good site for learning physics

S&L: Discussion of matters pertaining to theoretical and applied sciences, and logical thought.

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Ali Sama
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#1 good site for learning physics

Post by Ali Sama »

not the basic stuff.
quantum physics, theoretical stuff etc.
I want to learn it. As ideas keep flowing into my head, and not knowing stuff frustrates me
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#2

Post by SirNitram »

No website is going to be a good source for this stuff. You need big, thick textbooks; the sort of bastards which double as melee weapons. It will be full of high-level math(Calculus and above), and it will be hundreds of pages each. No shortcuts; shortcuts leave you with the idea that Schrodinger's Cat was supposed to be an actual example.
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#3

Post by Hotfoot »

If you have a good grasp on physics already, there are a few books that go into the concepts more than the math, and explain how things work without endless equations. However, these books do not give comprehensive knowledge of the subject, and as Nitram pointed out, can end up giving people the wrong impressions about the examples (spawning people who believe that quantum foam can be used to make an apple appear on Jupiter).
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#4

Post by Ace Pace »

Hotfoot wrote:If you have a good grasp on physics already, there are a few books that go into the concepts more than the math, and explain how things work without endless equations. However, these books do not give comprehensive knowledge of the subject, and as Nitram pointed out, can end up giving people the wrong impressions about the examples (spawning people who believe that quantum foam can be used to make an apple appear on Jupiter).
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#5

Post by Hotfoot »

"A Brief History of Time" technically qualifies, as well as a few other books by Hawking.

Various Magazines, such as Science News, take published papers and break them down into easier to digest versions. "The Elegant Universe", both the TV special and the book, are decent accounts of the various string theories, most importantly M-Theory. "The New Quantum Universe" is also decent, and even contains a fair bit of the math involved.

All of these, combined with an adept professor, can give you a functional idea of how Quantum Physics works. However, it's important to recognize that Quantum Physics is not fully understood even by experts in the field. These people simply do tests and record the results, no matter how strange said results may be. There is a method to the madness, but so far, nobody has been able to reconcile all of it yet.

For all it tries to do, String theory is nothing more than a nice set of math. There's no evidence or tests that can be run to prove any of it (though they are working on it). From personal experience, I can tell you that you can get anyone (even science staff at a college) to buy damn near anything you say about Quantum Physics, and you can get away with it.
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#6

Post by Destructionator XV »

Learn Calculus first. Once you have a good feel of differentiation and integration a good chunk of physics will be much easier to understand. Multivariable calculus and differential equations are also very useful if you want to seriously get into physics.

Now, you say not the basic stuff, but the basic stuff is the most important. After you have your calc I and calc II, which I recommend learning from a real teacher at a high school or college, you can enter physics. Start with Newtonian mechanics. Get very good grasps on momentum and energy. Conservation of energy will go a very far way as you move on.

Only after you have a through understanding of the basics are you prepared to move on.

Again, I would suggest getting a real teacher to teach this to you, but if that is not possible, and you are willing to work, you should try going to a college library if there is one nearby and get a textbook, then follow through it just as if you are a student.

But again, you cannot have an understanding of the advanced things without starting with the basics. And there is no avoiding math, you should embrace it - calculus will help more than you know.
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#7

Post by Something Awesome »

Destructionator XV wrote:But again, you cannot have an understanding of the advanced things without starting with the basics. And there is no avoiding math, you should embrace it - calculus will help more than you know.
Or just forget the whole "physics" thing and just learn calculus for fun. :wink:

Online, pretty much all you will find is the basics, and even then, it'll be things like study guides for school and supplemental lessons. A textbook and/or teacher is still the best way to learn, unless you're the reincarnation of Einstein or something. As Hotfoot said, Dr. Hawking's books are written to teach a bit about more complex physics without all the math, but you'll still have difficulty understanding it without a basic foundation.
Last edited by Something Awesome on Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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