Want to study physics? Read these 10 books 

Check out Socratica's video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tlzIzdJ3Exg.html

Simon: A Physics degree is basically a math degree with applications. Applied Mathematicians: *Bruh.*

my goal is to learn and absorb as much fascinating info in a broad range of science fields - classical physics, quantum, chemistry, biology, biochemistry . all of it just fascinates me so much, and I especially love deriving math equations to find their origination! really gets my brain thinking. Thanks for recommending these books! makes my journey a little less complicated :)

I would love to add "Introduction to electrodynamics" by DJ Griffiths. I foud it very good and it doesnt feel like you are readng a book, instead this book feels like there is a person standing before me and forcing me to think. Definitely a great book

I am 26 and basically studied politics in my undergrad. To some degree, I do regret not going the stem, particularly physics path. My insecurity with math played a big role, but I've come to terms that we all will die and I'd rather go understanding the world a bit better via math than not at all. Thanks for these recommendations.

"I don't know if I have found THE book on quantum mechanics .. I don't think one exists really" that's the thing about a book on quantum mechanics -- you can't KNOW it exists until you see it

I study Maths at university and am in my final year, I cannot overstate how many of my friends became serious about studying maths at uni after having read Alex Bellos's "adventures in numberland". For soooo many of them that book was one of the biggest reasons! Upon reading it, it actually convinced me not to study physics at uni and to study maths instead. So read with caution! :)

Knowledge speaks, wisdom listens. Its good to see someone so passionate about learning. Thanks man.

I'm hoping my textbook "On the Temperatures of Terrestrial Planets" will be helpful to people. Now if I can only get it published!

I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR THIS.

1. Feynman Lectures on Physics (3 vol.)>Feynman 2. The Theoretical Minimum>Leonard Susskind 3. Relativity:The Special and General Theory>Albert Einstein 4. Concepts of Modern Physics>Arthur Beiser 5. History of Physics>Albert Einstein 6. The Road to Reality>Roger Penrose 7. A Brief History of Time>Stephen Hawking 8. Black Holes>Jayant Narlikar 9. A Universe From Nothing>Lawrence Krauss 10. The Dreams That Stuff Is Made Of>Stephen Hawking (editor)

Thank you for the book suggestions. As an engineer who has always been passionate about math and physics, I was intrigued by modern physics, despite neither relativity nor quantum mechanics were part of any course syllabus at my university. I studied these subjects on the side and found them really inspiring, I would go as far as to say that they gave me a novel perspective on life itself. That prompted me to create some online courses on Udemy on Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Field Theory, special and General Relativity. It’s not my job of course, but I love talking about these topics while using some mathematics for “intuition”.

I am also 12 and wildly fascinated by physics, and have tons of books to read everyday. I am sure that Simon can agree that physics is absolutely mind-blowing too!

Me: "shamelessly downloading these books through pdf formats from random websites that says "FREE!!"....''

Here are some lighter reading choices... 1. The Force of Symmetry, Vincent Icke 2. Deep Down Things - The Breathtaking Beauty of Particle Physics, Bruce A. Schumm 3. Spacetime and Electromagnetism, J.R. Lucas & P.E. Hodgson I also enjoy books that give you a historical prospective. 4. The Story of Electrical & Magnetic Measurements, Joseph F. Keithly (Yes, that Keithly) 5. The Science of Measurement A Historical Survey, Herbert Arthur Klein 6. Experiments in Modern Physics, Adrian C. Milissinos, Jim Napolitano And some Textbooks... 7. Laser Physics, Peter W. Milonni, Joseph H. Eberly 8. Solid State Physics, J.S. Blakemore 9. Classical Electrodynamics, John David Jackson (if you're up for a challenge!)

I'd also like to add, basically everything written by David J. Griffiths (esp. his electrodynamics book, though his quantum mech book is also one of my favorites right up there with Shankar), and also Introduction to Thermal Physics by Daniel V. Schroeder. I don't know why, but these authors just have this almost magical way of making very complex and rigorous physics intuitive in such a deep and profound way that it's almost like learning it for the first time. Griffiths is pretty much known by every single physics student, so I don't think that there's much more to add about that, but I only discovered Schroeder's book after having graduated, and reading the textbook for the first time, he really makes those ideas so intuitive it's as if I never really truly understood it before - I just knew the equation.

