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The Feynman Lectures on Physics

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The Feynman Lectures on Physics including Feynman's = Tips on=20 Physics: The Definitive and Extended Edition (2nd edition,=20 2005)

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Cover of Volumes 1 and 2 of the CD release of The = Feynman=20 Lectures on Physics

The Feynman Lectures on Physics by Richard = Feynman, Robe= rt=20 Leighton, and Matthew=20 Sands is perhaps Feynman's most accessible technical work[citation = needed] and is considered a classic introduction to = modern=20 physics.^{[citation =

needed]} It includes lectures on mathematics, electromagnetism, Newtonian = physics, quantum = physics, and=20 even the relation of physics to other sciences. It has three volumes, = which were=20 compiled from material presented in a two-year introductory physics = course given=20 in the early 1960s by Feynman at Caltech. Six readily = accessible=20 chapters were later compiled into a book entitled Six Easy Pieces: = Essentials=20 of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher, and six more in = Six=20 Not So Easy Pieces: Einstein's Relativity, Symmetry and = Space-Time.

The first volume focuses on mechanics, radiation, and heat. The second volume = is mainly=20 on electromagnetism and matter. = The third=20 volume, on quantum = mechanics,=20 shows, for example, how the double-slit = experiment contains the essential features of quantum mechanics.

A best account on the history of these famous volumes is given by one = of=20 their authors, M. Sands, in his memoir article "Capturing the Wisdom of Feynman", Physics = Today, Apr=20 2005, p.49; see also^[1]

1 Background=20
2 Contents=20
- 2.1 Volume 1. = Mainly=20 mechanics, radiation, and heat=20
- 2.2 Volume 2. = Mainly=20 electromagnetism and matter=20
- 2.3 Volume 3. = Quantum=20 mechanics
3 Abbreviated=20 editions=20
- 3.1 Six Easy = Pieces=20 (1994)=20
- 3.2 Six = Not-So-Easy Pieces=20 (1998)
4 Quotations=20
5 Publishing=20 information=20
6 References=20
7 External = links=20

[edit]=20 Background

By 1960 Richard = Feynman was=20 already a legend in his own time;^{[citation =

needed]} at age 42 his research and discoveries in = physics=20 had resolved a number of troubling inconsistencies in several = fundamental=20 theories. In particular, it was his work in quantum=20 electrodynamics which would lead to the awarding in 1965 of the Nobel Prize in = physics. At=20 the same time that Feynman was at the pinnacle of his fame, the faculty = of the=20 California Institute of=20 Technology was concerned about the quality of the introductory = courses being=20 offered to the undergraduate students. It was felt that these were = burdened by=20 an old-fashioned syllabus and that the exciting discoveries of recent = years,=20 many of which had occurred at Caltech, were not being conveyed to the=20 students.

Thus, it was decided to reconfigure the first physics course offered = to=20 students at Caltech, with the goal being to generate more excitement in = the=20 students. Who better to teach this course than the most famous lecturer = of=20 physics on campus? To the surprise of the Department, Feynman readily = agreed to=20 give the course, though only once. Aware of the fact that this would be = a=20 historic event, Caltech recorded each lecture and took photographs of = each=20 drawing made on the blackboard by Feynman.

Based on the lectures and the tape recordings, a team of physicists = and=20 graduate students put together a manuscript that would become "The = Feynman=20 Lectures on Physics." Although Feynman's most valuable technical = contribution to=20 the field of physics may have been in the field of quantum = electrodynamics, the=20 Feynman Lectures were destined to become his most widely read work.

Today the Feynman Lectures are considered by many^[2]=20 to be the best introductory set of lectures on Physics ever written. = Feynman=20 himself however stated in his original preface that he was "pessimistic" = with=20 regard to the success with which he reached all of his students. The = Feynman=20 lectures were written "to maintain the interest of very enthusiastic and = rather=20 smart students coming out of high schools and into Caltech." Feynman was = targeting the lectures to students who, "at the end of two years of our = previous=20 course, [were] very discouraged because there were really very few = grand, new,=20 modern ideas presented to them." As a result, some physics students find = the=20 lectures more valuable after they obtain a good grasp of physics by = studying=20 more traditional texts. Many professional physicists refer to the = lectures at=20 various points in their careers to refresh their minds with regard to = basic=20 principles.

As the two-year course (1961=E2=80=9363) was still being completed, = word of it spread=20 throughout the physics community. In a special preface to the 1989 = edition,=20 David Goodstein and Gerry Neugebauer claim that as time went on, the = attendance=20 of registered students dropped sharply but was matched by a compensating = increase in the number of faculty and graduate students. Sands, in his = memoir=20 accompanying the 2005 edition, contests this claim. Goodstein and = Neugebauer=20 also state that, "it was [Feynman's] peers - scientists, physicists, and = professors - who would be the main beneficiaries of his magnificent = achievement,=20 which was nothing less than to see physics through the fresh and dynamic = perspective of Richard Feynman.", and that his "gift was that he was an=20 extraordinary teacher of teachers". In the 1980s, Goodstein produced a = new set=20 of freshman physics lectures called The = Mechanical=20 Universe, which in itself is a classic Caltech lecture series which = borrows=20 some of its historically based video scenes from Carl Sagan's Cosmos = television=20 series.

