Recommended Physics Reading

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Its already been said, but The Theoretical Minimum (Susskind) is great. I got it because I was frustrated by the lack of mathematical explanations in other pop science books (although to be fair you cant really expect brian green to try to sell a book containing the kind of maths knocking about in string theory). It is thus far living up to expectations, and has really furthered my interest in maths and theoretical/mathematical physics. Get it.

Reply 101

username668916

Original post by a10

recommendations for good books to read for fluid dynamics/fluid mechanics?

Unless you're already at 2nd/3rd year uni, don't bother looking at this as it's really really hard. I mean there's bits that are easy (Bernoulli's equation is easy enough) but anything mildly in-depth requires a good knowledge of maths.

Reply 102

Big-Daddy

Original post by bistonut

I disagree. Fluid dynamics is covered to a decent basic level in most mechanical engineering textbooks, which are not necessarily written for graduates or even pitched to 3rd-year undergrads.

The really tough issues arise when the fluids in question have chemical properties or are mixtures of various different liquids/gases. Then it can get difficult.

Reply 103

Dalek1099

Stephen Hawking The Grand Design is supposed to be good-I've watched one of the televisied episodes based on the book and the book confirms that God didn't create the universe and it is all fully proven by Stephen Hawking.

Reply 104

Big-Daddy

If you are keen to be well-prepared, make sure you have knowledge of the mechanics portions of A-level maths up to Mechanics 5 (Edexcel) and Mechanics 4 (OCR and MEI) and can answer all the mechanics questions in the STEP maths exams. That's a rigorous goal to set yourself before your course begins.

Reply 105

tangledweb

It's nice to see recommendations for books regardless of what level you are at.

Reply 106

swagadon

to anyone who has read "the theoretical minimum" by Susskind, i have a question.

I havent read the book,but before deciding to get the book, is it the type of book that just gives you equations and does not tell you where it comes from, or does it show you how the equations are derived?

Reply 107

sanjayprabhakar

Original post by swagadon

Im not that far in but it seems to be very thorough in that respect eg it shows you how Newton arrived at dx/dy = nx^n-1

Reply 108

ellsie98

Are there any books in particular that people would recommend as suitable for between GCSE and A-level? I've tried a couple (not off this list), and just realised that I'm reading and not taking in or understanding anything!

Reply 109

ExcitinglyMundane

Original post by ellsie98

After GCSE you really can't read anything more than popsci books. Check out "Why does E=mc^2" and "The Quantum Universe" by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw.
Also, there are two good books called "How to teach [] to your dog". (The books have different things after teach.)
Finally, if you want to push yourself, check out Feynman. He's slightly harder, both in terms of the physics, but also in his writing style.

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Reply 110

MorwennaP

I just finished reading 'The Theory of Everything' by Stephen Hawkins. It came before the film and is very easy to read. I really enjoyed it, partly because there was a little bit of philosophy in it as well.

Reply 111

Thorsas

My brother loved "The Grand Design" by Stephen Hawking.

Personally found "A Universe From Nothing" by Lawrence Krauss to be an intriguing read. As always he's a hilarious writer but is very good at introducing topics step by step. Describes how cosmic inflation could have shaped the universe from its very beginnings and how the universe really could have started from...well, nothing!

Another great book from Krauss (I am a fan) is "The Physics of Star Trek". This would only be good if you're into Trek. But if you are, it's not only witty and clever, referencing the series at every opportunity (he must have spent a LOT of time rewatching Star Trek), but it also does a very good job of explaining how the technology seen in Star Trek might really work (or how it is already being realised). All that said it's a little dated - especially the section on computing power is not so relevant two decades later.