that most of the material is organized in a pedagogical and self-contained fashion. Beyond the basics, a number of more advanced topics are introduced, such as conformal field theory, superstrings and string dualities - the text does not cover applications to black hole physics and cosmology, nor strings theory at finite temperatures. End-of-chapter references have been added to guide the reader wishing to pursue further studies or to start research in well-defined topics covered by this book.

This book provides a concise survey of modern theoretical concepts of X-ray materials analysis. The principle features of the book are: basics of X-ray scattering, interaction between X-rays and matter and new theoretical concepts of X-ray scattering. The various X-ray techniques are considered in detail: high-resolution X-ray diffraction, X-ray reflectivity, grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering and X-ray residual stress analysis. All the theoretical methods presented use the unified physical approach. This makes the book especially useful for readers learning and performing data analysis with different techniques. The theory is applicable to studies of bulk materials of all kinds, including single crystals and polycrystals as well as to surface studies under grazing incidence. The book appeals to researchers and graduate students alike.

This concise treatment embraces, in four parts, all the main aspects of theoretical physics. Recent topics such as holography and quantum cryptography are included. The book summarizes what a graduate student, physicist working in industry, or a physics teacher should master during his or her degree course. It will also be useful for deepening one’s insight and it adds new dimensions to understanding of these elemental concepts.

Innovative account of the origins of quantum mechanics told from a historical perspective, for advanced undergraduates, graduate students and researchers.