Book description
Understanding Physics
- Second edition is a comprehensive, yet compact, introductory physics
textbook aimed at physics undergraduates and also at engineers and other
scientists taking a general physics course. Written with today's
students in mind, this text covers the core material required by an
introductory course in a clear and refreshing way. A second colour is
used throughout to enhance learning and understanding. Each topic is
introduced from first principles so that the text is suitable for
students without a prior background in physics. At the same time the
book is designed to enable students to proceed easily to subsequent
courses in physics and may be used to support such
courses.
Mathematical methods (in particular, calculus and vector
analysis) are introduced within the text as the need arises and are
presented in the context of the physical problems which they are used
to analyse. Particular aims of the book are to demonstrate to students
that the easiest, most concise and least ambiguous way to express and
describe phenomena in physics is by using the language of mathematics
and that, at this level, the total amount of mathematics required is
neither large nor particularly demanding.
'Modern physics' topics (relativity and quantum mechanics) are
introduced at an earlier stage than is usually found in introductory
textbooks and are integrated with the more 'classical' material from
which they have evolved. This book encourages students to develop an
intuition for relativistic and quantum concepts at as early a stage as
is practicable.
The text takes a reflective approach towards the scientific method at
all stages and, in keeping with the title of the text, emphasis is
placed on understanding of, and insight into, the material presented.
