This textbook is designed for use with first- and second-year college level physics for engineers and scientists. While the content is not mathematically complicated or very advanced, the students are expected to be familiar with differential calculus and some integral calculus.
Unlike the Modern Physics textbook, this textbook will stay with the traditional order in presentation of topics in mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, and geometric optics. These consist the first two semesters and perhaps first few weeks of the third semester. The topics in modern physics, which can be covered during the third semester in the remaining time, can be presented or read in any order.
In keeping with maintaining the orthodox order, we will also maintain the traditional chapter-section organization. A few suggested break points between semesters are shown below as well. These break points are marked by a horizontal line between chapters.
(Note to editors: For the purpose of hierarchical organization, at least until the organization of the book is settled down, it should be: "Physics with Calculus/General Topic/Specific Topic", where "General Topic" is any of the following: Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Waves, Electromagnetism, Optics, Modern. No additional "general topic" should be necessary. "Specific Topic" is what it sounds like it is. It can be as specific as necessary, such as "Conservation of Angular Momentum in Spin-Orbit Coupling", or as general as necessary, such as "Newton's Laws". More specific information, such as ordering of chapters will be kept in this module only. This should minimize the need to rename books each time one section moves from one chapter to another, without the unclear "Part I" or "Unit I".)
Introductions
Newtonian mechanics: force, motion, and waves
Measurement
Kinematics
Newton's Laws
Energy
Gravity
Other Topics
Thermodynamics
Electromagnetism
- Electric Charge and Coulomb's Law
- Electric Fields
- Continuous Charge Distributions
- Gauss' Law
- Voltage
- Field Energy
- Capacitance, Inductance, LRC Circuits
- Current and Circuits
- Resistance
- Magnetic fields
- Ampere's Law
- Electromagnetic Induction
- AC Circuits
- Maxwell's Equations
- Electromagnetic Waves
Optics
- Light
- Geometric Optics
- Wave Properties of Light
Modern Physics
- Relativity
- Special Relativity
- Quantum Mechanics
- Atoms
- The Bohr Model
- The Schroedinger Equation
Indices and appendices
See Also
- Simple Nature, an online physics textbook released under a CC BY-SA license.