The Theoretical Minimum: What You Need to Know to Start Doing Physics

An excellent readable account of all that a student of physics would expect from Leonard Susskind, an eminent physicist. The author explains and gives credit of the title of his book to the famous Russian physicist, Lev Landau. Theoretical Minimum "in Russia meant everything a student needed to know to work under Landau himself".The mathematical content gradually becomes demanding and assumes a level that is beyond the first year undergraduate level. Susskind, however, is most adept at explaining new mathematical concepts, and deals with partial derivatives and axiomatic treatment of mechanics which would greatly benefit a second year university student of single honours in physics. Susskind finally introduces Lagrangian and Hamilton's Principle of Least Action, and demonstrates how Newton's Laws of Motion could be derived from concepts of energy and action, and explains how the Law of Conservation of Energy could be derived from the Lagrangian of a system.In the final chapters of the book, Susskind introduces Poisson Brackets and prepares ground for his next book, Quantum Mechanics - The Theoretical Minimum.

I have read, or tried to read, many physics books at all levels. This is simply the best.It is a distillation of Prof. Susskind's lectures on YouTube, which are equally superb.It is aimed at the serious amateur physicist who can cope with a little math but maybe struggles over giant leaps of intellect. It starts at the very beginning and works methodically through the ideas of phase-space and the Lagrangian/Hamiltonian concepts of energy, conservation laws, symmetry and equations of motion.It finishes with an exploration of the Electric and Magnetic fields from the point of view of the Action principle.Actually, it's a bit of a cliff-hanger. The book is basically classical physics and doesn't cover Quantum Mechanics or Relativity, String theory, Black holes, 'Branes, Entanglement and all the other juicy bits we've heard off but don't quite understand.I know the author posted more lectures on all these topics and there's a hint in the preface that this is Volume 1 of several to come.Personally, I can't wait.

It's difficult to see who this book is aimed at. I really enjoyed it and learnt a great deal, but then I've completed 3 years of undergraduate education in physics. Perhaps it would be best for a 1st year university level physicist, one who's completed a couple of courses in calculus, or perhaps a brave A-Level student.I've deducted a star though, because the book is rife with errors. Just have a look at the errata at madscitech.org, it's huge. Spelling mistakes are fine but errors in equations can really lead you astray.

This is a book that will appeal to anyone who has never studied physics beyond GCSE. The text is refreshingly clear and takes the reader on trip through the basics of classical mechanics in a very readable style. Susskind tackles the mathematics of calculus in a practical way cutting out the rigour and unecessarybaggage found in more formal texts. Having covered Newtonian mechanics he very quickly introduces the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian view, with just enough math to grasp the essentials. The overall aim is to provide the reader with insight to his other book, Quantum Mechanics a Theoretical Minimum. If you have a passing interest in the subject and do not want to plough through a two year math course then this book fulfills the purpose. Examples and exercises are provided throughout which can be tackled by anyone with basic high school math skills.

If you've tried to watch Leonard Susskind's on-line lectures you will know its really difficult to follow along without his notes. Of course it all makes sense as he says it. But he writes on a succession of boards and then refers back. At that point, without the notes you can become lost.I thought this book would be a proxy for the notes but one that can be read independently. And it is, and it has the material. The problem to watch out for is that an issue is laid out and the foundations prepared then an equation will appear which is supposed to explain everything but it doesn't. It's a step too far. It's like there's a missing link. So in this sense it is frustrating because then its necessary to go to another book or web site to find the connection.It also presents problems but the solutions are not in the book. They are on-line in a PDF which you have to download and print out separately. Why?This could be a great book. After some revisions it may well be but not at the moment. It's written by someone who is good at Physics, for whom this all makes sense. I think George is not able to see when the leaps he makes, which are just common sense to him, are a challenge for the person trying to gain that sense.

As a non-physicist, non-mathematician with a strong interest in both disciplines, I have tried to get to grips with quantum mechanics for years. I can get my head around the subject qualitatively, but have come to the realization that I am lacking the math to understand it quantitatively, so at the ripe old age of 69 I decided to try to get into the required math. This book is a godsend - it starts at a level I am familiar with from my college years, and goes on to explain the fundamentals of classical mechanics in a way that I was never taught, at a level within my capabilities. The videos of Susskind's accompanying lectures on YouTube are great. I am looking forward to reading the Quantum Mechanics version of the book with great eagerness.

This is a fantastic exposition of classical mechanics, starting with the basics of newtons laws it reformulates the equations several times in terms of Lagrangians, Hamiltonians and Poisson Brackets using actual maths instead of handwaving, which makes it somewhat unique for a popular science book. It also explains the concept of symmetry and Noether's theorem. It is, basically, exactly the book you need if you did A level physics but didn't study further. It mentions a second volume, which will cover quantum mechanics, I am hoping it comes out sooner rather than later.

What I had been hoping for: real physics at a first or second year level presented for those of us who aren't officially students.This is a $25 paperback, but it is not wowie-zowie pop science. It's about working at physics. One has to work while reading. Some of the math I have done before, but I have seen some topics in physics in a new way. Some parts need rereading as it is not all simple material. Least action takes effort to understand, but it is worth it. I do look at other sources too.In review, I started from the beginning and as I read I wrote the important equations in a notebook. This was very helpful.Those who dislike it may have missed the subtitle, "What You Need to Know to Start DOING Physics" (emphasis mine). Reading this book is not a passive venture and it is not about how mysterious it all is, but about how to work with it.I am about 3/4 through this book and I plan to buy more books in the series. Next up is Special Relativity and Classical Field Theory.

Bom

Best book on physics insights.

Durante gli anni al liceo scientifico ho accarezzato l'idea di iscrivermi a fisica... poi la vita mi ha portato a fare ben altro. In anni recenti mi sono avvicinato di nuovo alla fisica con l'ottimo  The Theoretical Minimum: What You Need to Know to Start Doing Physics (English Edition) , un testo di tipo divulgativo, ma mai banale, perfetto per risintonizzarsi sulla materia.Questo libro è il passo successivo. Un testo non universitario, ma neanche divulgativo, scritto per essere letto da chi pur non avendo studiato matematica e fisica a livello universitario, abbia comunque familiarità con integrali e derivate.Scritto meravigliosamente, come solo un americano sa fare. Richiede un quaderno a quadretti, un compasso, una matita, tanti appunti e molta dedizione.Poi ripaga dello sforzo. The Theoretical Minimum: What You Need to Know to Start Doing Physics (English Edition)

This book, like the other two excellent 'Theoretical Minimum' books in the trilogy is the antithesis of wordy-wordy attempts to popularise classical and quantum physics (along with relativity), leaving the reader with a group of qualitative descriptions and metaphors. Make no mistake - this is a boot-camp and workshop for understanding the basics with just-adequate mathematical rigor, presented with patient explanations for those who have let their maths rust a little.The reader can emerge thinking like a physicist - a good classical preparation for the quantum book which follows.Remarkably inexpensive and highly recommended.