What Are the Best Books for Independent Physics Study?

  • Context: High School 
  • Thread starter Thread starter Darthkostis
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SUMMARY

This discussion centers on recommendations for independent physics study materials, particularly for a 16-year-old student from Greece, who is seeking resources to supplement his school curriculum. The participant expresses a strong interest in topics such as Quantum Physics, Mechanics, black holes, dark matter, and spacetime. The forum provides a link to a dedicated section for learning materials, indicating a wealth of resources available for users interested in physics.

PREREQUISITES
  • Basic understanding of physics concepts such as thermodynamics and electric and magnetic fields.
  • Familiarity with advanced calculus principles.
  • Ability to read and comprehend English scientific literature.
  • Interest in topics like Quantum Physics and cosmology.
NEXT STEPS
  • Explore the Physics Forums learning materials section for curated resources.
  • Read introductory books on Quantum Physics, such as "Quantum Physics for Beginners" by Carl J. Pratt.
  • Study "The Elegant Universe" by Brian Greene for insights into string theory and spacetime.
  • Investigate online courses on platforms like Coursera or edX that cover advanced physics topics.
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for high school students, independent learners, and anyone interested in enhancing their understanding of advanced physics concepts and seeking quality study materials.

Darthkostis
Good morning (or evening, depending on where you currently reside) people of this forum (or you know, people who take the time to read this)! I have JUST joined this place and decided that it'd be quite nice to start this thread so that can get to know me, I can get to know how this place works and all that stuff.

Let's start with the basics. I am from Greece, 16 years old and a big, big BIG fan of collector's items, comics, video games and well, physics! I browsed around a bit and from what I have seen you are a quite intelligent lot, something I admire.

Since I was little I could remember every single little detail so this made things quite easier for me at school. But here being Greece, I could never get an IQ test or skip a few classes or anything like that. Anyway, fast forward to the present I can say that things have started to tighten up as I have around 200 exercises per week (and not the one line answer ones, I'm talking about the one-two page problems with diagrams and all that) along with close to 10 hours of school everyday. It's quite tiring I have to say but we study quite a lot of subjects such as thermodynamics, the electric and magnetic fields, advanced calculus and all that stuff. Though you can't really select the subjects you want, only a direction which is an EXTRA of three subjects, which is quite a bummer.

It's a nice selection but I am trying to study by myself, often reading various books on Quantum Physics, Mechanics, theories on black holes, dark matter and especially spacetime and time. Thing is, with me not being familiar with such concepts from school and english not being my first language I often have to look up various terms which proves to be quite frustrating.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I'd greatly appreciate it if you could recommend me some reading material and that I'm really happy to be here!

Take care!
 
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I would start reading this, just in case.

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