Which physics magazine is good for undergraduate?

[Fizik]

hi,

I am a physics undergraduate. May I know which physics magazine you would like to recommend to me?

Thx!

 

[cscott]

Try Physics Today. www.physicstoday.com

 

[CraigD]

I like Physics World http://physicsweb.org/ it seems to have more easy to read articles to give you a good overview of areas of interest for physics.

CraigD, AMInstP
http://www.cymek.com

 

[arunma]

As Scott said, Physics Today is good. I started reading it in my senior year of high school. Some of the articles might be over your head, but you'll find something both readable and interesting.

Of course, Physics Today costs money. I'm an astrophysics grad student, so I've recently started using a website my professor recommended called Astro Ph (search for it on Google). Basically you can download astrophysics papers for free. I've never taken an astro course in my life, and I'm still able to understand the stuff pretty well. It never hurts to practice reading professional papers, and it doesn't cost you a dime, so you might check it out some time.

 

[CraigD]

You can also check out the Arxiv. Is has a ton of free papers in all subjects. Check out the IOP's reader for it, I think it is eprint.org.

CraigD, AMInstP
www.cymek.com

 

[arunma]

You can also check out the Arxiv. Is has a ton of free papers in all subjects. Check out the IOP's reader for it, I think it is eprint.org.

CraigD, AMInstP
www.cymek.com

Wait...you mean there's stuff on this site besides astrophysics papers? I didn't even notice that!

 

[Locrian]

I am a huge fan of American Scientist. Here are my reasons:

1) Broad subject matter. From physics to engineering to biology to statistics to mathematics and more.

2) Well written articles. American Scientist, to me, perfectly navigates the waters between the vapid dumbed down nonsense in most popular science magazines, and the dryness of a full publication. Their articles can be challenging, but are rarely dull.

3) Articles often add an element of humanity to the picture - what kind of people were involved in this research? What real problems occurred? Often the articles are willing to discuss the contact between the science and society, and not in the pathetic "omg this will make your lives great" way most magazines do.

4) American Scientist publishes well written articles critical of established scientific culture. Six years before most media even considered being critical of string theory, Peter Woit was published in American Scientist (2001). While the rest of the science-for-the-public zines are worshiping Einstein, AS actually published an article critical of the way he is perceived. The book reviews are also excellent, often being so informative as to really deserve the word "article" themselves. As you can tell, this reason above all others is the one that endears this magazine to me. I do not believe they are harsh or aggressive - AS is just willing to take a hard look at sacred cows.

Some downsides to AS:

1) Comes out every other month. The issues provide a great deal of reading, but I usually bang it out in less than 30 days, leaving me a whole month to wait for the next!

2) When I said it had a diverse range of articles, I meant it! I consider being informed on many areas of science important, but there has been an issue or two that just didn't interest me.

However, unlike Science and Nature, AS is actually affordable.

Highly recommended.

 

[jesica]

i study phisics in university and i need the name of some international phisics magazine.
please help me.

 

[bhimberg]

You should join up with your local SPS chapter. I believe you get a 1 year free subscription for doing so. Not to mention you'll be getting involved with students of like mind.

 

[ZapperZ]

If you are an undergraduate physics major or have any interest in physics (even if you're not a physics major) in a US institution and you are not a member of the Society of Physics Student (either at your local school chapter or directly online at the AIP website), then you should have your head examined. Seriously!

Other than receiving Physics Today, there's just a lot of other resources as an undergraduate that you would be missing.

If you are in the UK, look at the Institute of Physics website.

Zz.

 

[Locrian]

I always toss my vote for American Scientist. It's the only publication I like that is reasonably priced.