Want to study physics? Read these 10 books

Books for physics students! Popular science books and textbooks to get you from high school to university. Also easy presents for physics students :P

Please also comment with your favourite physics books!

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[humanalltoohuman]

Simon: A Physics degree is basically a math degree with applications.

Applied Mathematicians: *Bruh.*

[firstname]

"I don't know if I have found THE book on quantum mechanics .. I don't think one exists really"

that's the thing about a book on quantum mechanics -- you can't KNOW it exists until you see it

[goofygoober]

my goal is to learn and absorb as much fascinating info in a broad range of science fields - classical physics, quantum, chemistry, biology, biochemistry . all of it just fascinates me so much, and I especially love deriving math equations to find their origination! really gets my brain thinking. Thanks for recommending these books! makes my journey a little less complicated :)

[TheCaelanB]

I study Maths at university and am in my final year, I cannot overstate how many of my friends became serious about studying maths at uni after having read Alex Bellos's "adventures in numberland". For soooo many of them that book was one of the biggest reasons! Upon reading it, it actually convinced me not to study physics at uni and to study maths instead. So read with caution! :)

[sayanchatterjee]

I would love to add

"Introduction to electrodynamics" by DJ Griffiths. I foud it very good and it doesnt feel like you are readng a book, instead this book feels like there is a person standing before me and forcing me to think. Definitely a great book

[tyfoodsforthought]

With time stamps:

#10 00:51 - Richard Feynman - Six Easy Pieces ✅
#9 02:10 - Richard Feynman - Six Not-So-Easy Pieces ✅
#8 - 02:43 - Alex's Adventures In Numberland ✅
#7 - 03:53 - Physics of The Impossible
#6 - 05:04 - Quantum ✅
#5 - 07:05 - Mathmetical Methods for Physics and Engineers (THIRD EDITION)✅
#4 - 08:13 - Fundamentals of Physics
#3 - 09:25 - div grad curl and all that
#2 - 12:13 - The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
#1 - 10:30 - Concepts in Thermal Physics

[ajmjabir]

Me: "shamelessly downloading these books through pdf formats from random websites that says "FREE!!"....''

[nevergonnagiveyouup]

1. Feynman Lectures on Physics (3 vol.)>Feynman
2. The Theoretical Minimum>Leonard Susskind
3. Relativity:The Special and General Theory>Albert Einstein
4. Concepts of Modern Physics>Arthur Beiser
5. History of Physics>Albert Einstein
6. The Road to Reality>Roger Penrose
7. A Brief History of Time>Stephen Hawking
8. Black Holes>Jayant Narlikar
9. A Universe From Nothing>Lawrence Krauss
10. The Dreams That Stuff Is Made Of>Stephen Hawking (editor)

[TheMayleemelo]

I am 26 and basically studied politics in my undergrad. To some degree, I do regret not going the stem, particularly physics path. My insecurity with math played a big role, but I've come to terms that we all will die and I'd rather go understanding the world a bit better via math than not at all. Thanks for these recommendations.

[jessstuart]

Here are some lighter reading choices...
1. The Force of Symmetry, Vincent Icke
2. Deep Down Things - The Breathtaking Beauty of Particle Physics, Bruce A. Schumm
3. Spacetime and Electromagnetism, J.R. Lucas & P.E. Hodgson

I also enjoy books that give you a historical prospective.
4. The Story of Electrical & Magnetic Measurements, Joseph F. Keithly (Yes, that Keithly)
5. The Science of Measurement A Historical Survey, Herbert Arthur Klein
6. Experiments in Modern Physics, Adrian C. Milissinos, Jim Napolitano

And some Textbooks...
7. Laser Physics, Peter W. Milonni, Joseph H. Eberly
8. Solid State Physics, J.S. Blakemore
9. Classical Electrodynamics, John David Jackson (if you're up for a challenge!)

[brundhaaa]

I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR THIS.

[mrmojo-eosh]

Knowledge speaks, wisdom listens. Its good to see someone so passionate about learning. Thanks man.

[razalasreficul]

PhD in physics?? Dude, you look 18 😅 nice job! Thank you so much for this!

[schnoodledoozlebricks]

I am also 12 and wildly fascinated by physics, and have tons of books to read everyday. I am sure that Simon can agree that physics is absolutely mind-blowing too!

[bartonpaullevenson]

I'm hoping my textbook "On the Temperatures of Terrestrial Planets" will be helpful to people. Now if I can only get it published!

[abstractnonsense]

(1) Fundamentals of Physics - Shankar
(2) Essential Graduate Physics - Likharev
(3) Nuclear and Particle Physics - Martin
(4) The Oxford Solid State Basics - Simon
(5) An Invitation to Astrophysics - Padmanabhan
(6) Modern Classical Physics - Thorne
(7) Cosmology - Weinberg
(8) Lectures on Quantum Mechanics - Weinberg
(9) Quantum Field Theory and The Standard Model - Schwartz
(10) Mathematical Physics - Hassani

Comentary

(1) Shankar's books cover introductory calculus-based physics (Newtonian mechanics, special relativity, oscillations and waves, fluids, thermodynamics, electricity & magnetism, optics, introductory quantum mechanics).
(2) Likharev's books (also freely available as lecture notes) cover the core of undergraduate theoretical physics: analytical mechanics, two further semesters of electromagnetism, undergraduate quantum mechanics, and statistical physics.
(3) Martin's book introduces nuclear and particle physics at undergraduate level.
(4) Simon's book introduces solid state physics at undergraduate level.
(5) Padmanabhan's book is a mature introduction to astrophysics, and completes your undergraduate physics education.
(6) Thorne's book covers classical statistical mechanics, optics, solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, plasmas, special relativity and general relativity, all at graduate level.
(7) Weinberg's Cosmology is a thorough textbook in cosmology.
(8) Weinberg's Lectures on Quantum Mechanics is a great textbook for graduate level quantum mechanics.
(9) Schwartz's book covers quantum field theory and the standard model of particle physics.
(10) Hassani's book helps with all the advanced mathematics along the way.

[makingsense]

I am in mother's womb and I am very facinated about Physics.. I want to do PhD like yours. Thanks Simon for suggesting these books as it will help me once I get born....

[samuellai]

I'd also like to add, basically everything written by David J. Griffiths (esp. his electrodynamics book, though his quantum mech book is also one of my favorites right up there with Shankar), and also Introduction to Thermal Physics by Daniel V. Schroeder. I don't know why, but these authors just have this almost magical way of making very complex and rigorous physics intuitive in such a deep and profound way that it's almost like learning it for the first time. Griffiths is pretty much known by every single physics student, so I don't think that there's much more to add about that, but I only discovered Schroeder's book after having graduated, and reading the textbook for the first time, he really makes those ideas so intuitive it's as if I never really truly understood it before - I just knew the equation.

[milessodejana]

The Feynman lectures on physics is my introductory book as a high school student who is too excited to do a physics research lol

[aidankelly]

Nothing much to do with the actual Physics content, but "Surely you're joking Mr Feynman", a biography about Feynmans life, really inspired me to do a degree in physics. Also, anyone with an interest in particle physics, I would highly recommend "The Cosmic Onion" by Frank Close, it re-enforced greatly my interest in particle physics and it's a great introduction to the topic.