Physics (5th Edition)

Rating:
Summary: A vigorous Physics Treatise without glossy pictures
Review: As Physics should be! Alonso and Finn provide a vigorous treatise of the subject with a great deal of calculus. That is not necesarily bad as--contrary to the belief of fresher students--physics is about mathematics. Alonso and Finn's book has certainly made it into the category of Classical Physics Textbooks as much as the "Therory of Relativity" by Albert Einstein. It is ashaming that in the US the book did not seem to get the right credentials, but given the many translations of Alonso and Finn's book into European languages, this side of the Alantic the book has had a very positive resonance indeed. And just take a look at the very extensive list of reviewers of the book: This list tells the potential buyer of the book that really great minds have been working on it: Professor Tomas Bohr (Copenhague, Denmark), the late Professor Karl Luchner (Ludwig Maximillian University Munich, Germany), Professor William Poon (University of Edinburgh, Scotland) etc. etc.
All in all a very satisfiying book for first year physics students and beyond.

Rating:
Summary: perhaps the most lucid basic textbook approach
Review: Beiser's textbook is simply glorious. I've used it for years, and students really appreciate his explication and approach to problems. It's pricey, yes, but definitely stands out in a crowded field. THIS IS THE ONE TO GET. ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES.

Rating:
Summary: The best 1st year university physics book in print!
Review: The book I am reviewing ("Physics" by Marcelo Alonso and Edward J. Finn. Harlow, England. Addison-Wesley (1992). reprinted 1995-96. 1138 pages. ISBN 0-201-56518-8. paperback) is in my opinion the best first year undergraduate book (thankfully!) still avaliable in the US. Strangely, even though written by two American professors - one from The Florida Institute of Technology and the other from Georgetown University - this book became more famous abroad, especially in Europe. It was translated in several European languages including Dutch, Italian, German, Swedish, as well as Spanish and Portugese (i.e. also used in Latin American countries).

This book was originally published under a longer title: Fundamental University Physics (Reading, Mass., Addison-Wesley (c) 1967-68). It was divided in the following three hardback volumes: volume one: Classical Mechanics and Thermodynamics; volume two: Waves and Fields; volume three: Quantum and Statistical Mechanics). It was reprinted for several years until a new edition came in in 1980-83. This new edition left the book's strenghts essentially unchanged, and simply updated the earlier edition. The same way, this current textbook (Physics, 1992) leaves essentially untouched the classical as well as moderns strengths of its original predecessors. It is up to date up to 1992 - for example the chapter on space exploration has a lucid discission of the VEEGA Galileo mission based on information available at that time.

The strengths of this classic book are primarily classic themselves. First of all the book is characterized by consisting of a central backbone of mathematical equations that have been rigorously and carefully derived . Where other books say "it is obvious that eqn. 117 transforms into 121..." the authors here derive the fundamental equations of current physics from first principles as much as possible. It is obvious that rigorous analysis of physical models, systems, and empirical data requires the use of integral as well as differential calculus. While other authors either rely little on calculus, or never bother to use it at all, Alonso and Finn make effective use of calculus as the need arises. (Actually, there are physics texts out there that are not even calculus based... three hundred years of mathematical power and elegance ignored simply because college students today do not have a workable knowledge of basic calculus)

The organization of the book blends classical topics with modern ones in as natural a fashion as possible. For example, in Chapter 7 which deals with the the applications of the laws of motion, the fundamental concepts that govern rocket propulsion are laid out. In chapters 19-20 the special and (less so) general theories of relativity were discussed followed by an exposition of the pronciples of modern high energy and particle physics. One whole chapter is devoted to Statistical Mechanics (which no other introductory book dares or cares to include). This chapter then sets the stage for applications in transport phenomena, thermodynamics, etc.

In other words, the field of Theoretical Physics blends with that of Experimental Physics in this book. The 41 chapters cover the standard material (classical and modern physics) taught to bright students in their first year of university studies. This may seems both laborious as well as intriguing for the young but bright student (i.e. not below 1300 SATII). Once familiar with the basic anatomy of the book, the user should be able to locate modern physics material spread in the 1100+ pages. The book actually ends with a discussion of the attempts at unifying the forces, the success of the electro-weak theory, as well as future GUTs (Grand Unified Theory).

The number, nature and topics of exercices and problems are traditional and well chosen. This helps make the book compact; truly in its 1100+ pages it conveys more information more effectively than 1600+ page books (like the current book's original edition). Actually, pictures have been reduced in size as compared to the first two editions, and they are incorporated in-text, making the book heavily packed with standard physics information.

Naturally, the things that turn off a nontradionalist will turn on the tradionalist when choosing a book for a course or reference or other purposes. This book includes the "standard" information that should be contained in the first year of a physics major's curriculum. It spends proper time explaining key principles. For example it does not attempt to derive a form of Schrodinger's Equation but it uses quantum mechanical principles to illustrate the problem of the particle/s in a variety of wells (primarily in 1D). The in-text problems chosen to illustarate and emphasize physical principles are mostly classical, standard problems. Many have several parts which are designed to "bring up" the reader from first principles all the way to the ultimate applications in physics.

Further, the nontraditionalist may note that this thoroughly black and white paperback lacks the glamorous, color illustrations of current textbooks such as those from Beisner, Serway, Sears, Fishbane, Pasachoff, Giancoli, Halliday, Lea, Hecht, Rex, Nolan, etc. etc. (note: I am listing the above books based on a simple query on physics textbooks on amazon. And not all of the above texts are equally poor or dumbed down! Some, like Pasachoff are actually reasonable texts to teach or learn from).

Followed with a semester in mathematical physics (using texts such as the book by Mary L. Boas), the student of Alonso/Finn will be ready to compete against any students trained in fundamental physics by other authors. The student can make use of this book well after the first year, especially when reviewing general physics material for the GRE Physics Subject Text. Other advanced undergraduate books that are as comprehensive and pedagogically effective for the brighter students include the series on Theoretical Physics by Walter Grenier (e.g. Classical Mechanics II, Electrodynamics, Quantum Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics & Thermodynamics). This certainly seems to be the level of preparation of generations of European graduate students.