Preface

Physics is an integrated and substantive body of knowledge regarding the nature of the universe that is based on experimental observations. Physics is ultimately expressed as a mathematical model that is capable of both explaining and predicting the behaviors of objects in the natural world. The type of physics taught to undergraduates in universities, and other institutes of tertiary education, has five main components. These components are Newtonian dynamics, classical electromagnetism, special relativity, quantum mechanics, and thermal physics. In universities, undergraduate physics is generally taught at three levels. At the elementary level, students are introduced to the fundamental concepts of Newtonian dynamics, classical electromagnetism, and thermal physics. At the intermediate level, Newtonian dynamics, classical electromagnetism, and thermal physics are fleshed out as relatively coherent theories, and the fundamental concepts of special relativity and quantum mechanics are introduced. At the advanced level, all five components of physics are further developed to their final forms, with the addition of greater abstraction and more advanced mathematics. This course is devoted to intermediate-level physics. The purpose of the course is to present the five components of undergraduate physics as self-consistent and coherent theories. The main emphasis of the presentation is to obtain as many predictions regarding the nature of the physical world as possible while keeping the level of mathematical analysis as low as possible. It turns out that this task is easier to achieve in some areas of physics than in others. In particular, it is not possible to develop a coherent picture of classical electromagnetism without resorting to the sophisticated mathematics of vector field theory.

This course is based on the author's recollection of the first-year survey course, known as Physics Part 1A, that was taught at Cambridge University (U.K.) in the early 1980s. The aim of the course was to bridge the difficult gap between A-level physics and university physics, and also to introduce new concepts in special relativity, quantum mechanics, and thermal physics. For U.S. students, the course bridges the problematic gap between the standard two introductory college physics courses (mechanics/heat and electromagnetism/optics) and upper division physics courses. The course assumes a basic knowledge of physics, trigonometry, algebra, and calculus. The vector algebra and calculus needed to understand the course material is summarized in Appendix A.