Best resources to get up to speed

[Nisdoc]

Hello all,


I am asking a question that I expect will return many answers. If any of you were presented with a individual who loved the study of the very basics of energy and matter, what would you tell that person to read? Books, videos, articles...what are the best to introduce, further explain and offer direction for more learning. Ever since I was old enough to pin a poster of our solar system on my bedroom wall (3rd grade) I have been fascinated with the basics of it all. I have read what I can on string theory and find that most of the time, I am stopping to learn what a single word is, or how an equation came to be. It's difficult to find all the information. Over the years, I have formulated my own beliefs of how energy and matter relate, are created and how to move between the two...yet I am ignorant in all the methods of research and mathematics that make up the language of physics. The Bose-Einstein condensate for example, has opened up an entirely new world of exploration that requires yet even more reading/learning. My main area of interest is the change from energy to matter. I do not believe the string theory is correct based on what little I have read (I will be beaten for saying that), though I believe it is nearest to correct given the information we have. I may have my opinion, but I will readily change it should I be presented with sufficient facts. In order for me to do that, I must educate myself.
A little about me. I am 30. I am a master Infiniti/Nissan technician and have all the accreditations you can acquire as an automotive thechnician. Occasionally I work closely with Nissan engineers to diagnose and repair vehicles that have defects abnormal to the usual failures. I am also a flyfisherman who loves the preservation of nature. I love history, seeing mans trumphs and failures. Finally, I have always loved physics. Physics cannot be affected by the economy, by the season or the age of life. Physics is a study that reuires only a brain to do the basics. A place where imagination and fact can come together to create or defeat the truth.

So, simple question...what should I read? :)

 

[Fra]

So, simple question...what should I read? :)

Welcome to PF! Although this question might not belong in this section.

I think it depends on your ambition and time at hand. But for sure I think starting to read popularized string theory books is IMHO starting in the completely wrong place.

I suggest start with the basics, acquire and overview of physics and it's history, then dig into details. The problem is that in order to dig into anything but popular presentations, you need a decent background in basic physics and mathematics, or it's hard to understand the language.

There probably isn't a single book that will do.

What books have you read so far? It's hard to tell where you are. A basic understanding on the structure of classical mechanics, SR and QM is a prerequstiion to anything else. A understanding of the scientific method is also important to avoid common pitfalls in understanding physical theories.

You need to give some hints on where you are, what have you read so far.

/Fredrik

 

[Fra]

Penrose "Road to reality" is a book that a lot of people like. It's quite broad and thick.

/Fredrik

 

[skippy1729]

Hello all,


...yet I am ignorant in all the methods of research and mathematics that make up the language of physics.

So, simple question...what should I read? :)

The following suggestion assumes a university level background in calculus. If you do not have this, that is the place to start.

1. The Pauli Lectures on Physics. Six volumes, each about a hundred pages. Inexpensive Dover editions available. Fits nicely in your pocket. Somewhat old fashioned but clearly presented by a master.

1. Electrodynamics
2. Optics and the Theory of Electrons
3. Thermodynamics and the Kinetic Theory of Gases
4. Statistical Mechanics
5. Wave Mechanics
6. Selected Topics in Field Quantization

Tensor calculus is, of course, required for General Relativity.

"Die Grundlage der allgemeinen Relativitatstheorie" Annalen der Physik, 49, 1916, A Einstein

is totally self-contained. It was written for physicists who did not necessarily know about tensors or differential geometry. It is available in English translation in "The Principle of Relativity - A collection of original papers on the Special and General Theory of Relativity" another inexpensive Dover book. Also available in English at http://www.Alberteinstein.info/gallery/gtext3.html as a pdf.

These books are not written in modern mathematical jargon but they clearly present the physical ideas.
They are only a beginning, you will have the background to pick up all the modern results later. These are old fashioned suggestions from an old fashioned person who found them very useful for self study.

Skippy

 

[marcus]

Hello all,
I am asking a question that I expect will return many answers. If any of you were presented with a individual who loved the study of the very basics of energy and matter, what would you tell that person to read? Books, videos, articles...
So, simple question...what should I read? :)

Fra and Skippy had good suggestions. I'll point in a different direction:
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?p=3045431#post3045431

There are some thoughts there about early universe cosmology being the proving ground for whatever new physics is going to show up.
There is a link to a talk by Steven Weinberg (a Nobel physics theory elder statesman) giving his "Plan B" to string theorists at their annual "Strings 2010". With remarkable diplomacy, avoiding offending egos even while presenting the string dignitaries with a Plan B just in case their theory doesn't turn out, at their main conference no less. In anyone else it might have seemed audacious.

And there is a link to a great 1-hour video talk by Roger Penrose. Fashion, Faith and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe. He has given the talk several times and this is the best and most recent version that I know of. It comes in 10 youtube segments, so you can watch the whole hour and make a note of which segments to skip on a second viewing. He is a good illustrator--his handdrawn slides communicate well.

Penrose says he has a book coming out called Fashion Faith and Fantasy. I think he said that Princeton University Press would be pubishing it. If that is right then much of what is in this video talk will be expanded and presented in book form. People who liked *The Road to Reality* (which Fra just recommended you read) will have something to follow it with.

 

[Thomax]

I registered for a similar reason as op: I've been reading up on popsci for a while and I wonder to what extent I understand it conceptually because I don't have the iq and the time to actually understand the physics :/
Could someone answer these questions:

Cern built the lhc to find an electromagnetic field in which the higgs boson would be observable?
The existence of the Higgs Boson boson kinda proves experimentally supersymmetry, implied by M-theory?
M-theory proves the existence of a multidimensional universe?

 

[Nisdoc]

Thank you so much for the many responses. I do need to revisit calculus as it has been 10 years since I completed that course. Equations do not get that exagerated in the automotive world. I believe firmly in building on basics. All too often young technicians come into the workforce without understanding the basics (this goes for any professional field). I want the basics and the best of them as well as the obscure ones. I will look into all that have been mentioned as it should keep me busy for quite some time.

Thanks!

 

[S.Daedalus]

I believe firmly in building on basics.

In that case, I'll second the recommendation for Road to Reality. It's to the best of my knowledge the single most comprehensive resource for contemporary physics and the mathematics underlying it; of course, in order to manage this breadth, it has to make some compromises in depth (you want to be able to at least lift it), but you can use it as a quite literal roadmap: it presents essentially the whole country, and if you plan to pay a more detailed visit to Calculustown, Complex-Analysis-ville, Riemannland or even the ragged territories of Quantumsylvania -- not to mention the strange and almost bizarre streets of String City --, it'll show you how to get there from here.

And once there, you can always buy a more detailed, local map -- or ask for directions on here, a lot of people on this forum are quite well travelled!

 

[Nisdoc]

Then it will be ordered (have some gift cards to Amazon from last Christmas that I still have yet to use...). Luckily I work 10 minutes from a community college. I will visit them today and see if I can't squeeze into some evening classes. Biology and Physics basics and hopefully I can still pass a placement test for calculus (doubtful..lol). In any case, these readings should keep me busy until I actually reach those classes. I find reading a book you do not understand allows you to explore every word and it's history, meaning and possibilities. To simply finish one, you end up reading 100!