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.
I would be interested to know from MHB readers, of any books on Noncommutative Algebra you have a high opinion of ... ... especially those that are at the advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate level ...The books I have on this topic are as follows:
Introduction to Noncommutative Algebra...
Hello, I am currently a freshman majoring in physics. I am having trouble trying to understand the concepts of the chapters. I understand the basics, but I just need that extra push to do harder problems. I am currently learning classical mechanics next quarter I will be learning...
Hello I'm an undergrad. Can anyone suggest me books, articles, lectures for studying quantum mechanics as a fresh starter? I tried r. Shankar but it only mathematical to me, couldn't get the physical significance. On the other hand, Griffith got way deep in concepts without sufficient examples...
Hi folks,
I was wondering if there are books that explain how to solve differential equations using infinite series. I know it is possible to do it since Poincaré used that method.
Do you know which ones are the best?
I find books on infinite series but they talk just about series...
Hi,
I am a Physics graduate and I am VERY mathematically inclined. (This does NOT mean I know a lot of math. My curriculum focused on experimental physics - which left me with a very keen desire to study all the mathematics involved - so I do need to start from scratch.)
I would like to study...
I have a space plasma physics book by W. Baumjohann and R. Treumann entitled Basic Plasma Physics, but it doesn't tell much of the physics behind them (well, it's basic after all). Are there any plasma physics books that concentrates on the physics behind them, and probably have some problems to...
Hi.
I'll be doing a master's degree in nanophysics and working on electron transport in arrays of qubits.
I don't know anything (or barely) about the second quantization and would like a book which covers it, and on condensed matter overall.
So far I've been told about Bruus&Flensberg's...
Hi I'm planning to return university, to study astrophysics/physics at university level. I'm taking up A levels exams in physics, maths, chemistry as a private student. I wanted to start everything from the scratch.. can someone please suggest me some basic books for these subjects?? I have...
I am currently trying to learn pattern recognition from Pattern Classification by Duda et al. However, this books is a bit too dense for me. I keep hitting walls while trying to read the books (I understand most of the reasoning, but it just becomes too much and too abstract).
Can anybody...
Dear Physics Forum personnel,
I am curious what are your opinions about the "older" books in mathematics and physics (i.e. Neumann, Schrodinger, Dirac for QM, Hawking/Ellis for relativity, Russell for mathematics, etc.). From my experience with mathematical books, I found that I have liking to...
Hi, everyone.
I'm currently taking a gap year, and my plan is to study physics, probably for the rest of my life (With that I mean, reading and learning physics for the rest of my life ;-) )
But I thought why not start now? I kind of have fallen in love with the lectures held by Leonard...
Hey guys. I'm Alex and I'm a 26 year old guy who just entered into University to get my Bachelor's degree in Electrotechnology with Computer Control, after 25 years of doing completely nothing this is my last chance to achieve something that I want, so I'm exited.
But to the point, I live in...
I've been looking after some good books dealing with structural engineering of rockets and spacecraft s in general. I know that Rocket Propulsion Elements is a good book on rocket science, but I'm looking not only for propulsion but more specifically for structural design (loads, stress...)...
Which book among Bernard Schutz , Stephani and d'Inverno is the best for an introductory level approach to GR ? I have read some tensor analysis from d'Inverno and have not found its treatment rigorous enough .
(Sweating) Any Ideas on how to begin?
An incomplete Venn diagram containing the information about 100 types of books displayed at bookstall is shown in the figure.
(i) There were 70 translation book types and also there were 40 scientific translation book types that were not in English...
Some problems in physics are theory experiment. We have some tools, and we must find some equations for measuring. Example: Find the magnetic moment ##\mu## of the magnet if we have clock, circular wire loop, and electrical circuit.
We must find the period of oscillation of magnet. In that...
Homework Statement
When drugs are used to treat a medical condition, doctors often recommend starting with a higher dose on the first day than on subsequent days. In this problem, we consider a simple model to understand why. Assume that the human body is a tank of blood and that drugs...
Hello,
do you know of any books similar in style to Callahan's Advanced Calculus book(a book that explains the geometrical intuition behind the math)?
This goes for any subject in mathematics(but especially for subjects like vector calculus, differential geometry, topology).
Thanks in advance!
I'm really interested in quantum theory and would like to learn all that I can about it. I'm looking books for learning quantum physics that contains derivation of Heisenberg uncertainty principle, dirac notation, pauli matrices, quantum operators, hawking radiation, etc. What are good books to...
Hi, I am only 13, but am really interested in physics. My highest level of math knowledge is pre-algebra, but I'll be in algebra 1 once school starts. I am a fast learner and know I can learn the physics criteria if it is explained thoroughly. Please don't let my math knowledge make you think I...
Hello!
I am currently searching for some alternative books I can use for the analysis course starting on this Fall Semester. The course will cover the compactness, contraction principles, approximation theory, and some applications like special functions and Fourier series. The required...
Dear Physics Forums friends,
I am an aspiring mathematician who is deeply interested in the analysis, topology, and their applications to the microbiology. Recently, I started to become very curious about why concepts and theorems in the real analysis and topics come as they are; the...
