Best book on Theoretical Physics?

I'm looking for a book that centers less on math, and more around concepts and theories about physics. Something that's fun to read and will have me thinking and reflecting more than it will have me trying to interpret mathematical formulas. Asked by walman 52 months ago Similar questions: book Theoretical Physics Science > Physics.

The Tao of Physics and the Dancing Wu Li Masters. Both of these books explore the "new physics. " The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav and The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra both explore quantum theory, particle physics, and relativity in terms of what they mean to the average person walking the earth today.

Very little math, very little technicality, but loads and loads of new concepts that will give you plenty to think about. The fun thing is these books are like 30 years old and still read like they are brand new. Constance2u's Recommendations Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics (Perennial Classics) Amazon List Price: $15.00 Used from: $5.25 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 106 reviews) The Tao of Physics Amazon List Price: $16.95 Used from: $3.95 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 66 reviews) .

A couple of my favorites ... There’s lots of books out there on Physics. The problem, as you said is that many of them are written more like textbooks and are saturated with formulae. I’ve only found a couple that are written very well (though I’m sure there are plenty more out there): E=MC2 - A biography of the world’s most famous equation by David Bodanis Possibly the single most effective explanation of this equation I have ever read.

Each chapter takes one ’piece’ of the equation (such as Energy - E) and gives a complete history of where that concept came from and the effect it has had on the world, physics, math, etc. It also includes some very interesting and insightful historical information. There’s a particularly good story about an Allied raid on a German water plant during WWII to prevent nuclear development. A fantastic book.

A Brief story of Time or A Briefer story of Time by Stephen Hawking The most user-friendly book on theoretical physics and everything we know (or think we know) about the universe. Hawking is one of the smartest physicists alive today and in a nice twist, he also happens to be one of the more engaging writers I’ve come across. He has a great knack for metaphor, making for great comparisons that really drive home what would otherwise be difficult theoretical concepts.

I haven’t read A Briefer story of Time yet (it is the new version of the old book with some updated information and new theories), but have heard it is even better than the original. The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking If you make it through A Brief(er) you can make your way on to this book.It starts where A Brief It is however -- at least in my opinion -- quite a bit more difficult to get through. Hawking doesn’t pull as many punches in this one (or maybe the theories are just sufficiently more difficult that easy explanations are not as readily available).

Good in its own way, but you’ll find yourself staring blankly at the page with much more regularity that the other two books. Sources: Personal reading rilkesf's Recommendations E=mc2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation Amazon List Price: $15.00 Used from: $3.98 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 101 reviews) A Brief story of Time Amazon List Price: $18.00 Used from: $4.97 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 331 reviews) A Briefer story of Time Amazon List Price: $25.00 Used from: $13.50 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 40 reviews) The Universe in a Nutshell Amazon List Price: $35.00 Used from: $12.95 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 176 reviews) .

The Dancing Wu Li Masters; Richard Feyman's books/lectures; Big Questions in Science; What remains to be discovered. I’m very fond of The Dancing Wu Li Masters, by Gary Zukav; it’s getting on a bit now, but I still find that I return to it when I want to revisit those concepts in a clear form that uses English and pictures and Far Eastern mysticism to explain the concepts in theoretical physics that scientists were trying to grapple with at the time. Richard Feynman is a little more difficult, but the man is a born teacher and well worth engaging with.

Two other books well worth looking at although they’re somewhat more general are What Remains to be Discovered, by John Maddox, and Big Questions in Science, by Harriet Swain. I'm one of those who can swear to having read A Brief story of Time from cover to cover, but I couldn't tell you a thing about it. However, at least one publisher has tried to make an explanatory DVD and I've given them references also.

Happy hunting. EnglishLady's Recommendations Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics (Perennial Classics) Amazon List Price: $15.00 Used from: $5.25 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 106 reviews) EnglishLady's Recommendations The Feynman Lectures on Physics including Feynman's Tips on Physics: The Definitive and Extended Edition Amazon List Price: $195.00 Used from: $114.72 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 26 reviews) Feynman Lectures On Physics (3 Volume Set) Amazon List Price: $101.10 Used from: $59.95 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 101 reviews) Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher (Helix Book. ) Amazon List Price: $25.003 Used from: $5.007 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 49 reviews) EnglishLady's Recommendations What Remains to Be Discovered: Mapping the Secrets of the Universe, the Origins of Life, and the Future of the Human Race Amazon List Price: $25.008 Used from: $5.009 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 28 reviews) What Remains To Be Discovered Used from: $5.007 THE BIG QUESTIONS IN SCIENCE Used from: $5.003 Average Customer Rating: 3.0 out of 5 (based on 1 reviews) EnglishLady's Recommendations A Brief story of Time Used from: $25.003 A Brief story of Time Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 16 reviews) .

Try Asimov - and Einstein Walman, I can't suggest a book on physics that divorces itself completely from mathematics, but I can recommend some that are good for a lay person to read. When I was a young boy, I used to read Isaac Asimov's column in a monthly magazine my father subscribed to. Asimov probably does a better job of explaining science to people without science backgrounds than anyone else I can think of.

Asimov was a very prolific author, with many, many titles in both fiction and nonfiction. I have at least 20 books by him, and it's only a small part of his entire bibliography. I would also recommend the popular books written by physicists Albert Einstein and Steven Hawking.

These books will make you think - and they will make you work - but there is no better way to understand theoretical physics than by reading the words of the masters. Finally, I can recommend one book on Quantum Theory, a subject that still confuses me. Yes, I am still confused, but not as much as I was before I read it.

See my list below, all from Zon. Sources: My Library IchtheosaurusRex's Recommendations Beginnings: The Story of Origins Amazon List Price: $6.99 Used from: $0.25 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 10 reviews) Relativity: The Special and the General Theory Amazon List Price: $8.95 Used from: $1.00 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 74 reviews) A Brief story of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes Used from: $0.01 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 22 reviews) Who's Afraid of Schrödinger's Cat? An A-to-Z Guide to All the New Science Ideas You Need to Keep Up with the New Thinking Amazon List Price: $16.95 Used from: $2.72 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 16 reviews) Asimov's Beginnings is a great series of short articles.

Einstein's Relativity is written for lay people. Hawking's book is a best seller. Marshall's book explains Quantum Theory as well as anyone can understand it..

Is there a radiation therapy physics book just for therapists.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.