What Free Physics and Astronomy Books Can Enhance Your Cosmic Exploration?

[Greg Bernhardt]

Feel free to add your own links to free books. Let me know if there are broken links or copyright issues.

• A Brief Introduction to Particle Physics
• A Course on Thermodynamics of Materials
• A Full College Course in Thermodynamics
• A Text Book for High School Students Studying Physics
• http://www.beck-shop.de/fachbuch/leseprobe/9783527406012_Excerpt_001.pdf
• An Introduction to Many Worlds in Quantum Computation
• An Introduction to Relativistic Quantum Mechanics
• Basic Physics
• Intro to Relativity
• Basic Principles of Classical and Statistical Thermodynamics
• Basic Principles of Physics
• Basics of Physics
• Calculus Based Physics
• Circuit QED — Lecture Notes
• Classical Dynamics
• Classical Mechanics
• http://www.lightandmatter.com/cp.pdf
• Consistent Quantum Theory
• College Physics
• Decoherence: Basic Concepts and Their Interpretation
• Discover Physics
• Do We Really Understand Quantum Mechanics?
• Dynamics and Relativity
• Einstein for Everyone
• Electromagnetic Field Theory
• Elementary Particle Physics in a Nutshell
• Elementary Particles in Physics
• Experimental Particle Physics
• Fields
• http://puccini.che.pitt.edu/~karlj/Classes/CHE2101/
• Fusion Physics
• How to Use Experimental Data to Compute the Probability of Your Theory
• Intermediate Thermodynamics
• Introduction to General Relativity
• Introduction to Quantum Noise, Measurement and Amplification
• Introduction to Quantum Mechanics with Applications to Chemistry
• Introduction to the Time Evolution of Open Quantum Systems
• Introduction to String Field Theory
• Introductory Physics 1
• Introductory Physics 2
• http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/tong/kintheory/kt.pdf
• http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/scenario/contents.htm
• Lecture Notes in Quantum Mechanics
• Lecture Notes in Particle Physics
• Lecture Notes on General Relativity
• Lecture Notes on Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics
• Lectures on Heat and Thermodynamics
• Lectures on Particle Physics
• Light and Matter
• Many Particle Physics
• Modern Thermodynamics
• http://physicsdatabase.com/2012/04/26/motion-mountain-the-free-physics-textbook/
• http://www.phys.washington.edu/users/thouless/224A/
• Notes on Quantum Mechanics
• On Particle Physics
• http://www.phy.uct.ac.za/people/buffler/PHY1023H%20Buffler%20mechanics%20B.pdf
• Particle Physics Lecture Notes
• Perspectives in Quantum Physics: Epistemological, Ontological and Pedagogical
• People’s Physics Book
• Photons, Schmotons
• Physics Lectures
• Physics Study Guides
• Preparing for College Physics
• Quantum Dissipative Systems
• Quantum Field Theory
• Quantum Fluctuations
• Quantum Information Theory
• http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~pjh/teaching/phz7427/7427notes/ch3.pdf
• Quantum Mechanics
• Quantum Mechanics: A Graduate Course
• Quantum Mechanics: An Intermediate Level Course
• Quantum Notes
• Quantum Physics Notes
• http://www.physics.wustl.edu/~wimd/n540x.pdf
• Quantum Transients
• Relativistic Quantum Dynamics
• Relativity: The Special and General Theory
• http://physicsdatabase.com/2012/04/17/simple-nature/
• Solitons
• Special Relativity
• Statistical Physics
• String Theory
• Superspace: One Thousand and One Lessons in Supersymmetry
• The Basic Paradoxes of Statistical Classical Physics and Quantum Mechanics
• The Beginning and the End of the Universe
• The General Theory of Relativity
• The Origin of Mass in Particle Physics
• The Physics of Quantum Mechanics
• Thermodynamics and Chemistry
• Thermodynamics — Fundamentals and its Applications in Science
• The Small n Problem in High Energy Physics
• Understanding Physics
• Utility of Quaternions in Physics

Astronomy and Astrophysics

• A New Astronomy
• A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century, Fourth Edition
• A Simple Guide to Backyard Astronomy
• http://www.intechopen.com/download/books/books_isbn/978-953-307-423-8
• Astronomical Discovery
• Astronomy for Amateurs
• Astronomy To-Day
• Astronomy of To-day A Popular Introduction in Non-Technical Language
• Astronomy With an Opera-Glass
• Black-Hole Phenomenology
• Celestial Navigation, Elementary Astronomy, Piloting
• Elementary Mathematical Astronomy
• Elements of Astrophysics
• Encyclopedia of Astrophysics
• Exoplanet Observing for Amateurs
• Frequently Asked Questions about Calendars
• Great Astronomers
• History of Astronomy
• http://physics.sharif.edu/~cosmology-intro/references/Introductio%20To%20Cosmology%20Matt%20Roots.pdf
• Lectures on Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Cosmology
• Pioneers of Science
• Primer Of Celestial Navigation
• Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Volume 1
• Observing the Sky from 30S
• http://missionscience.nasa.gov/sun/MysteriesOfTheSun_Book.pdf
• Star-Gazer’s Hand-Book
• Supernova Remnants: The X-ray Perspective
• Recreations in Astronomy
• The Astrobiology Primer: An Outline of General Knowledge
• The Astronomy of the Bible: An Elementary Commentary on the Astronomical References of Holy Scripture
• The Beginning and the End
• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Sun
• The Geology of Terrestrial Planets
• http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/onlinebks/MARS/CONTENTS.HTM
• The Story of Eclipses
• The Story of the Heavens
• The World According to the Hubble Space Telescope
• The Zij as-Sanjari of Gregory Chioniades (June 27, 2009)

 

[SredniVashtar]

The Physics of Waves by Georgi

(Oh and The Feynman Lectures on Physics, but those are only for online reading)

 

[dextercioby]

Hi Greg, the 3rd link's broken. Please, delete it altogether, because a newer link on the same website leads to a scanned copy of a book under copyright. (Schutz - A first course in General Relativity).

