- The Feynman Lectures on Physics
The "Feynman Lectures on Physics" by
Richard Feynman , Robert Leighton, andMatthew Sands is perhaps Feynman's most accessible technical work and is considered a classic introduction tomodern physics . It includes lectures onmathematics ,electromagnetism ,Newtonian physics ,quantum physics , and even the relation of physics to other sciences. It has three volumes, which were compiled from material presented in a two-year introductory physics course given in the early 1960s by Feynman atCaltech . Six readily accessible chapters were later compiled into a book entitled "Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher," and six more in "Six Not So Easy Pieces: Einstein's Relativity, Symmetry and Space-Time."The first volume focuses on
mechanics ,radiation , andheat . The second volume is mainly onelectromagnetism andmatter . The third volume, onquantum mechanics , shows, for example, how thedouble-slit experiment contains the essential features of quantum mechanics.A best account on the history of these famous volumes is given byone of their authors, M. Sands, in his memoir article [http://scitation.aip.org/journals/doc/PHTOAD-ft/vol_58/iss_4/49_1.shtml "Capturing the Wisdom of Feynman"] ,"Physics Today", Apr 2005, p.49; see also [Welton, T.A., [http://scitation.aip.org/journals/doc/PHTOAD-ft/vol_60/iss_2/46_1.shtml "Memory of Feynman"] ,"Physics Today", Feb 2007, p.46.]
Background
By
1960 Richard Feynman was already a legend in his own time; at age 42 his research and discoveries in physics had resolved a number of troubling inconsistencies in several fundamental theories. In particular, it was his work inquantum electrodynamics which would lead to the awarding in1965 of theNobel Prize in physics. At the same time that Feynman was at the pinnacle of his fame, the faculty of the California Institute of Technology was concerned about the quality of the introductory courses being offered to the undergraduate students. It was felt that these were burdened by an old-fashioned syllabus and that the exciting discoveries of recent years, many of which had occurred at Caltech, were not being conveyed to the students.Thus, it was decided to reconfigure the first physics course offered to students at Caltech, with the goal being to generate more excitement in the students. Who better to teach this course than the most famous lecturer of physics on campus? To the surprise of the Department, Feynman readily agreed to give the course, though only once. Aware of the fact that this would be a historic event, Caltech recorded each lecture and took photographs of each drawing made on the blackboard by Feynman.
Based on the lectures and the tape recordings, a team of physicists and graduate students put together a manuscript that would become "The Feynman Lectures on Physics." Although Feynman's most valuable technical contribution to the field of physics may have been in the field of quantum electrodynamics, the Feynman Lectures were destined to become his most widely read work.
Today the Feynman Lectures are considered by many [ [http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0805390456/ref=cm_cr_pr_hist_5?%5Fencoding=UTF8&filterBy=addFiveStar Customer reviews on Amazon.com] ] to be the best introductory set of lectures on Physics ever written. Feynman himself however stated in his original preface that he was "pessimistic" with regard to the success with which he reached all of his students. The Feynman lectures were written "to maintain the interest of very enthusiastic and rather smart students coming out of high schools and into Caltech." Feynman was targeting the lectures to students who, "at the end of two years of our previous course, [were] very discouraged because there were really very few grand, new, modern ideas presented to them." As a result, some physics students find the lectures more valuable after they obtain a good grasp of physics by studying more traditional texts. Many professional physicists refer to the lectures at various points in their careers to refresh their minds with regard to basic principles.
As the two-year course (1961–63) was still being completed, word of it spread throughout the physics community. In a special preface to the 1989 edition, David Goodstein and Gerry Neugebauer claim that as time went on, the attendance of registered students dropped sharply but was matched by a compensating increase in the number of faculty and graduate students. Sands, in his memoir accompanying the 2005 edition, contests this claim. Goodstein and Neugebauer also state that, "it was [Feynman's] peers - scientists, physicists, and professors - who would be the main beneficiaries of his magnificent achievement, which was nothing less than to see physics through the fresh and dynamic perspective of Richard Feynman.", and that his "gift was that he was an extraordinary teacher of teachers". In the 1980s, Goodstein produced a new set of freshman physics lectures called
The Mechanical Universe , which in itself is a classic Caltech lecture series which borrows some of its historically based video scenes from Carl Sagan's Cosmos television series.Addison-Wesley published a collection of problems to accompany "The Feynman Lectures on Physics." The problem sets were first used in the 1962-1963 academic year and organized by Robert Leighton. Some of the problems are sophisticated enough to require understanding of topics as advanced as
Kolmogorov's zero-one law , for example.Addison-Wesley also released in CD format all the audiotapes of the lectures, over 103 hours with Richard Feynman, after remastering the sound and clearing the recordings. For the CD release, the order of the lectures was rearranged from that of the original texts.