As a physics major in college 40+ years ago, I would say you forgot to recommend The Sleepwalkers (1959 by Arthur Koestler). A must read just out of curiosity about the lives of those great names in math, physics and astronomy.

The Feynman lectures on physics is my introductory book as a high school student who is too excited to do a physics research lol

Thank you so much for this video! I read Alex's Adventures in Numberland and I HIGHLY recommend it to everyone! I want to study Physics and with this book I finally understood the beauty of mathematics. I actually am thinking about studying math now lol. This book is the perfect example for showing how math should be teached, students should understand how and why they have to learn mathematics and also know its history!

All Susskind's books are excellent! They're not pedantic in details but show you the genuine physics from a very beginning level, and so do all of A. Zee.

Wow! So intensely helpful to have the ability to know what books to read, there are so many to choose. Having a concise list is a great answer for all who are interested. Thank you again!!

PhD in physics?? Dude, you look 18 😅 nice job! Thank you so much for this!

I learnt physics in high school reading Higher Secondary Physics by Dutta, Pal, Chaudhuri (DPC). This book has topics with solved examples and also exercises. This is available in two volumes.

Amazing, thanks Simon!

Nothing much to do with the actual Physics content, but "Surely you're joking Mr Feynman", a biography about Feynmans life, really inspired me to do a degree in physics. Also, anyone with an interest in particle physics, I would highly recommend "The Cosmic Onion" by Frank Close, it re-enforced greatly my interest in particle physics and it's a great introduction to the topic.

Feynman is a legend

I read “Alex’s Adventures in Numberland” based on your recommendation and thoroughly enjoyed it. To all those non-math persons out there, I’m a member of that group, and yet had no difficulty with this book and strongly recommend it, not even for maths but just as an interesting and enjoyable book.

Great video. Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll definitely be making an Amazon order soon!

The most useful 15 mins of my life ;-) Thanks for the video, my friend!

I'm not a student, but I just like physics. I used to love maths and physics in school but somehow drifted into the social sciences. Now after watching a number of youtube videos I decided to increase my familiarity with the concepts and details of physics because it is so much fun, and which is why I'm looking for a book(s). Hopefully, these will be good enough for a mere enthusiast.

I am in mother's womb and I am very facinated about Physics.. I want to do PhD like yours. Thanks Simon for suggesting these books as it will help me once I get born....

Secrets of Mental Math by Arthur Benjamin and Michael Shermer is also really good. If you’re doing labs where you have to apply the same operations to dozens of pieces of data, or doing a test with a time limit where you have to compute answers, being able to do arithmetic in a split second in your head can really save you a lot of valuable time

Thank you so much for these recommendations! I am very interested in all of them, and Alex's Adventures in Numberland seems especially interesting. Time to hit the books right away!

Leonard Susskind's 'The Theoretical Minimum' - I read this in school before doing physics at university and it was the real turning point for me where I became really excited by physics and was sure I wanted to do it for a degree. It's fully mathematical and gets you to some quite advanced places (topics in 2nd year undergrad) but also has an accessible, gentle approach. Recommend for sixth-form/pre-uni students already interested in physics :)

thank you very much for this video.it felt like a great friend who was sharing his favourite books and it felt very friendly and also very well organized and interesting too

Thank you for posting this! You have no idea the extent to which this helps me.

Black Holes & Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy by Kip Thorne How to teach Quantum Physics to your dog by Chad Orzel Does God Play Dice by Ian Stewart What is Mathematics by Herbert Robbins and Richard Courant These are excellent books, recommend to anyone at around Yr11-Alevel and above!

I want to be a writer. I am not going to study science. But, I sure as hell am going to be one of the widest readers of my eclectic interests (science is definitely one; I am much like Goethe, minus the intellect). Thank you so much!

