Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences - Novel Materials

Suggested Reading

 

Arnold Sommerfeld

Vorlesungen über Theoretische Physik: I. Mechanik

1947, Akademische Verlagegesellschaft Becker und Erler

Original German edition

Lectures on Theoretical Physics: I. Mechanics

1953, Academic Press.

Table of contents:

1. Mechanics of a Particle

2. Mechanics of Systems, Principle of Virtual Work, and d'Alembert's Principle

3. Oscillation Problems

4. The Rigid Body

5. Relative motion

6. Integral Variational Principles of Mechanics and Lagrange's Equations For Generalized Coordinates

 

Max Born

Vorlesungen über Atommechanik

1925, Julius Springer Verlag (Berlin)

Table of contents:

1. Einleitung Physikalische Grundlagen

2. Hamilton-Jacobische Theorie

3. Periodische und mehrfach periodische Bewegungen

4. Systeme mit einem Leuchtelektron

5. Störungstheorie

 

David Bohm

Quantum Theory

1951, New York: Prentice Hall

Table of contents:

1. Physical formulation of the quantum theory

2. Mathematical formulation of the quantum theory

3. Applications to simple systems. Further extensions of quantum theory formulation

4. Methods of approximate solution of Schrödinger’s equation

5. Theory of scattering

6. Quantum theory of the process of measurement

 

Richard Feynman & Albert Hibbs

Quantum mechanics and path integrals

1965, New York: McGraw-Hill

Table of contents:

1. The fundamental concepts of quantum mechanics

2. The quantum-mechanical law of motion

3. Developing the concepts with special examples

4. The Schrödinger description of quantum mechanics

5. Measurements and operators

6. The perturbation method in quantum mechanics

7. Transition elements

8. Harmonic oscillators

9. Quantum electrodynamics

10. Statistical mechanics

11. The variational method

12. Other problems in probability

 

Albert Einstein, Hendrik Lorentz, Hermann Weyl, Hermann Minkowski

Das Relativitätsprinzip

1922, Springer Fachmedien

Original German edition.

The Principle of Relativity

1952, Dover Publications

Table of contents:

1. "Michelson's Interference Experiment" (H. A. Lorentz)

2. "Electromagnetic Phenomena in a System Moving with any Velocity Less than that of Light" (H. A. Lorentz)

3. "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies" (A. Einstein)

4. "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon its Energy-Content?" (A. Einstein)

5. "Space and Time" (H. Minkowski)

6. "On the Influence of Gravitation on the Propagation of Light" (A. Einstein)

7. "The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity" (A. Einstein)

8. "Hamilton's Principle and the General Theory of Relativity" (A. Einstein)

9. "Cosmological Considerations on the General Theory of Relativity" (A. Einstein)

10. "Do Gravitational Fields Play an Essential Part in the Structure of the Elementary Particles of Matter?" (A. Einstein)

11. "Gravitation and Electricity" (H. Weyl)

 

Leonard Susskind & Art Friedman

The Theoretical Minimum: What You Need to Know to Start Doing Physics

2013, Basic Books

“How does the Lorentz force arise? What do fields have to do with particles? Why is gauge invariance different? Leonard Susskind and Art Friedman do not explain everything there is to know about special relativity and electrodynamics - but everything important. With this book, avid physics amateurs get the maths and formulas they need for a real understanding. The authors use witty and helpful dialogue, basic exercises and crystal-clear explanations to present special relativity and electrodynamics as simply as possible, but no simpler.”