Physics in General " Light and Matter" Books

[Queztacotl]

To the guy who wrote about the Light and Matter Books, I was wondering what sort of detail they go about it. Eg, Is it suitable for students in school, suitable for Undergraduates etc.

 

If anyone has downloaded the Free 1000 Pg Physics Motion Mountain Book, can anyone make sense of the first 45 Pages, because it makes no sense to me and find it very complicated.

 

Does anyone else know any helpful websites associated with Physics, I don't want childish or meaningless sites, one with proper information and suitable levels for a student who wants t know more about the advanced topics but it should be said simplistically.

[UncleAl]

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html

 

If you wish to do any physics at all you will need differential and integral calculus. That covers a general one year university course. If you are at a serious school you had better have differential equations, too, and tensor maths very quickly for anything gravitational or engineering. Vector analysis, linear algebra...

 

If all you can muster is algebra and trigonometery you will be limited to believing what they tell you and memorizing formulas. Traditionally you needed a 110 IQ for college admission (1100 SAT). Surviving serious undergrad physics requires about a 120 IQ (adequate for a PhD in most hard sciences). If you become a physics professional, you had better have at least a 130 IQ or be a child prodigy. An American Chemical Society annual meeting is a bunch of guys with serious hangovers. An American Physical Society annual meeting is a bunch of autists, twitching.

 

As with UNIX, physics is not unfriendly. However, it is particular about with whom it is friendly.

[Queztacotl]

My IQ reaches 125, by the way I'm 15 years old.

[adjective]

I read a bit of the Light and Matter books, but I found them overall to be lacking for what I was looking for. Most of the stuff covered I went over in high school physics--and I think that's about the level they should be. High school physics or physics for poets at the undergrad level. They seemed to provide good conceptual explanations, but the actual physics was missing.

 

Like UncleAl said, differential and integral calculus are really necessary to do physics. The Light and Matter books aren't calculus level and, thus, can't really portray the depth of Newtonian physics. I do think that they do a decent job at giving a superficial understanding.

 

However, if you're familiar with algebra and trigonometry, I would probably suggest them. I found that calculus was much easier for me after I had the conceptual grounding for where it came from. When I started learning calculus and physics in tandem (second semester calc), I got it a lot more. Pure math doesn't jive with me unless I get where it's coming from.

 

I can't comment on the Motion Mountain book because I haven't really started on it.