Addison-Wesley published a collection of problems to accompany The = Feynman=20 Lectures on Physics. The problem sets were first used in the = 1962-1963=20 academic year and organized by Robert Leighton. Some of the problems are = sophisticated enough to require understanding of topics as advanced as = Kolmogo= rov's=20 zero-one law, for example.

Addison-Wesley also released in CD format all the audiotapes of the = lectures,=20 over 103 hours with Richard Feynman, after remastering the sound and = clearing=20 the recordings. For the CD release, the order of the lectures was = rearranged=20 from that of the original texts.

In March 1964 Feynman appeared before the freshman physics class as a = guest=20 lecturer, but the notes for this lecture were lost for a number of = years. They=20 were finally located, restored, and made available as Feynman's=20 Lost Lecture: The Motion of Planets Around the Sun.

In 2005 Michael A. Gottlieb and Ralph Leighton co-authored = Feynman's Tips=20 on Physics, which includes four of Feynman's freshman lectures not = included=20 in the main text (three on problem solving, one on inertial guidance), a = memoir=20 by Matt Sands about the origins of the Feynman Lectures on = Physics, and=20 exercises (with answers) that were assigned to students by Robert = Leighton and=20 Rochus Vogt in recitation sections of the Feynman Lectures course at = Caltech.=20 Also released in 2005, was a "Definitive Edition" of the lectures which = includes=20 corrections to the original text.

[edit]=20 Contents

[edit]=20 Volume 1. Mainly mechanics, radiation, and=20 heat

Preface: "When new ideas came in, I would try either to deduce them = if they=20 were deducible or to explain that it was a new idea ... and which was = not=20 supposed to be provable."
Chapter 1. Atoms in motion
Chapter 2. = Basic=20 Physics
Chapter 3. The relation of physics to other sciences
Chapter 4. = Conservation= of=20 energy
Chapter 5. Time and distance
Chapter = 6. Probability
Chap= ter 7.=20 The theory of gravitation
Chap= ter 8. Motion
Chap= ter 9. Newton's laws of=20 dynamics
Chapter 10. Conservati= on of=20 momentum
Chapter 11. Vectors
C= hapter=20 12. Characteristics of force
Chapter 13. Work and potential = energy=20 (A)
Chapter 14. Work and potential = energy=20 (conclusion)
Chapter 15. The special = theory of=20 relativity
Chapter 16. Relativistic energy = and momentum
Chapter = 17. Space-time
Chapte= r 18.=20 Rotation in two dimensions
Chapte= r 19. Center=20 of mass; Moment of=20 inertia
Chapter 20. Rotation in space
Chapter 21. The = harmonic oscillator<= BR>Chapter=20 22. Algebra
Chapter 23. = Resonance
Chapter = 24. Transients
Chapter= 25. Linear=20 systems and review
Chapter 26. Optics: The principle = of least=20 time
Chapter 27. Geometrical=20 optics
Chapter 28. Electromagnetic= radiation
Chapter = 29. Interference
Ch= apter 30.=20 Diffraction
Chap= ter 31.=20 The origin of the refractive=20 index
Chapter 32. Radiation = damping. Light=20 scattering
Chapter 33. Polarization
Ch= apter 34.=20 Relativistic effects in radiation
Chapter 35. Color = vision
Chapter 36.=20 Mechanisms of=20 seeing
Chapter 37. Quantum=20 behavior
Chapter 38. The Relation of Wave and particle=20 viewpoints
Chapter 39. The kinetic theory = of gases
Chapter 40. The = principles of statistical=20 mechanics
Chapter 41. The brownian=20 movement
Chapter 42. Applications of kinetic = theory
Chapter=20 43. Diffusion
Chapter = 44. The=20 laws of thermodynamics
Chapter 45. Illustrations of thermodynamicsChapter=20 46. Ratchet and=20 pawl
Chapter 47.=20 Sound. = The wave=20 equation
Chapter 48. Beats
Chapt= er 49. Modes
Chapter = 50. Harmonics
Chapter = 51. Waves
Chapter 52. Symmetry = in physical = laws

