I want to teach myself physics, so where does one start? I'm a math major, and I have taken a course on mechanics, and will do one on (special) relativity soon. What else is there in a physics degree that I need to cover?
Textbook recommendations would be helpful.
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Anonymous2009-12-10 21:27
Don't buy the shit from physics. Quantum theory made few basic assumptions like energy/matter is quantized, dual natured and you can express a wave mathematically as a sine function and derived the orbitals from that. Which directed us to energy levels and bonds between atoms, then bosons and everything. Quantum theory gave rise to the modern understanding in particle level physics but the assumptions are not necessarily true. It is consistent because of mathematics, nothing more...If you are persistent about learning it at least use a skeptical approach
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Anonymous2009-12-10 22:56
mechanics: An Introduction To Mechanics by kleppner&kolenkow
special relativity: modern physics by berstein et al
quantum mechanics: read a tutorial on dirac notation <|> and Quantum Physics by Gasiorowicz
general relativity: Gravity: An Introduction to Einstein's General Relativity by Hartle
That's pretty much it, all the other stuff physicists do have to do with experiments, so you need to know a bit of electrical engineering(try: Electronics: Circuits, Amplifiers and Gates by Bugg, or the more extensive Foundations of Analog and Digital Electronic Circuits by Agarwal)
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4tran2009-12-10 22:59
>>2
Which assumptions are you concerned about not being true? Unhappy with non normalizable states in the rigged Hilbert space?
thermodynamics, atomic spectra, quatnum mechanics, general relitivity, nuclear physics, fields waves and quanta, electrodynamics
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Anonymous2009-12-11 11:00
Griffiths for textbooks on Quantum Mechanics and Electrodynamics
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Anonymous2009-12-11 15:08
>>4
I wouldn't wanna go in detail in this thread. It has to do with the unaccountable and constant loss of energy in matter
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Anonymous2009-12-11 18:23
>>1
As a mathematician, stick to the theoretical courses. You don't have to deal with unmotivated phenomenological assumptions and your math background will make things certainly easier. You can always look up the historical backgrounds later if it interests you.
For basic physics, the Feynman lectures are awesome. For more advanced topics, try Sakurai or Ballentine for quantum mechanics, and Goldstein or Landau for classical mechanics. I am currently reading "A First Course in General Relativity" by Schutz, and its pretty good.