Physics Textbooks and Learning Materials- Help

[T.O.E Dream]

Can someone list any physics textbooks or any other sort of learning material that i can use. It should cover most of classical mechanics (including electrodynamics, thermodynamics, etc,,,). I prefer it to have a lot of math, better than none. Also, are there separate books for quantum mechanics and relativity. And even better can you list what sort of math i need to know in order to understand it. thanks for your time.

 

[ks_physicist]

For what level?

College level texts...Halliday and Resnick is very respected, though I have regrettably not picked up a copy. I really liked Serway (now Serway and Jewett) for my calculus-based intro physics series.

Quantum, I have heard that the book by Griffiths is good at the same level (undergrad calc-based physics). He also writes a great electrodynamics text.

Relativity...good question. The traditional relativity book is Misner, Thorne and Wheeler's text "Gravitation", but it is both old and somewhat dense.

The first two courses in physics for a major would use basic differential and integral calculus. Beyond that, it is helpful and/or necessary to have differential equations and linear algebra (though, if you are a really good self-study, you might be able to pick up the math topics as you go along).

 

[qspeechc]

Alternative list at undergrad/beginning undergrad level:

General Physics: Halliday and Resnik, or Alonso and Finn.

EM: Wangsness, Lorrain and Corson "Electromagnetic Fields and Waves " (not their other ones).

QM: Bransden and Joachain, or Zettili.

Relativity: Schutz (haven't read the very new edition)

To read all those books you need: Calculus (single- and multi-variable); linear algebra; ordinary differential equations; maybe some partial differential equations stuff; and a good mathematical methods book, say Boas.

Good luck!