What is Books: Definition and 1000 Discussions

A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arrangement is codex (plural, codices). In the history of hand-held physical supports for extended written compositions or records, the codex replaces its predecessor, the scroll. A single sheet in a codex is a leaf and each side of a leaf is a page.
As an intellectual object, a book is prototypically a composition of such great length that it takes a considerable investment of time to compose and still considered as an investment of time to read. In a restricted sense, a book is a self-sufficient section or part of a longer composition, a usage that reflects the fact that, in antiquity, long works had to be written on several scrolls and each scroll had to be identified by the book it contained. Each part of Aristotle's Physics is called a book. In an unrestricted sense, a book is the compositional whole of which such sections, whether called books or chapters or parts, are parts.
The intellectual content in a physical book need not be a composition, nor even be called a book. Books can consist only of drawings, engravings or photographs, crossword puzzles or cut-out dolls. In a physical book, the pages can be left blank or can feature an abstract set of lines to support entries, such as in an account book, an appointment book, an autograph book, a notebook, a diary or a sketchbook. Some physical books are made with pages thick and sturdy enough to support other physical objects, like a scrapbook or photograph album. Books may be distributed in electronic form as ebooks and other formats.
Although in ordinary academic parlance a monograph is understood to be a specialist academic work, rather than a reference work on a scholarly subject, in library and information science monograph denotes more broadly any non-serial publication complete in one volume (book) or a finite number of volumes (even a novel like Proust's seven-volume In Search of Lost Time), in contrast to serial publications like a magazine, journal or newspaper. An avid reader or collector of books is a bibliophile or colloquially, "bookworm". A place where books are traded is a bookshop or bookstore. Books are also sold elsewhere and can be borrowed from libraries. Google has estimated that by 2010, approximately 130,000,000 titles had been published. In some wealthier nations, the sale of printed books has decreased because of the increased usage of ebooks.

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  1. tuxscholar

    Initial Academic Exposure by means of books for a curious layperson

    Hello! this is my first post ever in physicsforums so pardon me for any errors. Also I'm very grateful for the existence of forums like this. This is just a thread considering about what can be a proper initial introductory exposure to any academic discipline in the realm of science and...
  2. rajsekharnath

    Advanced elasticity book recommendation

    TL;DR Summary: Pretty much confused about an advanced elasticity book.Resource recommendation is asked. My last semester in freshman year of bs physics included a chapter on elasticity,it was not at the advanced level and by advanced level i mean atleast the tensor stuff.Well,I want to read...
  3. oslon

    Non youtube courses and paid textbooks to learn algorithms?

    I am not going to watch youtube anymore because of advertisements and it was never worth it anyways to pay for. I'm not going to pay for either a college fail student trying to earn some sidecash in India or some genuis professor who simply doesn't care if the students learn from him. Youtube is...
  4. zero00

    Re-Learn Math for Physics Olympiad

    Hi, PF Currently I am trying to re-learning high school mathematics (because my high math school is bad) for university physics Olympiad in my country, the topic to be tested is. 1. Mechanics 2. Electromagnetism 3. Thermodynamics 4. Statistical Physics 5. Quantum Mechanics 6. Modern...
  5. AndreasC

    Astrophysics Up to date astrophysics and astronomy books for physicists

    With all the recent debates about CDM vs MOND etc, I decided I need some more background on astrophysics and phenomenology. I have the physics background, I prefer concise books even if they are harder. I was considering something like this for phenomenology...
  6. P

    Intro Physics Looking for a book that can help with conceptual understanding of elctromagnetism and electro magnetic devices

    So my neighbor is interested in electricity and magnetism. Well he's actually been watching youtube videos and thinks he can make some kind of free energy device. But anyways I thought it could be fun to do some real projects with him like playing with magnets, making a diy DC generator, and...
  7. shivajikobardan

    Good books to learn electronic devices and circuits AND digital electronics

    TL;DR Summary: Good books to learn electronic devices and circuits AND digital electronics for competitive exams Here are my choices(in no particular order). You can recommend something out of this as well. 1) Electronic Devices and Circuits by JB Gupta. 2) Electrronic Principles by albert...
  8. gleem