Hello PF,
Lately i have been interested in reading scientific books after knowing that most successful people got concentrated into books and that's what pushed them (Elon Musk, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates ...)
But most of the advice i get for books are for business and management. So i would be...
Good day everyone,
I am plan on writing in course books to help studying. I am almost certainly sure this will help me understand the material better.
The question is if anyone has experience with writing in books and is there a huge difference between using a pencil or using a light-coloured...
Hello!
What books are excellent choice to reaplace Rudin-PMA's Chapters 8-12? I am specifically interested in the easier books than Rudin that treat the analysis of functions of several variables, manifolds, and differential forms; my next goal is to study the differential geometry/topology...
As the title implies, I'm looking for books on non-euclidean geometry. I'm not looking for very advanced thing, more on some book with a good introduction to this topic.
Hello!
There are so many Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics books that people suggest, that I don't know which one to use in my upcoming undergraduate course.
So, which one is your favorite?
Thanks in advance!
I'm honestly not sure what section to put this question under, but I'm going to be a senior in high school next year and I'm in the IB program at my school and currently working on my Extended Essay. It's basically a research paper of sorts. I'm doing mine essentially on the different...
What are good books in universal algebra, given that I have a background in Herstein (Topics in Algebra), Hubbard/Hubbard, Engelking (Topology), and Dugundji (Topology)? I am currently reading Hungerford, and I found a field called universal algebra while searching internet for some concepts...
Hi, I'm currently in my last year of undergraduate degree, I have a basic knowledge of GR (A. Zee) but I have a very limited knowledge of cosmology, I did not cover the cosmology portion of Zee's book as it is too superficial and I don't want to waste my time reading that. I think my time will...
I just finished my A levels in math's/physics. I decided to take a year out before I start an engineering degree. I'm looking for books to study on my work break's and any down time I get.
I was looking at the 'Physics for Scientists and Engineers' by authors like Feynman and Serway. They can...
This fall I'm going to the university of electrical engineering and I am looking for some good physics and math books concerning the following topics:
Physics
-Classical Mechanics ( level above Calculus 2)
- Electricity and Magnetism ( level above calculus 2)
-Electrical cirtcuits (specially...
Could you name your best picks of books that expand on the high school knowledge. Example is the Goldsteins Classical Mechanics which is a classic. What do you recommend for Electricity and Magnetism, Optics, Relativity and Quantum Mechanics?
Also what would be the same criteria for some Math...
hi, I really want to dig valuable things out of quantum theory, also I have a big eagerness to see the derivation of formulas to understand the logic of this topic. Could you recommend me some nice books which may meet my needs I expressed at the beginning ?
Hi
I recently skimmed through a book called the Structure of Theory. It's a book about what kinds of theories exist.
I would like to learn more about this. What books and websites can you guys recommend?
I would prefer a resource with specific examples of what kinds of theories exist in...
[I know that I've already posted the question, but I'm just looking for more answers.]
I just graduated from high school and will begin university physics classes in 2 months. Even though I got decent grades in high school and understood most of the things, I feel as though there are still some...
I was wondering if anyone knows of good self study books to help me in school. I am going to be a sophomore next year and trying to be extremely prepared.
Here are the classes:
Chemistry Honors
World History AP
Algebra 2 Honors
European History AP
English 2 Honors
Spanish 3 Honors
Thanks...
Hello, i want to get a mathematics book for physicists, and i have stumbled across some good books, but as i have not read them yet, i can't really decide which one to buy. So, which one do you prefer and why? Also, do you have any other book to recommend?
Thanks!
Hello.
I'm studying physics for two years now and I have never bought a book [thanks to professor's notes, free and "free" books on the web].
I got tired of using the laptop, so I need something to read ebooks (pdf and djvu mainly and also epub).
Is it better for this purpose an ebook reader or...
I'm looking for an entertaining book on the history of physics and math. I just want it to read for fun. A book that I really enjoyed (really, really) was Entanglement by Amir Aczel. It highlighted how everyone worked together, how they fought, etc.
Any suggestions?
What are the best physics and math books that countains all the information needed for high school I need internationals books that have the best curriculum from the grade 9 to 12 . The main thing is when I will learn physics in the university I don't want to stop on anything without knowing it .
Hi! I am physics passionate and I have always tackled a bit of this and a bit of that in other sciences. I have recently found out that there is something called forensic science (like in CSI stuff). No, seriously, I found out that this is a thing like two weeks ago, so I want to see what's with...
Would somebody like to adivse me simple introductory books on computer security. I know I could make a Google search but I hope advises are better and there is no previous thread about introductory books on related topic.
Thank you.
Upon searching in this forum, i have found discussions about the standard undergraduate textbooks on QM not being so good in teaching you the foundations properly. A good example is the difference between Hermitian and self-adjoint operators. Some people are saying that we should study QM from a...
Dear Physics Forum friends,
what are some good books for learning the p-adic numbers? What are the necessary pre-requisites?
Do I need to know introductory number theory or basics of algebraic/analytic number theory?