Thinking Like a Physicist, Physics Problems for Undergraduates

By N. Thompson

Book Overview

This title features a collection of around 150 examination-type questions for first degree students, complete with solutions. Problems of varying degrees of difficulty test students' ability to apply their knowledge and understanding to situations not previously encountered in course work or textbooks.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0852745133
• ISBN13: 9780852745137
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.5" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

A special kind of book.

I COMPLETELY agree with Daniel Lemus that for the purpose of passing the quals, his list of other books is not only better, but all that is needed. BUT I STONGLY disagree that this book is not worth it. But let's first understand something. Most US quals consist of formulaic problems, such as: - The "rigid body problem," where if you know how to calculate the inertia tensor, and you know Euler's equations, then you can find the angular momentum vector, the torque, the precession, etc. - The "boundary value problem" in electrostatics or magnetostatics, which, knowing Maxwell's equations, can be solved by purely mathematical methods. - The "perturbation theory problem," where if you know the formulas from quantum mechanics, you can find the level shift of an atom in an external field, or some such situation. - The "partition function problem" where response functions, for example, magnetic susceptibility, or other thermodynamic functions, can be calculated knowing how to calculate partition functions for simple systems. - Etc. You all know the long list. Just look at your last 4 years of homework problems. I am in NO WAY denigrating these kinds of problems or these kinds of exams! They are and were an essential part of training in physics. But Thompson's book is different. It's about messy, squishy, ugly real life problems. Things like interstellar gunk condensing into a planet or star, surface tension and viscosity in real fluids, i.e. more realistic models of the physical world. For that reason, this book is a gem, not to be missed. It is very much in the spirit of Pippard's "Cavendish Problems in Physics," another gem. But unlike Pippard, Thompson gives detailed solutions.