There are other broken links:

• http://www.mhtlab.uwaterloo.ca/courses/ece309/lectures/pdffiles/summary_ch1.pdf 1
• http://www.mhtlab.uwaterloo.ca/courses/ece309/lectures/pdffiles/summary_ch1.pdf

This link here contains again a scanned copy of a book under copyright:
* Introduction to Quantum Mechanics - John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

 

[Sakamo]

Thanks, so many books.

Any priority on them?

Am just a begineer.
Top 10 would be great.
Like the David Letterman.

 

[PWiz]

Thanks mate!

 

[Meron]

Thank you very much.

 

[Max2718281828]

Thank you.

 

[ICantEven]

Thank you so much!

 

[Marjory Mendoza]

Thanks for the access to free books! I am just new here and I wish I should have know PF much sooner. I am sure this would benefit a lot of people especially the Physics educators and students. Thanks again!

 

[phion]

Introductory Physics 1

Introductory Physics 2

Introductory Physics 3

 

[jerromyjon]

Absolutely awesome! Glad I caught this thread on the homepage... off to work on calculus.Thanks a million!

 

[Cydeonix]

This isn't a textbook but science-lounge.co.uk is a new science revision website which is being built. It allows you to read topics as they complete them. Not all the syllabus is there yet but the ones which have been written up are quite helpful.

 

[LeninLennon]

Thanks for the links the books are cool, right now ejoying reading Discover Physics!

 

[J35T3R]

Thanks for the free books lol saved me a ton of time and money! :)

 

[Dopplerganger]

Thanks!

 

[Mordred]

Thanks!

While these two aren't free textbooks as per se, they do an excellent job covering differential geometry aspects in particle physics with a good section on relativity in the second link.

http://arxiv.org/abs/0810.3328 A Simple Introduction to Particle Physics
http://arxiv.org/abs/0908.1395 part 2

Linde included his textbook into the arxiv archive, though older it still has good info.

http://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-th/0503203.pdf "Particle Physics and Inflationary Cosmology" by Andrei Linde

This link is handy on GR, he covers numerous examples of varying metrics and various artifacts of coordinate choices.

http://www.blau.itp.unibe.ch/newlecturesGR.pdf "Lecture Notes on General Relativity" Matthias Blau

This site does an excellent job on simplifying various aspects of particles as point like and wavelike, he also has an excellent section on the Higgs field.

http://profmattstrassler.com/

 

[spino]

Thanks for the books. I've always loved reading books about physics.

 

[Owlcool]

Introductory Physics 1

Introductory Physics 2

Introductory Physics 3

Third link is broken.

 

[phion]

Third link is broken.

It's actually a download link. It should open by asking what directory you want to save it under.

 

[Borg]

It's actually a download link. It should open by asking what directory you want to save it under.

The link ends in .ps instead of .pdf like the others. I think that it's a typo and should be this:
http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/Class/intro_physics_3/intro_physics_3.pdf

 

[phion]

The link ends in .ps instead of .pdf like the others. I think that it's a typo and should be this:
http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/Class/intro_physics_3/intro_physics_3.pdf

.ps is a format Adobe Acrobat uses to "distill" a .pdf file. If you have Acrobat Distiller installed it should open without a problem.

 

[Borg]

.ps is a format Adobe Acrobat uses to "distill" a .pdf file. If you have Acrobat Distiller installed it should open without a problem.

Thanks. For anyone who doesn't have that, the pdf link that I posted seems to bring up the correct document.

 

[yango_17]

Modern Physics by Kenneth Krane
https://fisluisabraham.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/krane-k-modern-physics-3ed.pdf

 

[romsofia]

Introduction to LQG
http://www.cpt.univ-mrs.fr/~rovelli/IntroductionLQG.pdf

 

[Reveille]

Hey Greg, I didn't get all the way down but these:

• A First Course in General Relativity
• Age of Einstein
• Basic Concepts in Thermodynamics
• Basic Concepts in Thermodynamics Chapter 1
• Basic Physics
• Board Notes for Particle Physics

don't work anymore. There are probably more but like I said, I didn't get to try them all.

 

[davidbenari]

I have to add Richard Fitzpatrick's collection in case nobody has yet.

http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/

 

[amankalra]

Thank you soo much :)
Much needed ;)

 

[Prastina kp]

Thanks a lot..happy to see so much of books on various topics

 

[mechpeac]

Awesome! Thanks for posting.

 

[rwm4768]

This might just be the greatest thread I've ever found. It will give me a chance to study some of the Physics I want to take but can't because my Engineering schedule makes it very difficult.