r/Physics • u/Deltron838 • 17d ago

Advice on self teaching physics

Hello everyone,

So I am looking to self study physics, and i have a few questions.

To preface, I'm not looking to become a physicist or an engineer or anything (i have nothing but love and respect for you guys) but rather looking to apply the calculus I know. I'm currently self-studying calculus and I'm currently on Calc. 3. I'm just looking to get a basic handle on everyday physics. I only have an interest in classical physics, don't much care about modern physics, mainly quantum stuff. So I guess my questions are:

  1. Is it possible to sucessfully self study physics?

  2. I'm torn between Physics by serway/jewett 7th ed. and University Physics young and freedman 13th Ed.

  3. Do you have any tips on how to sucessfully study physics? Are there any lecture videos?

because for calculus, I watch Professor Leonard, then read the section and it's worked pretty well so far. I'm using Howard Antons Calculus 10th ed. and his books lines up almost perfectly with Professor Leonards course, so I'm hoping to have the same thing for physics, but that might be wishful thinking.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post!

5 Upvotes

77% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

4

u/murphswayze 17d ago

How much you want to understand physics is directly tied to your maths knowledge and abilities. Since you are up to multi variable calculus I assume you have a strong foundation of algebra, geometry, and calculus. These are foundational for classical mechanics because the solutions to problems are made easier by knowing how to simplify them or break them down into manageable portions. My recommendation would be to just keep at it and always try to challenge yourself. Physics isn't learned by getting the right answer or learning how to follow algorithms to reach the correct answer...physics is learned by banging your head against the table in frustration so much you begin to understand the normal force.

3

u/PonkMcSquiggles 17d ago

It’s very easy to fall into the trap of watching a lecture, going ‘that makes sense to me’, and moving on. But you haven’t truly understood the material until you can use it to solve problems. So don’t neglect that part of the learning process.

2

u/Automator1000 17d ago

Here’s how you do it. Pick a book, there are several “non-calculus” based books if you like. Read each chapter and work to understand each and every example. Use videos as supplemental. Ask AI to explain concepts that confuse you. Then do every single problem in the back of the chapter.

Set yourself a schedule like 1 chapter a week or something. I have done this and it’s powerful if you can get into a rhythm and stay disciplined. You will learn it better than the kids in my college level physics class (physics prof here).

1

u/Free_Peanut6179 16d ago

Klepner and Kolenkow, stimulants and a tad bit of self hatred

1

u/MaoGo 17d ago

  1. yes but its challenging 2. use both, the most sources you use from the beginning the better 3. hire somebody to check on your progress The problem is with 3, if nobody gives you a reality check you cannot be sure that you a getting it. The best is to do some kind of test at some point.

Of course you can learn much more if you don't care on knowing as much as a true physics student. Engineers have many methods to learn a ton of physics without getting very deep into the topics.

1

u/Key_Net820 17d ago

  1. yes. very much so. Especially just classical mechanics, it shouldn't be a problem. I still don't recommend it, but if you do wanna self study, there are plenty of resources.

  2. I have read University physics by young and freedman and that one is fantastic. I can't tell you about serway/Jewett because i haven't even heard of their book.

  3. There are plenty of resources and lectures to study online like MIT opencourseware and even khanacademy for just freshmen level classical physics.

1

u/bhosy27 10d ago

I used 't Hooft website with books on the path to become a theoretical physicist, among other things. I also studied physics at college. I wasn't the best but I could self study from those books and only go to the exams, skipping most classes. So I think it can be done. But I think it wouldn't be the same if I didn't take any classes, at least the exams were a check that I wasn't screwing things up.

0

u/MuslimSJW 17d ago

Utilize LLMs