    Recommended Books for the Inquisitive or for the fun of it

    I started this thread since there doesn't seem to be one about books on various topics meant for the inquisitive but non-expert person. These books might fill small niches in one's knowledge of our world. Sometimes we find a book that is just a lot of fun. I just finished "A Short History of...
  9. pinball1970

    Your thoughts on the Lord of the Rings series

    A conversation on "great one liners from pf members" prompted me to start this thread. How were you introduced to the books? What impact did the books have on you? what age? What is special about them? How do they stand against other works of 20thC literature? and....what did you think of the...
  10. P

    Can anyone recommend books on artificial photosynthesis?

    Can anyone recommend books on artificial photosynthesis?
  11. W

    What books can I use to learn chemistry as a physicist?

    I trying to learn chemistry as a physicist. Any advice? What books would you recommend?
  12. rajsekharnath

    Recommendations for study materials to prepare for undergrad Physics

    TL;DR Summary: Here I am asking for some opinions and recommendations for mathematically rigorous books that should be taken as an interested physics student. I know the question is quite subjective but any insightful answer is appreciated. I am willing to join undergraduate physics classes...
  13. hagopbul

    Asking about a publishing company for my relative's new book and game

    Hello : I have a relative who created a book and a game based on that book, asking for him if any one here knows a good publishing company that can publish those products the book is children's book the game is based on the above book on android platform. Best regards hagop
  14. H

    Lay person looking for new pop physics books

    I have some old Hawking and Thorne, et al books. I'm wondering if there are any good, new books written for lay people. I'm interested in light, energy, matter, time, entanglement, etc. I'm also curious about anything new from the Webb telescope. I prefer hard copies. Thanks for any leads.
  15. N

    Other Which Springer books to buy? (QM, GR and statistical mechanics)

    Hello, Springer books are on sale this week so I wanted to buy some textbooks to support my studies and (eventual) future career. I'm an undergrad (in europe) and my courses next year will be QM, GR and statistical mechanics, so I was looking for books about these topics, but any suggestion on...
  16. Photonico

    Other How to select one from these two books? (Physical Mathematics)

    Dear everyone, I'm an HDR student in Condensed Matter Physics. I want to enhance my math ability with the aim is learning physics. I found two books, they seem all fit my purpose. 1. Mathematical Physics 2nd by S.Hassani 2. Physical Mathematics 2nd by K.Cahill I want to choose one of them to...
  17. hudsonj

    Intro Physics Pop-sci books about condensed matter physics or superconductivity?

    I was wondering if anyone knows of any technical pop-sci books about condensed matter physics and/or superconductivity that are at the technical level of something like the "A Very Short Introduction" series or the Feynman lectures. That is, something that goes sufficiently into depth into the...
  18. T

    Calculus Multivariable calculus PDF books

    Multivariable calculus is a branch of mathematics that extends the concepts of single-variable calculus to functions of multiple variables. In this subject, vectors and partial derivatives are introduced to represent and manipulate multi-dimensional data. The gradient of a function represents...
  19. Trysse

    Geometry Looking for books (or papers) on the Cartesian coordinate system

    I am looking for more books like this one: https://archive.org/details/MethodOfCoordinateslittleMathematicsLibrary Method of Coordinaes (Little Mathematics Library) by A. S. Smogorzhevsky I am also interested in papers if you can suggest any. I am interested in texts, that explore the idea of...
  20. S

    Geometry Books about 2D and 3D figures with explanations and problems?

