©Fernando Caracena 2013
by Fernando Caracena, PhD
What is this?
This is a walkabout through the land of physics. It is an adventurous trek. In going back through the various concepts, I find that all I learned about physics is still there in my mind; but when I dredge it up out of my memory, the concepts have been reduced to a simpler form than when I learned them. They are also much better connected. It is that connectivity which has guided my choice of topics and how I treat them.
In the past, I have struggled with the idea of writing a book on physics that anyone could understand. I have taught a variety of courses in physics; but I found that any book that tries to present the subject of physics in a serious manner cannot ignore the math. One can write an entertaining series that does not connect with how physics can be done, so that the student is left with the impressions that can be used in only vague ways.
In this particular trek, I will cover various aspects of physics in the way that they come out of my mind. In this form they make sense to me; but later, if I get proper feedback on the physics, I will try to adapt what I have written into a form that is understandable to as wide an audiance as possible.
Introduction
What is physics?
The way physicists are
Units of measure
Mathematics is the Language of Physics
Classical physics--Kinematics and Newtonian Mechanics
Grokking Galileo’s Physics I
Grokking Galileo’s Physics part II
Visualization
Inertial Frames of Reference
Classical Mechanics
Ballistics of Galileo
The Concepts of Energy and Momentum Conservation
The Force of Gravity
Angular Momentum
Circular Motion and Planetary Orbits
Space and Time in Classical Physics
Thermodynamics
Spontaneous Order and Dissipative Structures
Grokking Thermodynamics
Grokking the Thermodynamic Theory of Gases
Grokking the Kinetic Theory of Gases part I
Grokking the Kinetic Theory of Gases part II
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Waves
Fluid dynamics
Weather
Electromagnetism
The electric field-electrostatics
Lines of Force
The magnetic field
Maxwell’s Equations
Electromagnetic waves
Modern Physics
Relativity
Prelude to Special RelativityGrokking Special Relativity Special Relativity II—Standard notation
Quantum physics
The electronAtoms Prelude to Quantum Physics
Photons and the Electromagnetic field
Wavicles–quantum quanderies
The Old Quntum Theory
The universe is a duality of processes Localization of Quantum Events The Schrödinger equation
States in Quantum Mechanics
Polarization States of Photons
The 1-D Harmonic Oscillator in Quantum Mechanics
Further Mathematical treatment of Quantum States
Web notes on quantum mechanics 9 May 2013 Why The Weirdness of Quantum Physics?
The Hydrogen Atom Analyzed Using Commutator Algebra I
Many Electron Atoms
Holistic vs Redutionist Ideas in Physics
Holistic physics some proposed solutions for some qauntum qandaries
Astrophysics
Divine Intervention and Dark Matters
Creation of the Universe Part I.
Mathematical Appendix
Vector Algebra
Vectors and Vector Algebra
Grokking Calculus
Grokking Calculus–Integral Calculus
Some Advanced Calculus
Hacking Math I--Math Precision of Python