In March 1964 Feynman appeared before the freshman physics class as a guest lecturer, but the notes for this lecture were lost for a number of years. They were finally located, restored, and made available as "."
In 2005 Michael A. Gottlieb and Ralph Leighton co-authored "Feynman's Tips on Physics," which includes four of Feynman's freshman lectures not included in the main text (three on problem solving, one on inertial guidance), a memoir by Matt Sands about the origins of the "Feynman Lectures on Physics," and exercises (with answers) that were assigned to students by Robert Leighton and Rochus Vogt in recitation sections of the Feynman Lectures course at Caltech. Also released in 2005, was a "Definitive Edition" of the lectures which includes corrections to the original text.
Contents
Volume 1. Mainly mechanics, radiation, and heat
Preface: "When new ideas came in, I would try either to deduce them if they were deducible or to explain that it was a new idea ... and which was not supposed to be provable."
Chapter 1. Atoms in motion
Chapter 2. Basic Physics
Chapter 3. The relation ofphysics to otherscience s
Chapter 4.Conservation of energy
Chapter 5.Time anddistance
Chapter 6.Probability
Chapter 7. Thetheory ofgravitation
Chapter 8. Motion
Chapter 9. Newton's laws of dynamics
Chapter 10.Conservation of momentum
Chapter 11. Vectors
Chapter 12. Characteristics offorce
Chapter 13. Work andpotential energy (A)
Chapter 14. Work andpotential energy (conclusion)
Chapter 15. The special theory of relativity
Chapter 16. Relativisticenergy andmomentum
Chapter 17.Space-time
Chapter 18. Rotation in twodimensions
Chapter 19.Center of mass ;Moment of inertia
Chapter 20.Rotation inspace
Chapter 21. Theharmonic oscillator
Chapter 22.Algebra
Chapter 23.Resonance
Chapter 24.Transient s
Chapter 25.Linear system s and review
Chapter 26.Optics : The principle of least time
Chapter 27.Geometrical optics
Chapter 28.Electromagnetic radiation
Chapter 29.Interference
Chapter 30.Diffraction
Chapter 31. The origin of therefractive index
Chapter 32.Radiation damping . Light scattering
Chapter 33.Polarization
Chapter 34. Relativistic effects in radiation
Chapter 35.Color vision
Chapter 36.
Chapter 37. Quantum behavior
Chapter 38. The Relation ofWave and particle viewpoints
Chapter 39. Thekinetic theory ofgases
Chapter 40. The principles ofstatistical mechanics
Chapter 41. The brownian movement
Chapter 42. Applications ofkinetic theory
Chapter 43.Diffusion
Chapter 44. The laws of thermodynamics
Chapter 45. Illustrations ofthermodynamics
Chapter 46.Ratchet andpawl
Chapter 47.Sound . The wave equation
Chapter 48. Beats
Chapter 49. Modes
Chapter 50.Harmonics
Chapter 51.Waves
Chapter 52. Symmetry inphysical laws Volume 2. Mainly electromagnetism and matter
Chapter 1.
