Physics: A Student Companion offers readers a thorough overview of basic physics with rapid access to fundamental concepts and their derivations. Covering the core fields of mechanics and relativity, electromagnetism, waves and optics, quantum mechanics, and thermal physics, this book is an essential learning tool for students, as well as a handy reference for graduates and researchers in the physical sciences. The perfect companion to the mainstream physics textbooks, providing fast access to the essential material Highlights and consolidates the key equations, derivations, theories and concepts that are the fundamentals of your physics course Provides a structured outline of the core ideas, to be used alongside lecture notes and classes Offers an ideal reference for graduates and researchers in the physical sciencesInformal style – written by a recent student specifically for students Notes are used to highlight the major equations, show where they come from and how they can be used and applied The aim is to consolidate understanding, not teach the basics from scratch If you are looking for a better option than digging through college textbooks for that forgotten something, reviewing material for an examination, or preparing for graduate entry, then Physics: A Student Companion is the right book for you. From reviews:"Every undergraduate physicist ought to own a copy of this remarkable, unique and innovative textbook... I truly believe this textbook should be taken advantage of by all undergraduates, and I wish it had been published earlier in my undergraduate degree."Student Review, Times Higher Education, May 2012
I Newtonian Mechanics and Special Relativity1 Linear motion2 Practical applications of linear motion3 Angular motion4 Gravity and orbits5 Two-body dynamics6 Introduction to special relativityII Electromagnetism7 Electrostatics8 Magnetostatics9 Introduction to circuit theory10 Electromagnetic induction11 Electromagnetic fields in matter12 Electromagnetic wavesIII Waves and Optics13 Wave motion14 Geometrical optics15 Wave opticsIV Quantum Mechanics16 Background to quantum mechanics17 The Schrödinger equation18 Quantum states, operators, and measurements19 Spherical systems20 Introduction to the hydrogen atomV Thermal Physics21 Kinetic theory of ideal gases22 Classical thermodynamics23 Real gases and phase transitions24 Statistical mechanicsAppendices
"As companions go, this is an excellent one and it should become a best friend to all physics undergraduates, particularly in those important, lonely weeks of study in the run-up to examinations. I encourage all lecturers to recommend this book to their students."