Modern Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Quantum Theory, Relativity, and Statistical Mechanics

By Arief RH. Obdam

From the ultraviolet catastrophe to the edge of the observable universe - one continuous chain of reasoning, derived, not asserted. Most physics books hand you a formula and move on. This one shows you where it comes from - and then uses it again three chapters later, because that's how physics actually works.

Modern Physics for Scientists and Engineers is an 18-chapter, first-principles journey through the two revolutions that built 20th- and 21st-century physics: quantum mechanics and relativity. It begins with a single specific failure of classical physics - the blackbody radiation catastrophe - and follows an unbroken thread of derivation through Planck, Bohr, and Schr dinger; through spin, identical particles, and the multi-electron atom; through statistical mechanics, solid-state physics, and nuclear and particle physics; through special and general relativity; and finally to the genuine frontiers of the field - quantum computing, dark matter, gravitational waves, and the search for a theory of everything.

What makes this book different

Most textbooks treat each chapter as an island. This one doesn't. Chapter 14's Fermi energy is the same formula Chapter 9 estimated by hand for a white dwarf star. Chapter 17's gravitational redshift is derived using nothing but Chapter 2's Doppler formula and Einstein's equivalence principle. Chapter 1's blackbody spectrum gets re-derived - correctly, from first principles - in Chapter 4, again in Chapter 13, and a third time in Chapter 14, from three completely different starting points that all land on the identical equation. By the time you reach the final chapter, you're not memorizing 18 disconnected topics - you're watching one coherent structure reveal itself.

Every derivation is worked in full. Every major result is followed by multiple solved numerical examples using real data: the actual copper K-alpha X-ray line used in crystallography, the real GPS relativistic time correction, the historic 1919 Eddington eclipse deflection, LIGO's first gravitational wave detection, the measured Lamb shift, the true temperature of the cosmic microwave background. Hundreds of practice problems, fully worked, reinforce every chapter.

Inside, you'll master: Quantum mechanics from the Schr dinger equation through operator formalism, angular momentum, spin, and the exact solution of hydrogenSpecial and general relativity - from time dilation to black holes, gravitational waves, and the Einstein field equationsStatistical mechanics - classical and quantum - from the Boltzmann distribution to Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statisticsMulti-electron atoms, molecular bonding, and spectroscopySolid-state physics: band theory, semiconductors, and superconductivityNuclear and particle physics, from radioactive decay to the Standard ModelCurrent frontiers: quantum computing, entanglement, dark matter, dark energy, and the search for quantum gravity
Richly illustrated with clear, labeled diagrams throughout, and written for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, working engineers who need a rigorous refresher, and self-directed learners who want to actually understand physics - not just pass through it. This isn't a book you read once. It's the reference you keep open on your desk.

Scroll up and click Buy Now to start building the physics foundation that connects everything - one derivation at a time.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HBQ46LM9
• ISBN13: 9798189335525
• Release Date: July 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 522 Pages
• Weight: 2.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 8.5" x 11.0"