Love the theory of everything and Alex's adventure in number land made me interested in math

Hc verma kidhar hai

Thank you so much for this video. I've recently been on the look out for some physics books to read and study and you really nailed it with the recommendations , I cant thank you more. I'm currently studying A-LEVEL physics and I will definitely pick up Six Easy Pieces as my morning read

Simon, I MUST recommend to all viewers starting off their physics degree: How To Ace Calculus, and How To Ace the rest of Calculus Two fantastic texts for the advanced high-school student, or a struggling first-year university student, which explain the fundamentals of calculus and differential equations with crystal clarity.

With time stamps: #10 00:51 - Richard Feynman - Six Easy Pieces ✅ #9 02:10 - Richard Feynman - Six Not-So-Easy Pieces ✅ #8 - 02:43 - Alex's Adventures In Numberland ✅ #7 - 03:53 - Physics of The Impossible #6 - 05:04 - Quantum ✅ #5 - 07:05 - Mathmetical Methods for Physics and Engineers (THIRD EDITION)✅ #4 - 08:13 - Fundamentals of Physics #3 - 09:25 - div grad curl and all that #2 - 12:13 - The Visual Display of Quantitative Information #1 - 10:30 - Concepts in Thermal Physics

For those of you interested in electromagnetics waves I'd strongly recommend electromagnetic waves by Someda, it goes pretty deep into details (I'm using it for 3d year of uni) but still remain understandable and easy to follow

Thanks for making the video.😊

"QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter" also by Richard Feynman. It's a great book that covers complicated topics in a condensed and easy to read manner. Anyone interested in science could potentially enjoy it. No advanced degrees or university courses required.

Thanks a ton simon clark!.. For your valueble recommendations..... Appreciate if you could just give a brief sneeky peek.... Bits and pieces from those books which you really liked.....

Hey! You are amazing Simon. A great presenter of everything. 👍🏻

Some of my recommendations: Griffiths - Electrodynamics, Griffiths - Quantum Mechanics, Goldstein - Classical Mechanics, Hartle - Gravity, Resnick, Halliday, Walker, the Landau Lifshitz series, Thompson - statistical mechanics.

After vector calculus and some statistics reading, I recommend prospective students to read a bit about machine learning. It's a lifesaver if you ever have to work with equipment that generates gigabites if data per second to weed out faulty readings for example and in general one will always find use for linear regression and k-means clustering when analysing data. Usually online resources suffice.

Thank you so much Simon. I have my hands on all of these recommended books, you're 💯 percent right.

Physicist here. You had my absolute favourite book in the pile - The Fabric Of The Cosmos, by Brian Greene - and you didn't mention it. I'm a bit sad haha. But great video!!

I hated thermodynamics when I was studying physics. But the way you present it,this book sounds fun indeed. We studies physics from Giancoli's books. I liked those a lot. And while I'm working as an engineer and not in physics, I still go back to the book every now and again.

"What is real?" is a very good and new quantum book that also presents the material chronologically as well as the philosophical convictions of the key players

Currently reading the Feynman Lectures on Physics (yeah, the whole thing) as someone who just graduated from high school. Certain parts still seem quite difficult, but surely it is interesting and can be helpful!

H M Schey was one of the Math professors at my college. He had a good sense of humor. He always made cookies to bring in on Fridays when the Math Department just chilled out for an hour. May he Rest In Peace.

Hi Simon, i've been a math teacher for 2 years now and my principal saw the potential in me to teach physics for middle school (O levels). Can you recommend some great text books for physics? or any books that will get my students (and me) more interested in the subject? thanks so much. love you simon!

Do 10 books for Astrophysics.

Thanks very much!!!! You have saved me so much time and effort to find good books

Universe in a nutshell,hyperspace,brief history of time are my favourites.

