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Physics Today is temporarily making its archive freely available

physicstoday.scitation.org

11–20 of 33 posts

Re: Physics Today is temporarily making its archive freely available

#11
The AIP also maintain free access to their oral histories: https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral...

They interviewed many famous physicists. Mostly autobiographical, but unlike in books, the interviewees don't have time to edit the answer, so the reading experience is generally better.

Re: Physics Today is temporarily making its archive freely available

#13
post #12

What is a good resource to learn physics online? Mostly interested in understanding how stuff works not really interested in solving physics problems.

You wont understand how stuff "works" if you cannot solve problems, at least not in any meaningful sense.If you want a superficial knowledge (Nothing wrong with that) you have youtube channels or there are conceptual physics textbooks for non science majors.

Re: Physics Today is temporarily making its archive freely available

#14
post #12

What is a good resource to learn physics online? Mostly interested in understanding how stuff works not really interested in solving physics problems.

You wont understand how stuff "works" if you cannot solve problems, at least not in any meaningful sense.If you want a superficial knowledge (Nothing wrong with that) you have youtube channels or there are conceptual physics textbooks for non science majors.

I have to agree with this. There is no harm in absorbing qualitative accounts of various physics ideas, and that can be very interesting. But you won't really know what it's all about until you swim in the mathematical details. It sort of like listening to somebody describing programming, without ever writing a computer program.

Re: Physics Today is temporarily making its archive freely available

#16
post #4

I get Physics Today every month (since I'm an APS member). One of my favorite things about it, strangely, is the ads.

I assume they are targeted ads for physicists? I remember “fondly” the times when a website about kiteboarding would serve kiteboarding ads. Those were actually very useful. Now they are showing more blenders after I just bought one.

Re: Physics Today is temporarily making its archive freely available

#17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You wont understand how stuff "works" if you cannot solve problems, at least not in any meaningful sense.If you want a superficial knowledge (Nothing wrong with that) you have youtube channels or there are conceptual physics textbooks for non science majors.

I have to agree with this. There is no harm in absorbing qualitative accounts of various physics ideas, and that can be very interesting. But you won't really know what it's all about until you swim in the mathematical details. It sort of like listening to somebody describing programming, without ever writing a computer program.

Or like listening to a description of a song. The speaker might tell you the lyrics, even hum the various parts. If the song is simple (corresponding to perhaps simple and interesting facts about our solar system), vocals will give a good rendition of it. But if the song is intricate (like quantum mechanics), without the full band, all you are listening to is a hollow echo of the song.

Re: Physics Today is temporarily making its archive freely available

#20
post #6
post #4

I get Physics Today every month (since I'm an APS member). One of my favorite things about it, strangely, is the ads.

The ads are really useful. (So are the Quick Studies, Back Matter, and articles in general. It's a great magazine.) I grew up with Physics Today, too, and the ads really shaped my knowledge of available instrumentation before I even knew what that was. I used to marvel that people would pay megabucks for what appeared to be a white box with three electrical connections, a power plug, and a power-on light. Now, when I…

That’s great to know! The company I work for is considering a print campaign in Physics Today. We make some instrumentation - it’s good to know people actually look at the ads!
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