Science and Inquiry discussion

I am looking for someone to guide me as to the book or books one has to read to get a full overview or revision of all of physics theories through the different disciplines and schools.

I am an enthusiast and so far I have read some books and watched a whole lot of documentaries and debates on various theories and matters but I get the feeling there are a lot of theories that I have no yet heard about and, at the same time, I don't think I have a good grip on the ones I have already studied.

Hence my interest in being guided as to which 10 or more books could give me an introduction on all cosmology theories and others regarding quantum physics, Gravity, the standard model and string theory among others.

I would be seeking recommendations of books written for the general audience of course :)

Regards from Mexico City
Rodrigo

I moved this post from the General folder to Additional Book Discussions, because I think it fits better there.

Hi Rodrigo--

Wanting to read about all of physics, but only at a pop-sci level, might be... a bit tricky. If you're willing to read 10 books, have you thought about just working your way though a freshman/sophomore level physics textbook? Many have editions that include chapters on special relativity and elementary QM/atomic physics.

In that vein, if you want a survey of "all physics", you can try the famous (notorious) "Feynman Lectures on Physics", but they are famous (notorious) for a reason :)

I've not personally read it, but Penrose's "Road to Reality" is highly recommended (and sitting on my shelf.) This might be your best starting place, as I believe it doesn't assume too much starting knowledge (but does take you through quite a bit of math.)

Note that this will not really give you what you're asking for.

Also, what is your list? So far you have: "All cosmology", QM, General Relativity, String theory, and particle physics.

You should definitely include thermodynamics (really, statistical mechanics) and you need to understand classical electrodynamics and Special Relativity. A bit of astrophysics wouldn't hurt, if you want to understand discussions involving cosmology (they are not the same thing, but e.g. processes effecting the Cosmic Microwave Background or the diffuse gamma-ray background would be important for understanding how those things tie to cosmology.)

And of course classical mechanics, which you can't ever get away from :)

That is a survey of "all physics"... except it doesn't include any fluid mechanics, computational/numerical studies, plasma, etc. and many more fields (e.g. anything from so-called 'solid state physics.') :) But I suspect from your note that you're not particularly interested in those other fields, correct?

Daniel wrote: "I've not personally read it, but Penrose's "Road to Reality" is highly recommended (and sitting on my shelf.) This might be your best starting place, as I believe it doesn't assume too much starting knowledge (but does take you through quite a bit of math.)."

Dear God, no. Do not read this as a starting place. The maths gets really hard, really quickly. I have friends with physics degrees who found sections tough going.

I would highly recommend Brian Greene's books The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory for the relativities and string theory and his The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos for quantum stuff/parallel universes.

For a layman's overview of all of science (including all the stuff on your list) A Short History of Nearly Everything is good it has an excellent section on basic cosmology and covers the stories behind how we know what we know.

I loved Quantum:A Guide for the Perplexed" by Jim al-Kahlili. So far the clearest explanation of quantum physics I have found, and I have been actively looking! You don't have to be a physicist or mathematician to comprehend it. I wouldn't say it's super easy, but it is fun and interesting and the pictures are great.

Daniel Cunningham wrote: "you can try the famous (notorious) "Feynman Lectures on Physics", but they are famous (notorious) for a reason :)"

I was going to start on these next. Why are they considered notorious?

They are great summaries of physics, with lots of interesting commentary, and they were intended to be freshman/sophomore lectures. But many people found (and find) the level of material and the order of presentation to be more than introductory and less than accessible. Specific to the books, they also don't have e.g. worked examples that you would expect from an actual textbook.

I've heard it said a couple of times that, supposedly, by the end of the first quarter/semester, many enrolled students had dropped but that professors and grad students replaced them because the lectures are such interesting reviews of physics. Apocryphal or not, that might give you and idea of the problem from a first-timers' point of view. (And the class/lectures were not repeated, which is non-apocryphal.)