Fundamentals of Physics
Encyclopedia
Fundamentals of Physics is a calculus
-based physics
textbook by David Halliday
, Robert Resnick
, and Jearl Walker
. The textbook is currently in its ninth edition and is published in a five-volume set. The current version is a revised version of the original textbook Physics by Halliday and Resnick, first published in 1960. It is widely used in college
s as part of the undergraduate physics courses, and has been well known to science
and engineering
students for decades as "the gold standard" of freshman
-level physics texts. In 2002, the American Physical Society
named the work the most outstanding introductory physics text of the 20th century.
The textbook covers most of the basic topics in physics:
The extended edition also contains introductions to topics such as quantum mechanics
, atomic theory
, solid-state physics
, nuclear physics
and cosmology
. A solutions manual and a study guide are also available.
Calculus
Calculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...
-based physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
textbook by David Halliday
David Halliday (physics)
David Halliday was an American physicist widely known for his physics textbooks, Physics and Fundamentals of Physics, which he wrote with Robert Resnick...
, Robert Resnick
Robert Resnick
Robert Resnick is a well-respected physics educator and author of physics textbooks.He was born in Baltimore, Maryland on January 11, 1923 and graduated from the Baltimore City College high school in 1939. He received his B.A. in 1943 and his Ph.D. in 1949, both in physics from Johns Hopkins...
, and Jearl Walker
Jearl Walker
Jearl Walker is a physicist noted for his book Flying Circus of Physics, first published in 1975; the second edition was published in June 2006...
. The textbook is currently in its ninth edition and is published in a five-volume set. The current version is a revised version of the original textbook Physics by Halliday and Resnick, first published in 1960. It is widely used in college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
s as part of the undergraduate physics courses, and has been well known to science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
students for decades as "the gold standard" of freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
-level physics texts. In 2002, the American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
named the work the most outstanding introductory physics text of the 20th century.
The textbook covers most of the basic topics in physics:
- MechanicsMechanicsMechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behavior of physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effects of the bodies on their environment....
- WaveWaveIn physics, a wave is a disturbance that travels through space and time, accompanied by the transfer of energy.Waves travel and the wave motion transfers energy from one point to another, often with no permanent displacement of the particles of the medium—that is, with little or no associated mass...
s - ThermodynamicsThermodynamicsThermodynamics is a physical science that studies the effects on material bodies, and on radiation in regions of space, of transfer of heat and of work done on or by the bodies or radiation...
- ElectromagnetismElectromagnetismElectromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...
- OpticsOpticsOptics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light...
- Special RelativitySpecial relativitySpecial relativity is the physical theory of measurement in an inertial frame of reference proposed in 1905 by Albert Einstein in the paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies".It generalizes Galileo's...
The extended edition also contains introductions to topics such as quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
, atomic theory
Atomic theory
In chemistry and physics, atomic theory is a theory of the nature of matter, which states that matter is composed of discrete units called atoms, as opposed to the obsolete notion that matter could be divided into any arbitrarily small quantity...
, solid-state physics
Solid-state physics
Solid-state physics is the study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as quantum mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy. It is the largest branch of condensed matter physics. Solid-state physics studies how the large-scale properties of solid materials result from...
, nuclear physics
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
and cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
. A solutions manual and a study guide are also available.