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.
If anyone else here is a fan of hard science fiction, do you have any recommendations? I just read Farside by Ben Bova and I really enjoyed it, so I'd say it's worth a read if you come across it.
I am starting to plan some books to read for the summer, and I have already found 3 math books I'd like to finish in 3 months (taking the last month off- burnout recovery). Namely, How to prove it, spivak calculus, and a discrete math book
Now, I'm wondering if my goal of doing this is...
Hi everybody & a happy new year!
Could somebody suggest books by Roger Penrose that do not involve mathematics ?
Books that are more towards popular science ?
Hi everyone,
I will be taking a summer course on Optimisation - AMSI Summer School
and was wondering if you could recommend any books.
The course outline is:
Week 1: Introduction to Optimization problems: classification and examples. Elements of convex analysis: convex sets and convex...
I am interested in mass flow rate in conveyor screw transportation
http://www.colormaxsystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/5-screws-300x222.jpg
any recommended book,engineering guides ?
Good morning Everybody and Merry Christmas,
Could someone advise me a book they had in the past from which they learned calculus for physics?
I am looking for a difficulty level so that I could understand in classical mechanics electromagnetism. I would like to know how to solve every possible...
I basically started learning physics 4 months ago. I want to cover the whole physics school curriculum in the next 9 months, as well as the important chemistry and maths. I want to be prepared to start a physics degree in 9 months. I have around 4 hours a day(approx) to devote to it. I want to...
What are the most frequently cited __________ textbooks in the physics literature?
Where __________ is:
thermodynamics
quantum mechanics
classical mechanics
electromagnetism
etc.
?
I'm looking for lists based on citation statistics. Surely there are citations data out there on this.
The holidays are upon us. With the holiday's comes time off work and school for many. What books are you reading during your spare time? Do you Have any Favorite holiday reads? Perhaps some guilty favorites?
Currently I am working on four novels:
1. The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene
2. Anna...
Hello everyone,
I'm in need for the best books that you know out there for PDE (Partial Differential Equations) and everything related to Fourier (series, transform, etc.).
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thank you and happy holidays!
I am starting my self-study and am going from the ground up starting with a rigorous treatment of some "pre-calculus" material. I have both "Principles of Mathematics" and "Freshman Mathematics" by Allendoerfer and Oakley.
Do I need Serge Lang's Basic Mathematics? Is there anything that is...
Can you please recommend me some good websites for learning Java? Or some books for learning Java? Since I don't have a Mac and I'm using Windows, I want to learn Java in order to develop Android game app. Is the book "Head First Java" a good one for beginners to learn Java? Or would you...
I have no idea where to post this, but I figured this is the most relevant place. I'm sorry if it's in the wrong section.
I am a Pharmacology and Toxicology major at a large state school. I was only required to take physics I and II. (algebra based)
At first I thought that was fine, but I...
I'm wondering if there are any good books for a semi-layperson (I study math in school, but at a low level right now), which detail the history of math. I'd be interested in knowing:
Major Names (such as Euclid)
Major Developments in Ideas (such as how calculus was created, how algebra came...
Hi everyone!
I really like physics from what I've seen so far, and I'd love to try some on my own to see if it's something I'm interested in possibly pursuing. I am planning on going into computer science, but this is something that I feel I should try.
Are there any books that would be good...
I hope to pursue a future in physics one-day, and my friend who has left the state to study left me a list of things to study that would help. Anyone know where I can find books that aren't too over the top with what I'm about to list. I know that Quantum and String are advanced, so I was...
If I read and work through Rudin's PMA or Real Mathematical Analysis by Pugh, what in Spivak's Calculus am I missing? I have learned Calc 1-3 satisfactorily.
Thanks!
I've decided that I would like to pursue a career in physics. Before I decide to devote my life to it (I am in year 9, so there's really no rush), I would like to find out more about it. However I am only 15, so most information I find is far beyond my intelligence. What I would like to know is...
Hi, can anyone recommend some good beginner quantum physics books? I don't have much knowledge of the subject and am looking for a good starting point.
I am a high school student interested in physics and cosmology, but only have a math education that goes up to 8th grade (linear equations, just real simple stuff) I think I'm pretty goodarn at self teaching and want to get some books so I can work my way up to understandino physics.
hi I am taking chemical engineering next year january so with maths and chemistry I am covered but i will love to hear your recommendations on physics books in relation to curriculum of chemical engineering phyisical sciences i heard its more mechanics so anyone who can recommend me books i will...
I haven't studied much physics or mathematics in a few years, and I was wondering if someone could recommend me a few good books to get started? I don't want to miss anything important. I've been taking some free courses online, but I would love some reading materials to supplement.