    I am looking for books that contain explanations (or to be able to answer) about something like this: 1) Exterior Angle Bisector Theorem The external angle bisector of a triangle divides the opposite side externally in the ratio of the sides containing the angle. This condition occurs usually...
  21. jedishrfu

    USBORNE Publishers Offers 1980'2 Era Computer Books for Free

    https://usborne.com/us/books/computer-and-coding-books While the source code is ancient, it brings back memories of a simpler time when we were crazy for our personal computers.
  22. malawi_glenn

    Other Collection of Free Online Physics Books and Lecture Notes (Part 2)

    This is part 2 of my thread Collection of Free Online Math Books and Lecture Notes Here, we will consider physics and mathematical methods for physics resources. Now, this is a work in progress. Please feel free comment regarding items you want to be included, or if a link is broken etc. Note...
  23. paulimerci

    Intro Physics Recommendations on Introductory physics and AP physics 1 books?

    Greetings to all. I'm looking for the best textbook for introductory physics that has clear explanations and is problem-oriented. I'd also appreciate any recommendations for textbooks for the AP Physics 1 exam.
  24. anm_ol

    Relativity Free Books & Lectures on Special Theory of Relativity

    I recently viewed some online free lecture series on Special theory of Relativity. I think I have an understanding of the basics so far, but would like some books for problems on special relativity. (Preferably solutions or at least answer keys included). It would be a great help if they...
  25. Clockclocle

    I Can a Tower of Books Move with Lighter Forces?

    Suppose n book stack on each other. Since each book have the same weigh then the last book exert a force N=nmg on the surface so it has the biggest static friction. But if we treat the whole tower of books as one particle it also has N=nmg. This mean if we exert enough force in the last book...
  26. murshid_islam

    Any other books like David Acheson's "The Wonder Book of Geometry"?

    TL;DR Summary: Looking for books similar to "The Wonder Book of Geometry" by David Acheson I loved David Acheson's "The Wonder Book of Geometry". Can you recommend other books like that?
  27. Strato Incendus

    Modern Sci-Fi Books and Their Apparent Obsession with Brain Implants

    Semi-rant incoming: In both of the two science-fiction novels I’ve touched most recently (“Braking Day” by Adam Oyebanji and “The Forever Watch” by David Ramirez), all the characters having a bunch of implants was simply the default. Now I came across a story named K3+ (by Erasmo Acosta) that...
  28. malawi_glenn

    Other Collection of Free Online Math Books and Lecture Notes (part 1)

    School starts soon, and I know students are looking to get their textbooks at bargain prices 🤑 Inspired by this thread I thought that I could share some of my findings of 100% legally free textbooks and lecture notes in mathematics and mathematical physics (mostly focused on geometry) (some of...
  29. cemtu

    Solid State Good Condensed Matter Physics Books and Semiconductor Physics Books

    Can you please recommend me some condensed matter physics study books and semi-conductor physics study books? Much Appreciated!
  30. H

    Other General Science level books for Defence technology

    Additional/Optional Subject: Space and Defence technology. Began a week ago, they taught a whole week, for 2.5 hours per day on space technology: Orbiter, Rover, Ramjet, Scramjet, Air-breathing engine, Reusable Launching Vehicle and et cetra ... et cetra... Thought, I, could absorb and...
  31. haider

    Engineering What are the best books for learning about analog computing?

    I'm not sure if this is the right sub-forum for this question but I've been reading online about solving differential equations with analog circuits for a while now and I wanted to get started by making my own circuits. So far I've found some DIY articles and cursory guides but I'd rather get...
  32. R

    Quantum Books recommendation covering the Hydrogen atom and Kepler's laws (separately)

    Hi, I have an interview for masters degree program in 2 weeks and they asked to study two subjects thoroughly, first being Hydrogen atom and second being Kepler's laws. anyone recommends one book about each subject with advanced level questions that would help me understand the subjects to a...
  33. StenEdeback

    Books about Kähler manifolds, Ricci flatness and other things

    Summary:: Books about Kähler manifolds, Ricci flatness and similar things Hi, I have an MSc degree in electronics, and I worked with IT. I was always interested in theoretical physics and did extra studies of this in my youth. Now as a pensioner I do private studies for fun. I have studied...
  34. theycallmevirgo

    Any favorite books on propeller/impeller design?

