A Radically Modern Approach to Introductory Physics
Volume 2: Four Forces
Second Edition
This nontraditional text arose from the conviction that science and engineering students would benefit from an introductory course which covers all of physics from a modern point of view. The text takes the perspective of a modern particle physicist and is based more on wave dynamics and relativity than on classical mechanics. The subject matter is split into two volumes of twelve chapters each.
Volume 1 covered:
- Waves, including geometrical optics
- Theory of relativity
- Relativistic matter waves and quantum mechanics
- Classical mechanics as the geometric optics limit of quantum mechanics
This is Volume 2, which covers:
- Gravity
- A treatment of electromagnetism which builds on relativity
- Atomic, nuclear, and particle physics
- Statistical mechanics and thermodynamics
The result is a conceptually challenging but mathematically simple text which can be covered in two semesters or three quarters without omitting any content. Such a course has been offered for over ten years at New Mexico Tech to incoming physics majors and other interested students who are well prepared in high school physics and mathematics.