Feynman’s lectures on physics

The most important subject, which was never taught, back in the 60's, nor were any books written on the subject, which I never came across or was ever introduced to, is the bonus book, Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Back in the day, I, like others, had to teach themselves how to interpret, develop, and introduce (present) quantitative data. I was fortunate, over most, to figure this out, early in my career. It benefited me and my investigations and programs throughout my career path as a double major prior to military service in Physics and Mathematics, then after military service, Electrical Engineering, and Computer Science both undergraduate and graduate studies. Excellent presentation and very informative too, Dr. Simon Clark. Several of your selections roused my interest and curiosity to the point of making several purchases. Thank you.

5:50 the memories! I read In Search of Schrodingers Cat when I was 12! First book on the quantum and I absolutely loved it, got me into physics, and from on there I read countless other books but none compare to my first

The Quantum Universe (textbook) by Tony Hey and Patrick Walters. From quantum tunnelling to Hawking radiation, the book covers all you need when it comes to studying physics. I have a copy, from my dad. It was the textbook he used in university (at Oxford).

(1) Fundamentals of Physics - Shankar (2) Essential Graduate Physics - Likharev (3) Nuclear and Particle Physics - Martin (4) The Oxford Solid State Basics - Simon (5) An Invitation to Astrophysics - Padmanabhan (6) Modern Classical Physics - Thorne (7) Cosmology - Weinberg (8) Lectures on Quantum Mechanics - Weinberg (9) Quantum Field Theory and The Standard Model - Schwartz (10) Mathematical Physics - Hassani Comentary (1) Shankar's books cover introductory calculus-based physics (Newtonian mechanics, special relativity, oscillations and waves, fluids, thermodynamics, electricity & magnetism, optics, introductory quantum mechanics). (2) Likharev's books (also freely available as lecture notes) cover the core of undergraduate theoretical physics: analytical mechanics, two further semesters of electromagnetism, undergraduate quantum mechanics, and statistical physics. (3) Martin's book introduces nuclear and particle physics at undergraduate level. (4) Simon's book introduces solid state physics at undergraduate level. (5) Padmanabhan's book is a mature introduction to astrophysics, and completes your undergraduate physics education. (6) Thorne's book covers classical statistical mechanics, optics, solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, plasmas, special relativity and general relativity, all at graduate level. (7) Weinberg's Cosmology is a thorough textbook in cosmology. (8) Weinberg's Lectures on Quantum Mechanics is a great textbook for graduate level quantum mechanics. (9) Schwartz's book covers quantum field theory and the standard model of particle physics. (10) Hassani's book helps with all the advanced mathematics along the way.

"Theory of Everything" by Hawking & also "Brief History Of Time" by Hawking. Then "The Man Who Knew Infinity"(Ramanujan's biography) by Robert Kanigel

A List of *Audio Books,* here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1nPCY3vxP54.html

Simon you have the ideal personality to attract people to pursue serious study work in physics, the most beautiful subject by far.

In the first category for quantum physics I can recommend Brian Cox’s The quantum universe, I enjoyed it a lot, it helped me understand and give me a base in a field about which I never learned before.

'A brief history of time' by Stephen Hawking is also great.

He’s so right about Alex’s Adventures in Numberland, completely changed how I see mathematics, amazing book and recommendation!

This video is great and the comments are equally as helpful, everyone is so friendly and great here!

I love these videos!

I'm actually studying physics and I couldn't agree more with your recommendations , specially with "the bible of maths" , it was really helpful with all math subjects. Thanks for making those videos, here's a new subscriber! 😊

Thank you for recommending me! I am gonna make it! Thank you so much!!

Thank you for this video, I am looking forward to start a Physics degree while accomplishing an engineering degree (im in second year), in Belgium. I think i'll read a couple of those books in the summer :)

"Quantum: a guide for the perplexed."

Concepts of physics by H. C. Verma is an absolute essential for a physics student. Best way to understand the physics from the base to top of the building.

I am 14 and i want to start with my goal now because ever since i was a kid i had this natural love for science and curiosity towards how things work and e.t.c and this is perfect for me start since ik pretty much the basics and a bit more abou the complex parts.

this really helped me and inspired me in some way but i’m planning to buy six easy pieces !!

Can i read these books as a super hobby???