    Quite a few options on Amazon but I wanted to ask around before I bought anything. Bonus points for anything using modern FEA packages. Thanks so much in advance Joe
  35. Vividly

    Newton’s Principia of Mathematics

    Summary:: What kind of geometry/Math do I need to understand to read this book? Hey people! I would like to know what kind of geometry and/or math would I need to understand this book. I skimmed through it( The translated version by Florian Cajori) and seen that it gets technical with shapes.
  36. P

    Foundations Should I start with Lang's Basic Mathematics or Gelfand's books?

    I want to review early mathematics to cover the gaps in my knowledge, yet I'm struggling with where to start, or more precisely, how? Should I just go into Lang's book and start developing a sense for proofs and mathematical rigour while also understanding the topics that I missed in school? Or...
  37. ergospherical

    Other Little Physics Books: Find Your Faves & Enjoy Reading!

    There's a number of "small" (in size) paperbacks which I've quite enjoyed reading, e.g. Schroedinger's <100 page statistical thermodynamics lectures, J.W. Leech's classical mechanics text, etc. Books of this sort are very portable and easy to dip into whenever you get a free 15 minutes or so...
  38. F

    Prob/Stats Which Probability books are good for the first course?

    Please tell me some good books on Probability for first course.
  39. BWV

    Best SF Books of this century?

    Trolling for more reading material, my list: Alastair Reynolds: Pushing Ice, House of Suns Neal Stephenson: Seveneves Peter Hamilton: Commonwealth Saga Cixin Liu: Three Body Problem
  40. ergospherical

    Other Physics puzzle/problem books at the undergraduate/graduate level?

    Without trying to sound too wistful, back in school there was a good selection of miscellaneous problem books like Professor Povey's perplexing problems, 200 Puzzling physics problems, Irodov, Jaan Kalda and all the olympiad stuff, etc. Do there exist equivalents of these puzzle books aimed at a...
  41. MidgetDwarf

    Other Good Physics books from Springer at the Undergad level?

    Springer has a 50% currently till the end of December. I know plenty of good math textbooks from Springer, but what are some good physics books? Particularly at the undergraduate level.
  42. C

    I would like to recommend a mind-blowing sci fi books that I have just read

    The link is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KSB7TNC/?tag=pfamazon01-20 The Creator : AI and doomsday virus One of the best sci-fi I have read recently.
  43. BadgerBadger92

    Other Best trigonometry books for beginners and self study

    I am teaching myself math and wondering if any of you have recommendations on trigonometry books for beginners and self study. Any help is appreciated!
  44. Demystifier

    Other What are some recommended books on human irrationality?

    Perhaps psychology is not exactly a "science" in a STEM sense, but understanding human irrationality is these days important more than ever before. To beat the pandemic or the climate changes, we have to cope not only with medical and environment issues, but also with human irrationality. Some...
  45. ipsky

    Intro Physics Opinions on books for (self) studies in statistical physics

    Nearly two decades after I graduated with an engineering degree, I'm currently studying for a master's with a particular emphasis on conceptual/theoretical statistical physics. Based on my interests and stylistic preferences, I'm using the following books to build my understanding of physical...
  46. M

    MHB Expected number of sold books and profit

    Hey! :giggle: A bookstore buys 15 copies of a book at a price of 20 euros each and offers them on sale for 30 euros each. The contract provides that the bookstore after a year can return the unsold copies of the book and receive 18 euros each. Let the number of sold copies of this book in a...
  47. BadgerBadger92

    Intro Physics What Are the Best Beginner Physics Books for Self-Teaching?

    I am looking for a book that teaches the basics of physics that is easy to understand and good for self teaching. Any good suggestions?
  48. BadgerBadger92

    Relativity Good Beginner's General Relativity Books?

    I want to learn General Relativity so I am looking for a good beginners book with low amounts of math and clear explanations. Any suggestions?
  49. BadgerBadger92

    Non Mathematical Quantum Field Theory Books?

    Are there any QFT books that use little to no math? If there is a little math that is okay. I don't know much about math. I am looking for good explanations on how it works without math. Any help would be great!
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