Introductory Physics Textbook
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Notice
This physics textbook is designed to support my personal teaching activities
at Duke University, in particular teaching its Physics 141/142, 151/152, or
161/162 series (Introductory Physics for life science majors, engineers, or potential
physics majors, respectively). It is freely available in its entirety in a
downloadable PDF form or to be read online at:
http://www.phy.duke.edu/∼rgb/Class/intro physics 1.php
It is also available in an inexpensive (really!) print version via Lulu press
here:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/product-21186588.html
where readers/users can voluntarily help support or reward the author by
purchasing either this paper copy or one of the even more inexpensive electronic
copies.
By making the book available in these various media at a cost ranging from
free to cheap, I enable the text can be used by students all over the world where
each student can pay (or not) according to their means.
Nevertheless, I am hoping that students who truly find this work useful
will purchase a copy through Lulu or a bookseller (when the latter option
becomes available), if only to help subsidize me while I continue to write
inexpensive textbooks in physics or other subjects.
This textbook is organized for ease of presentation and ease of learning.
In particular, they are hierarchically organized in a way that directly supports
efficient learning. They are also remarkably complete in their presentation and
contain moderately detailed derivations of many of the important equations
and relations from first principles while not skimping on simpler heuristic or
conceptual explanations as well.
As a “live” document (one I actively use and frequently change, adding or
deleting material or altering the presentation in some way), this textbook may
have errors great and small, “stub” sections where I intend to add content at
some later time but haven’t yet finished it, and they cover and omit topics
according to my own view of what is or isn’t important to cover in a onesemester
course. Expect them to change with little warning or announcement
as I add content or correct errors.
Purchasers of the paper version should be aware of its probable imperfection
and be prepared to either live with it or mark up their copy with corrections
or additions as need be. The latest (and hopefully most complete and correct)
version is always available for free online anyway, and people who have paid for
a paper copy are especially welcome to access and retrieve it.
I cherish good-hearted communication from students or other instructors
pointing out errors or suggesting new content (and have in the past done my
best to implement many such corrections or suggestions).