Help finding physics information

[Pakitas]

Hello, I am a french 15 aged boy and I have been loving science, engineering, physics for 3 years now. I inform myself on the internet and I learn bunch of things at school but I feel like I haven't learned enough, and I'd like to know where I could learn all the physics bases from my class to... let's say university level. I'd like to know where I could find articles on the web on the latest discoveries, like in the big bang theory, sheldon often posts articles on his findings on the web, where could I find such things?
I hope you understood my problem, thanks for all!

 

[micromass]

We get these kinds of questions a lot. My answer is always the same. Don't bother with much physics at this stage. What is important right now is that you learn mathematics. If you want a shot at understand anything about physics, then you're going to need a whole lot of math.

So, I'd say: get a decent math book and start studying. I like to recommend "basic mathematics" by Serge Lang as a first good math book. If you finished that, then you can start with calculus.

 

[Pakitas]

Thanks a lot, and sorry if I asked a question that others use to ask a lot too. I'll search informations on this book

 

[eri]

If you want to take a look at what physicists are publishing, check out the pre-print server.

http://www.arxiv.org

That's where physicists (and astronomers) post their articles when they submit them to journals. Don't expect to understand what you read yet - but it can give you an idea of how far you've got to go.

 

[nonequilibrium]

Hello!

Maybe you can use this as a guide for topics in physics:
http://www.staff.science.uu.nl/~hooft101/theorist.html
It's a Nobel laureate explaining how to win a nobel prize ;)

Also very good
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html
It talks about a lot in a very concise manner. If you want more explanations, I'd advise books instead of internet (don't forget anyone can type on the net what they want, and as you don't know much about physics at this stage, you won't be able to distinguish bs from truth).

If you're interested in books at your level, you can use the search button, also a lot of threads on that topic :) or you can PM me, maybe with some specifications for what you're looking for.

Enjoy your quest!

 

[claytonh4]

I'm also a fan of the big bang theory like you said haha, the stuff sheldon usually posts online is in physics journals which unfortunately are usually not free, you have to pay to subscribe to them which is fine if you want but being young as well (16) most of those I've seen, I'm too young/don't have a good enough background to understand. Like micromass said, math is best if you're actually trying to study, if you're just interested in pleasure reading about modern physics, there's plenty of books you could find in any bookstores that are easier to understand (toned down a bit for avg. people) that discuss basic theoretical physics. Stephen Hawking has written many of these for example The Grand Design which I'm reading now (very good by the way.) Youtube has a lot of college level lectures on physics my favorite being Leonard Susskind of Stanford University. NASA.gov has articles daily on advancements in engineering, astronomy/astrophysics, and aerospace tech. all of which are easier to read. Or just google things you are interested in and I'm sure plenty of articles have been written on them whether it just be a wikipedia page or newspapers or actual public science journals such as university research which is often posted free because it advertises for that particular school. Hope this helped!