I am already familiar with High school math and physics. I have also studied Calculus(vector included), Differential Equations and basic electrodynamics in freshman year in college and I want to take it a step further. Which books should I study to strengthen my physics background if I want to...
As a physics major, I felt devastated today when I had to face the toughest integrals in my life for advanced quantum mech course. I am really embarrassed I did bot learn integration properly. please suggest me a good book that will help me excel in sort of integraion I will face for QM and...
Hi,
I am just starting my studies in earnest in Physics (woo, Freshman!) and plan on eventually seeking a PhD in theoretical physics. I was wondering if there were any "cannon" works, textbooks that almost every one knows or has studied from at some point, that I should start looking at...
Hello! so I'm extremely interested in learning more about physics (outside of physics for engineers since they focus mostly on forces and electromagnetic) What are some good books that you would recommend for me to learn from ? I'm currently a 2nd year Aerospace Engineering student.(about to...
Hi all,
So I'm finishing my first year in college and I did Calculus(based on Stewart). However, I don't feel I learned a lot during this year. There were not many proofs, the only proofs I studied was induction and contradiction(and some proofs in Stewart).
I honestly do not like the book at...
I want to prepare for upcoming national and international physics olympiad and i have about two months to do so. Can anyone suggest me a book topicwise or for complete physics. Thank You !
Hi, I need a beginner's book to study gravitational waves by myself. I am an undergrad physics major and just took my GR course. A beginner's book on GR will also help me lot. please suggest
Hey there PF, I'm currently a high school student and I'm planning to do physics in college when I get there. However, I want to get my math up to scratch before I go deeper into it. I do have undergraduate level texts for physics but not for mathematics. I have managed to borrow 2 books...
Hi all,
I am extremely interested in GR, but somehow feel that the books I read are not really enough. Frankly, I find many question on this site and elsewhere completely bewildering, which makes me think that I don't have a solid foundation, especially in classical mechanics and various...
I am studying Photonics and currently I am on my third semester of undergraduate studies. I am interested in ultrafast optics and mostly in attosecond optics to study electron's in atoms and other fundamental quantum mechanical phenomena. As my course is more engineering oriented than I would...
I am looking for a introductiory book on Riemann surfaces in context of bosonic String theory, or heterotic String theory for that matter. Prices should be affordable but should not matter, of I nead guide books this also does not matter...Help is seriusly apreciated.
I am looking for introductiory books on gauge theory and conformalfield theory and polyakov integrals for research in Bosonic string theory. Any other material recommendations for String theory that are necessary for bosonic string theory or heterotic string theory are definelty apreciated. To...
Hello all!
Of recent, with the more and more abstract my studies become, I have found that it can sometimes be difficult to relax and re-enter reality. I don't like to watch television or play video games, and I have recently run out of books to read that can still stimulate my interest, but...
Is it a good choice to read these books first or there's a better way. My professor recommended me these books but as I started them they had bulk of maths and really matter was not that understandable on my first try. I am an engineer. I read physics in free time I can get , so shall I go ahead...
I am looking for a good book on Exoplanets and habbitable
zones. So that I would be familiar with a large range of exoplanets and the criteria of exoplanets and so on...
Please don't hold back on the mathematics (if there is any) or on any scoentific issue, as I am asking for a good scientific...
I am finding some topics a bit obscurely explained.
I have attached the curriculum/study guide we are using, and was hoping someone could suggest books which cover these bases.
Particularly finding week 8 a bit difficult at the moment, especially stability (surely just more robust revision and...
Hi there, I was just wondering if anyone knows of any good materials, books, websites, Youtube users etc for me to teach myself Complex Analysis for school. Some good practice problems with answers and explanations would be wicked too. Thanks :)
What are some good textbooks dealing with various Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics? I am not asking for popular science books. I have a book called 'Understanding Quantum Mechanics' by Ronald Omens on the consistent histories approach and I am looking for something like that.
I am a graduate student in physics. One of my biggest frustrations in my education is that I often find that my mathematical background is lacking for the work I do. Sure I can make calculations adequately, well enough to even do well in my courses, but I don't feel like I really understand...
Here is what I have read:
carroll, sean from eternity to here
carroll, sean the particle at the end of the universe
deutsch, david the fabric of reality
gott, j. richard time travel in einstein's universe
greene, brian the elegant universe
greene, brian the fabric of the cosmos
greene...
Hello everyone!
This is my first post on the forums so I hope I'm not posting this in the wrong section.
I have been working through Apostol's Calculus Vol. 1 and so far I've been enjoying it a lot. I'm about to finish the 5th chapter, and while I would ordinarily wait until I was almost...
Walking to campus this morning, a light bulb appeared above my head...
The concepts that I've mastered, I define mastery as an intuitive understanding of problem solving methods, have one thing in common. I've practiced or used these ideas repeatedly, so they are stored in my long-term...