Sophomore in High School Seeking Physics Books

[Zeppelin_Child]

I am a sophomore in high school, and am becoming very interested in physics. It started when I was young and did a report on Albert Einstein, but is just now blossoming. I'm intrigued by nearly all areas of physics, and have just now begun to further my knowledge. I've read Beyond Einstein and most of Hyperspace (I'm still reading it), both by Machio Kaku. The problem with some of the information in Hyperspace is that it is either beneath me and prior knowledge, or too complex (mostly the math when it gets into string theory, like symmetries).

The reason for this post is to see if any of you in the science community might have some good intermediate level books that can teach the math and concepts of physics. I'm not looking for a textbook, but more books like those of Machio Kaku would be nice. Ones that explain the math in relation to a physical occurrence is good because I learn very quickly that way. I'm a somewhat advanced math student, and am good at teaching myself, and would like to gain a greater understanding of physics in general, though I’m particularly fond of relativity and string theory in terms of what I would like a greater understanding of. So if you know of a good book that fits this criteria, I would love for you to share it with me.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Tide]

Roger Penrose's new book (The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe) is about to be released (2/25 +/-) and it may be just what you're looking for. Visit amazon.com for a detailed description.

 

[Zeppelin_Child]

Wow. I read the description on amazon.com, and this book sounds perfect. Thank you so much, I think I will order it as soon as possible.

Any other suggestions are welcome still.


Thanks again

 

[z-component]

Welcome to PF!

 

[Zeppelin_Child]

Thank you! I don't know how active of a poster I will be, but I've been browsing the forums for the past month or so.

 

[jai6638]

hey, don't mean to thread crap but even though i think I am interested in physics, i just can't get myself to read books related to physics,etc! i just get bored after reading the first few paragraphs.. does that indicate that i don't enjoy physics and should probably think of pursuing another field?

 

[dextercioby]

Thank you! I don't know how active of a poster I will be, but I've been browsing the forums for the past month or so.

The old famous "A Brief History of Time:From the Big Bang to Black Holes" by Stephen Hawking is a MUST for anyone who claims to be familiar with phyiscs...

Daniel.

 

[Zeppelin_Child]

Amazon.com certaintly speaks well of that book, and it suggests The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen William Hawking as well. The description is enticing. Hasanyone read the book, and is it worth while? Thank you.

 

[gazzo]

They're both very worth while! They're great for motivation, if (ever) you loose interest just casually browse through it and voila! Back on track Brain Greene's books are good too, he did a PBS (or something) series which is available on the net. There's a thread somewhere on PF about it...

Best wishes!

 

[futb0l]

Yeah, Brian Greene is great. I've not finished reading his book yet, but so far it's been awesome. But meh, I am only 15.

Anyways, what does 'sophomore' mean?
Better google that up.

 

[Zeppelin_Child]

A sophmore is a 10th grader.

Is that PBS special The Elegant Universe?

Thank you all for your advice, I am looking into the books.

 

[JasonRox]

I suggest -

God's Equation - Amir D. Aczel

Great author and great insightful book.

 

[JasonRox]

OH!

I can't forget Asimov.

I envy him...

Read any of his non-fiction books, and you're good to go.

Note: I blame Isaac Asimov for making me fall into science and mathematics. It's all his fault. :)

 

[WORLD-HEN]

Roger Penrose's book is kinda hard to understand. I had to read the second chapter twice . Any way, I stopped reading the book since I am reading other books right now. BTW, if you know a little calculus, you could try The Feynman Lectures on Physics.

 

[Zeppelin_Child]

Wow, Asimov wrote a WIDE variety of books, but I'll be sure to check some out.

I don't know any calculus yet, but by next year I should be better off.

 

[JasonRox]

Wow, Asimov wrote a WIDE variety of books, but I'll be sure to check some out.

I don't know any calculus yet, but by next year I should be better off.

Yeah, he wrote over 500 books!

 

[DB]

Is that PBS special The Elegant Universe?

Ya that's it, its also an awsome book.

 

[Zeppelin_Child]

Which would you all suggest, The Elegant Universe book or TV special?

 

[WORLD-HEN]

Id suggest you read the book, and Green has a new book out too : The Fabric of the Cosmos, its a really good book, this one deals with loop quantum gravity too .

 

[DB]

me too i sugest the book

 

[poolwin2001]

Try any book by George Gamov

 

[Zeppelin_Child]

Well I've got to thank you all for these wonderful suggestions. Because I'm not a particularly fast reader, it will take me a while, but I'm going to look into all of these suggestions. Thanks again

 

[Cosmo16]

I read the fabric of the cosmos and the Universe in a Nutshell.

They are both very good. I have already bought God's equation and plan on reading The Elegant universe.

 

[bor0000]

i don't see how reading a book about math or physics will help you become one, just like reading a book about navyseals doesn't mean you'll become one or want to become one. it's just entertainment

 

[JasonRox]

i don't see how reading a book about math or physics will help you become one, just like reading a book about navyseals doesn't mean you'll become one or want to become one. it's just entertainment

Who said he wants to become a Physicist or Mathematician?

 

[Quantum_Prodegy]

The old famous "A Brief History of Time:From the Big Bang to Black Holes" by Stephen Hawking is a MUST for anyone who claims to be familiar with phyiscs...

Daniel.

Thats the book I'm reading at the moment, fascinating, I'll second the recomendation! I'm grade 11, so not much older than you Zeppelin. It isn't overly difficult to comprehend, may have to read some parts a couple of times as I do, but definitely worth getting.

 

[samoth1]

Many of the books by John Barrow and John Gribbons are excellent physics books with a minimal amount of mathematics... and if they do contain any equations, they are usually pretty thoroughly explained and no mathematical prerequisite is needed.

In that same vein, I really enjoyed Aczel's "Gods Equation", because it put Einstein's field equation and the development thereof into terms one could understand.

"A Brief History of Time" is a decent book, assuming you haven't already come across the material. I didn't pick it up until later, and by then the book was just a reiteration of what most other similar books had said.

I recommend anything by Penrose you can get your hands on, although some of his work gets quite complex (one usually cannot find that material in 'normal' book stores).

As for books that can really teach the math, that's more difficult. I never had any good professors that could really explain many vector concepts in my calculus courses. The most helpful book I ever found is "Geometrical Vectors" by Gabriel Weinreich (Chicago Lectures in Physics). The book does a great job describing and visualizing vectors, operations, fields, etc. in a very simple way.

And for fun reading, one can never go wrong with picking up some Feynman! His are some of my absolute favorite books, whether his books about his adventures (A map of the cat ?), or his lectures in physics (just picked Vol. 2 up recently for supplementary reading, I was amazed at how well written it was. He explained every concept so clearly that it put to shame every other physics course book I've had.)