How about " Sears and Zemansky's University Physics with Modern Physics ( Young and Freedman ) " ?

Thank you very much I really needed suggestions on which book i should start with

physics of the impossible and the elegant universe are my favorite books too. will check out the rest of the book on your list. thanks!

I've just started my university . And David J Griffith's " Introduction to Electrodynamics" is my favourite one !!!

I strongly recomend "For the love of physics" by Walter Lewin, especially for younger audiences

Didn't expect to find a Tufte recommendation here!

Thank you so much for this :)

Sir I read irodov's problems in physics and found it challenging and I think it is a good book.

I would ABSOLUTELY recommend "Seven Brief Lessons in Physics" by Carlo Rovelli. It really kickstarted my love of physics. Also "Computing with Quantum Cats" by John Gribbin for quantum physics (especially quantum computing). Pretty much anything by John Gribbin and Carlo Rovelli. A. Zee also has some really good books such as "on gravity".

I really want to study physics! Thanks for this

I'm a feynman lectures supporter 🔥🔥, helped me so much during physics c E&M in high school

Personally my favourite is the a level cgp revision guide

The Feynman Lectures are definively missing. Although I too would find it hart to catergorize them. The maths gets harder every chapter, but the approach Feynman takes is phenomenal. I guess it would be suitable for shortly after High School

Thanks for this, Simon

Thank you so much for this video! I'm in the 9th grade, and I find physics very interesting...I'll be reading the books that you've shown..I guess, my bucket list is full for a few months😄😋

I am an HS student from India and here, whether one is aspiring to be an engineer or a physicist, "Concepts of Physics" by Dr. HC Verma is our Bible.

As a Physics❤lover finally I can say that finally RU-vid is recommending me some good stuffs😍Thanks alot brother

Thank you! These books look really good.

My recommendation of physics textbooks: 1. Classical Mechanics - Marion, Goldstein Marion’s book introduces Lagrangian and Hamiltonian in the proper moment, who are new to these formulations. It also dives deep into oscillation parts, which can be connected to chaos theory. Although some topics such as motion due to central force and scattering is a bit less introduced, these topics can be learnt using Goldstein. Goldstein’s book is probably the most recognized Classical Mechanics book, since it includes concepts related to symmetry that arises from Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics. It also introduces classical perturbation, which isn’t introduced in Marion. Other books out there are Kittel, Fowles, Landau, and more. 2. Electrodynamics - Griffiths, Jackson Griffiths’s Electrodynamics is one of the most successful undergrad level textbook, since it introduces all the necessary concepts required in a kind manner. It is probably one of the best books to start with. Then moving on to Jackson’s book, which is focused on problems that are challenging, therefore used normally at grad school level. Since Electrodynamics is a subject also learnt in engineering major, it could be a good idea to look at textbooks that are used in engineering classes. 3. Quantum Mechanics - Shankar, Sakurai, Jackson Griffiths also wrote a Quantum Mechanics textbook, but it only fits when someone doesn’t know anything about quantum mechanics at all. It is good for grasping the basic ideas behind the formalism, and once you did, you should probably move on to Shankar. Shankar’s book gives a good explanation of the mathematical basis of quantum mechanics, and shows diverse theoretical examples. It also contains a lot of subjects, including the path integral formulation. Now, if you want to be a particle physicist (especially theorist), Sakurai is the go to. It introduces basic particle physics theory, and the mathematics behind it, such as Lie algebra. If you want to be in the experiment field, the new book from Jackson would suit you. Personally, I think if you are somewhat familiar with quantum mechanics, studying both Sakurai and Jackson would be great. Other books that are decent would be Ashok Das or Landau. A more historical approach would be Dirac or Schiff. From what I heard, Gasiorowicz or Townsend are quite bad to read. 4. Statistical Mechanics - idk I haven’t read many books, and the books that I read wasn’t very good in my opinion (it’s probably because the subject is hard). My textbook in undergrad was Hardy and Binek, but it was very hard to understand, and the structure of the book was a bit weird to me. Perhaps others could recommend a good Stat mech book down below.