Electromagnetism
Chapter 2.Differential calculus ofvector fields
Chapter 3. Vector integral calculus
Chapter 4.Electrostatics
Chapter 5. Application ofGauss' law
Chapter 6. Theelectric field in various circumstances
Chapter 7. The electric field in various circumstances (continued)
Chapter 8.Electrostatic energy
Chapter 9.Electricity in the atmosphere
Chapter 10.Dielectrics
Chapter 11. Inside dielectrics
Chapter 12. Electrostatic analogs
Chapter 13.Magnetostatics
Chapter 14. Themagnetic field in various situations
Chapter 15. Thevector potential
Chapter 16. Induced currents
Chapter 17. The laws of induction
Chapter 18. The Maxwell equations
Chapter 19. The principle of least action
Chapter 20. Solutions ofMaxwell's equations infree space
Chapter 21. Solutions of Maxwell's equations with currents and charges
Chapter 22. AC circuits
Chapter 23.Cavity resonator s
Chapter 24.Waveguide s
Chapter 25.Electrodynamics in relativistic notation
Chapter 26.Lorentz transformations of the fields
Chapter 27. Field energy and field momentum
Chapter 28.Electromagnetic mass
Chapter 29. The motion of charges in electric andmagnetic field s
Chapter 30. The internal geometry ofcrystals
Chapter 31.Tensors
Chapter 32.Refractive index of dense materials
Chapter 33. Reflection from surfaces
Chapter 34. Themagnetism of matter
Chapter 35.Paramagnetism andmagnetic resonance
Chapter 36.Ferromagnetism
Chapter 37. Magnetic materials
Chapter 38. Elasticity
Chapter 39. Elastic materials
Chapter 40. The flow of dry water
Chapter 41. The flow of wet water
Chapter 42. Curved spaceVolume 3. Quantum mechanics
Chapter 1. Quantum behavior
Chapter 2. The relation of wave and particle viewpoints
Chapter 3.Probability amplitude s
Chapter 4. Identical particles
Chapter 5. Spin one
Chapter 6. Spin one-half
Chapter 7. The dependence of amplitudes on time
Chapter 8. The Hamiltonian matrix
Chapter 9. Theammonia maser
Chapter 10. Other two-state systems
Chapter 11. More two-state systems
Chapter 12. Thehyperfine splitting inhydrogen
Chapter 13. Propagation in acrystal lattice
Chapter 14.Semiconductors
Chapter 15. The independent particle approximation
Chapter 16. The dependence of amplitudes on position
Chapter 17.Symmetry andconservation laws
Chapter 18.Angular momentum
Chapter 19. Thehydrogen atom and theperiodic table
Chapter 20. Operators
Chapter 21. TheSchrödinger equation in a classical context: a seminar onsuperconductivity Abbreviated editions
"Six Easy Pieces" grew out of the need to bring to as wide an audience as possible a substantial yet nontechnical physics primer based on the science of Richard Feynman. . . . General readers are fortunate that Feynman chose to present certain key topics in largely qualitative terms without formal mathematics. . . ."
ix Easy Pieces (1994)
*Chapters
#Atoms in motion
#Basic Physics
#The relation ofphysics to otherscience s
#Conservation of energy
#Thetheory ofgravitation
#Quantum behaviorix Not-So-Easy Pieces (1998)
*Chapters
#Vectors
#Symmetry inphysical laws
#The special theory of relativity
#Relativisticenergy andmomentum
#Space-time
#Curved spaceQuotations
* Feynman once commented, about these three volumes: " [This set of books] has views which are very close to my own."
Publishing information
* Feynman R, Leighton R, and Sands M. "The Feynman Lectures on Physics ". 3 volumes
1964 ,1966 . Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 63-20717
*:* ISBN 0-201-02115-3 (1970 paperback three-volume set)
*:* ISBN 0-201-50064-7 (1989 commemorative hardcover three-volume set)
*:* ISBN 0-8053-9045-6 (2006 the definitive edition (2nd printing); hardcover)
* "Feynman's Tips On Physics: A Problem-Solving Supplement to the Feynman Lectures on Physics" (hardcover) ISBN 0-8053-9063-4
* "Six Easy Pieces" (hardcover book with original Feynman audio on CDs) ISBN 0-201-40896-1
* "Six Easy Pieces" (paperback book) ISBN 0-201-40825-2
* "Six Not-So-Easy Pieces" (paperback book with original Feynman audio on CDs) ISBN 0-201-32841-0
* "Six Not-So-Easy Pieces" (paperback book) ISBN 0-201-32842-9
* "Exercises for the Feynman Lectures" (paperback book) ISBN 2-356-48789-1 from [http://www.bookstore.caltech.edu/ the Caltech Bookstore]References
External links
* [http://www.feynmanlectures.info/ Official web site with Feynman's exercise problems and errata]
* [http://vega.org.uk/video/subseries/8 The Douglas Robb Memorial Lectures] Free-to-view videos provided by the Vega Science Trust.
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