Modern Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 2nd Ed., by John Taylor, Chris Zafiratos, and Michael Dubson, Prentice Hall 2003 (ISBN 978-0138057152). While this textbook is less detailed and sophisticated than I generally like for this course, it introduces modern physics at a level appropriate for an undergraduate in engineering or the physical sciences.  It seems more directed toward an overview for engineering students than for physics majors who want (and probably need) a more detailed treatment.  It is very contemporary in its approach and is currently the highest student-rated modern physics textbook. If you find one you like better, let me know.

Other relevant references that you may find useful:

1. Schaum's Outline of Modern Physics, 2^nd Ed., by Ronald  Gautreau, McGraw-Hill 1999, (ISBN 0-07-024830-3). This book is for those who for some reason find text books a little abstract and find themselves in trouble because of this. If you're a student and feel the need for another source of information  other than your text book (especially one with lots of worked out examples), this outline may be the best out there. It's probably worth its ~$12.00 online cost.
   
   
2. Introduction to the Structure of Matter: A Course in Modern Physics, by John Brehm and William Mullin, Wiley 1989,  (ISBN 978-0471605317).  While a little verbose (almost 1000 pages long), this is probably the textbook I would choose for a two-semester Modern Physics course directed toward physics majors. It's level is a little higher than this course is taught at UCO. Its detailed derivations probably appeal to physics majors but may be of little interest to typical engineering students. If you intend on going on to do graduate work in physics, you should probably get a copy of this book at some point.
   
   
3. Modern Physics, by Jeremy Pfeffer and Schlomo Nir, World Scientific, 2001, (ISBN 978-1860942426).  For some reason, I have liked this book from the time it came out. If this were a course in Modern Physics for students who did not have calculus, then this would probably be the book to use.  It is an undergraduate textbook for students who have completed first-year physics and mathematics, covering modern physics in terms accessible to non-technical majors.
   
   
4. Modern Physics from a to Z , by James Rohlf, Wiley, 1994 (ISBN 978-0471572701).  This is another favorite of mine. There are a number of typo's so beware.  It probably won't appeal much to engineering students, but  physics major will probably appreciate it more.
   
   
5. Concepts of Modern Physics, 6^th Ed., by Arthur Beiser, McGraw-Hill 2003 (ISBN 0-07-244848-2).  This is the textbook that was used previously for this course.  It is an okay book (although, I prefer Beiser's earlier  book Perspectives of Modern Physics which unfortunately is out of print).  There are a number of typo's so beware. All in all, its one of the higher student-rated modern physics textbooks.
   
   
6. Modern Physics, 2nd Ed., by Kenneth S. Krane, Wiley 1995, (ISBN 0-47-182872-6). This is the textbook that we used prior to Beiser. It's approach is directed a little more toward the expermental and historical side.
   
   
7. Modern Physics, 4th Ed., by Ralph Llewellyn and Paul A. Tipler , W H Freeman 2002, (ISBN 0-71-674345-0).  We used an earlier edition of this textbook prior to Krane. I really wanted to use this book for Modern Physics this semester. But the fact that whole sections are omitted from the text and placed online ruined the book. Figure numbers jump in sequence, references are made to equations that are not in the text, and the whole experience of sitting down with a book to learn is defeated. One of the author's is a former colleague of mine when I was on the faculty at the University of Central Florida.
   
   
8. Modern Physics, 3^rd Ed., by Raymond A. Serway, Clement J. Moses, Curt A. Moyer, Brooks-Cole 2004 (ISBN 0-53-449339-4). Just my opinion, but this book seems to assume you've had more physics in the past then perhaps most people taking this course usually have. The examples in the book skip major steps and assume that you can follow. It focuses way too much on the people who came up with the theories than on the theories and mathematics themselves for my tastes.
   
   
9. Quantum Physics of Atoms, Molecules, Solids, Nuclei, and Particles, 2nd Ed., by Robert Eisberg and Robert Resnick, Wiley 1985 (ISBN 0-47-187373-X).  While somewhat dated (1^st edition in 1985), this book provides many of the details missing in the survey books listed above. It's level is a little higher than this course and focuses mainly on quantum mechanics and its applications.
   
   
10. Special Relativity and Introduction to Quantum Physics, both by A.P. French. These two paperback books are excellent, but somewhat dated having been published in 1968 and 1978 repectively. They are still available and highly recommended for those interested.
    
    

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Copyright © Wilson January 2, 2005 wwilson@uco.edu