[edit]=20 Volume 2. Mainly electromagnetism and = matter

Chapter 1. Electromagnetism
Chapter=20 2. Differential = calculus of vector = fields
Chapter=20 3. Vector integral=20 calculus
Chapter 4. ElectrostaticsChapter=20 5. Application of Gauss' = law
Chapter 6.=20 The electric field = in various=20 circumstances
Chapter 7. The electric field in various circumstances=20 (continued)
Chapter 8. Electrostatic = energy
Chapter 9. Electricity in the = atmosphere=
Chapter=20 10. Dielectrics
Chap= ter 11.=20 Inside dielectrics
Chapter 12. Electrostatic analogs
Chapter 13. = MagnetostaticsChapter=20 14. The magnetic field = in various=20 situations
Chapter 15. The vector=20 potential
Chapter 16. Induced=20 currents
Chapter 17. The laws = of=20 induction
Chapter 18. The Maxwell=20 equations
Chapter 19. The principle = of least=20 action
Chapter 20. Solutions of Maxwell's=20 equations in free = space
Chapter 21.=20 Solutions of Maxwell's equations with currents = and charges
Chap= ter 22.=20 AC circuits
= Chapter=20 23. Cavity=20 resonators
Chapter 24. Waveguides
Chapter= 25. Electrodynamics= in=20 relativistic notation
Chapter 26. Lorentz=20 transformations of the fields
Chapt= er 27.=20 Field energy and field momentum
Chapter 28. Electromagneti= c=20 mass
Chapter 29. The motion of charges in electric and magnetic=20 fields
Chapter 30. The internal geometry of crystals
Chapter = 31. Tensors
Chapter 32. = Refractive = index of=20 dense materials
Chapter 33. Reflection= from=20 surfaces
Chapter 34. The magnetism of = matter
Chapter=20 35. Paramagnetism = and magnetic=20 resonance
Chapter 36. FerromagnetismChapter=20 37. Magnetic materials
Chapter 38. Elasticity=
Chapter=20 39. Elastic materials
Chapter 40. The flow of dry water
Chapter = 41. The=20 flow of wet water
Chapter 42. Curved=20 space

[edit]=20 Volume 3. Quantum mechanics

Chapter 1. Quantum=20 behavior
Chapter 2. The relation of wave and = particle=20 viewpoints
Chapter 3. Probability=20 amplitudes
Chapter 4. Identical particlesChapter=20 5. Spin = one
Chapter 6. Spin = one-half
Chapter 7. The=20 dependence of amplitudes on=20 time
Chapter 8. The Ham= iltonian=20 matrix
Chapter 9. The ammonia maser
Chapter 10. = Other two-state = systems
Chapter 11. More two-state systems
Chapter 12. The hyperfine = splitting=20 in hydrogen
Chapter = 13. Propagation = in a crystal=20 lattice
Chapter 14. SemiconductorsChapter=20 15. The independent particle approximation
Chapter 16. The dependence = of=20 amplitudes on position
Chapter 17. Symmetry and conservation=20 laws
Chapter 18. Angular=20 momentum
Chapter 19. The hydrogen atom = and the periodic = table
Chapter=20 20. OperatorsChapter=20 21. The Schr=C3=B6= dinger=20 equation in a classical context: a seminar on superconductivity=

[edit]=20 Abbreviated editions

"Six Easy Pieces grew out of the need to bring to as wide an = audience=20 as possible a substantial yet nontechnical physics primer based on the = science=20 of Richard Feynman. . . . General readers are fortunate that Feynman = chose to=20 present certain key topics in largely qualitative terms without formal=20 mathematics. . . ."

[edit]=20 Six Easy Pieces (1994)

Chapters

Atoms in motion=20
Basic Physics=20
The relation of physics to other sciences=20
Conservation= of=20 energy=20
The theory=20 of gravitation=20
Quantum = behavior=20

[edit]=20 Six Not-So-Easy Pieces (1998)

Chapters

Vectors=20
Symmetry = in physical laws=20
The special = theory of=20 relativity=20
Relativistic energy = and momentum=20
Space-time=20
Curved=20 space

[edit]=20 Quotations

Feynman once commented, about these three volumes: "[This set of = books]=20 has views which are very close to my own."

[edit]=20 Publishing information

Feynman R, Leighton R, and Sands M. The Feynman Lectures on = Physics=20 . 3 volumes 1964,=20 1966. = Library of=20 Congress Catalog Card No. 63-20717=20
- ISBN= =20 0-201-02115-3 (1970 paperback three-volume set)=20
- ISBN= =20 0-201-50064-7 (1989 commemorative hardcover three-volume set)=20
- ISBN= =20 0-8053-9045-6 (2006 the definitive edition (2nd printing); = hardcover)=20
Feynman's Tips On Physics: A Problem-Solving Supplement to the = Feynman=20 Lectures on Physics (hardcover) ISBN= =20 0-8053-9063-4=20
Six Easy Pieces (hardcover book with original Feynman audio = on CDs)=20 ISBN= =20 0-201-40896-1=20
Six Easy Pieces (paperback book) ISBN= =20 0-201-40825-2=20
Six Not-So-Easy Pieces (paperback book with original = Feynman audio=20 on CDs) ISBN= =20 0-201-32841-0=20
Six Not-So-Easy Pieces (paperback book) ISBN= =20 0-201-32842-9=20
Exercises for the Feynman Lectures (paperback book) ISBN= =20 2-356-48789-1 from the Caltech=20 Bookstore

[edit]=20 References

^=20 Welton, T.A., "Memory of Feynman", Physics Today, Feb = 2007, p.46.=20
^=20 Customer reviews on Amazon.com

[edit]=20 External links

Official web = site with=20 Feynman's exercise problems and errata=20
The = Douglas Robb=20 Memorial Lectures Free-to-view videos provided by the Vega Science = Trust.=20

Retrieved from "htt= p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Feynman_Lectures_on_Physics"

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