from Hacker News

Ask HN: Best basic to advanced Physics book(s)?

by imheretolearn on 1/31/24, 4:01 AM with 6 comments

• by k310 on 1/31/24, 5:33 AM

  There are a lot of books, and online courses. Given the breadth of topics in undergrad physics, may I suggest materials from MIT Open Courseware?

  https://ocw.mit.edu/

  My theory is that you can get a sequence of courses, or at least the materials for them, that are consistent.

  I know this doesn't really answer your book request, but by perusing the online courseware, you might get an idea of which books are recommended, and maybe even contact the instructors.

  It's a lot to tackle on one's own, (I tried, with some grad level physics. Ouch) so I hope you can find a physics grad to help you over the rough spots.

  Eager to see what others recommend.

• by shipwright on 1/31/24, 2:56 PM

  Can wholeheartedly recommend https://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/I_toc.html

  Also, Physics Teaching for the 21st Century from UBC is a solid starter point regarding the applied aspects https://c21.phas.ubc.ca/article/heat-engines-in-the-real-wor...

• by akasakahakada on 1/31/24, 5:33 PM

  Hi I am Textbook Master. There are 2 books that fit your desire. You can just read from first page to the back without doing any exercise and appreciate the physical world. Which none of (literally) other books can provide the same experience.

  1. Conceptual Physics

  High school level. Talk about physics concepts and their manifestation in daily life/the world around us.

  2. Matter and Interaction

  Non standard college level physics that fuse contemporary advancement on theory into old school classical physics. There is no rough transition from classical to modern physics in this book since authors successfully merged both in the same narration.

• by uncharted9 on 1/31/24, 6:41 PM

  I have had this on my bookmark for a very long time. I didn't pursue physics as an undergrad but had a few of the books for my physics and chemistry courses. I can definitely recommend this guide. Perhaps I will follow this guide and pursue studying physics just as a hobby someday.

  So You Want to Learn Physics… - https://www.susanrigetti.com/physics

• by max_ on 1/31/24, 8:23 PM

  - Leo Suskid's Theoretical Minimum books (2 Volumes)

  - The Feynman Lectures of Physics (3 Volumes)

• by misterioss on 1/31/24, 2:11 PM

  The same, but for video. What are your favorite phisics channels?