Westfield State University Ely Library

Physics Web Resources

Web Guides Encyclopedias Kinematics High Energy Physics
Physics Tutorials Organizations Electricity and Magnetism Physicists & History
Journals & Online Papers Online Tools Plasma Physics  
Books News Teaching Physics  

For a guide to Reference Sources in Astronomy, see Physical Sciences Reference Sources
To locate journal articles related to Astronomy, see Science & Technology Databases


Web Guides

The "Virtual" - Physics Center
http://www.martindalecenter.com/GradPhysics.html
This site has a collection of annotated links for physics and astronomy.

PhysicsWorld: Physics News, Jobs, and Resources
http://physicsworld.com/
This resource includes news, articles, and a comprehensive annotated index to on-line physics resources; from the Institute of Physics. The Buyer's Guide is a classified business directory with links to suppliers of lab equipment and other materials. Information is also included for conferences, workshops, and worldwide job listings.

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Physics Tutorials

DC Physics Help for Students
http://www.dctech.com/physics/student_help.php
Great site for the beginning physics student.

Einstein Light (Dr. Joe Wolfe, Department of Physics, University of New South Wales)
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/einsteinlight/
Dr. Wolfe presents five video segments on the development of Einstein's theory of relativity: Galileo (mechanics & relativity); Maxwell (electricity & magnetism); Einstein (relativity & constant c); Time Dilation (follows from relativity); and E=mc2 (relativity & mechanics). Each segment is also accompanied by a collection of pages that explain the topic in further detail.

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Journals & Online Papers

Physical Review Focus
http://focus.aps.org/
Articles from the Physics Review and Physical Review Letters, both published by the American Physical Society

Living Reviews in Relativity
http://relativity.livingreviews.org/
This is a peer-reviewed online "open source" publication covering relativity and related topics, published by the Max Planck Society of Germany.

Living Reviews in Solar Physics
http://solarphysics.livingreviews.org/
This is a peer-reviewed online "open source" publication covering solar physics and related topics, published by the Max Planck Society of Germany.

Online Journal of Undergraduate Research in Physics
http://www.jurp.org/jurp.htm
From the Society of Physics students, a free online journal of undergraduate research, papers and presentations. The journal is open to submissions from all undergraduate students studying physics.

arXiv.org (Cornell University Library)
http://arxiv.org/
Hosted by the Cornell University Library, this archive provides searchable access to 778,005 research papers in physics, mathematics, computer science, and quantitative biology.

The Industrial Physicist
http://www.aip.org/tip/
A free online magazine devoted to the application of physics in industry and the work and recognition of industrial physicists.

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Books

FreeBookCentre. Net - Physics Books
http://www.freebookcentre.net/Physics/Physics-Books-Online.html
This section contains online books and references on physics books, Physics texts and Physics textbooks. The topics available are Introductory Physics, Theoretical Physics, Modern Physics, Condensed Matter, Atomic Physics, Particle Physics, Nuclear Physics, Quantum Physics, Quantum Field Theory,Quantum  Mechanics,  Electricity, Magnetism, Electrodynamics, Solid State Physics, Superconductivity, Mathematical Physics, Conservation Laws, Optics, Plasma Physics, Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics, Continuum Mechanics, Classical Mechanics, Dynamics, Relativity, Vibration Waves, Computational Physics, Medical Physics, Astronomy, Biophysics, Chemical Physics, Geophysics

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Encyclopedias

Eric Weisstein's World of Physics
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/
This online encyclopedia of physics has entries that range from a short definition to a longer article with links to subtopics and related terms.

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Organizations

American Physical Society
http://www.aps.org/index.cfm
Newsletters from individual APS units, a categorized section of links, a career center, and discussion boards are all part of the web site for the American Physical Society.

Institute of Physics
http://www.iop.org/
Contains a fee-based Electronic Journals service including: CoDAS Web, offering abstracts from over 60 major journals in Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science; Physics Express Letters, online rapid communications from 12 important journals; PhysicsNet, a free product locator service; Physics World Jobs; PEERS (The Physics Encyclopedia of E-mail Records), a free scientists' e-mail directory; "Inside Physics" (the latest and breaking news from research and industry); links to useful physics Internet sites, and a diary of forthcoming international conferences.

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Online Tools

Atomic Archive
http://www.atomicarchive.com/index.shtml
This searchable site presents information on the science, history, people, and politics that helped to develop the atomic bomb and nuclear weapons. There is also a collection of maps, videos, photographs, and animations.

Fundamental Physical Constants from NIST
http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Constants/index.html
The National Institute of Standards (NIST) Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty presenting CODATA internationally recommended values of the Fundamental Physical Constants such as the Speed of Light etc. The bibliography is searchable.

Glossary of Nuclear Terms
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/glossary.html
This is a very extensive glossary of nuclear terms maintained by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Agency.

HyperPhysics
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hph.html#hph
Created by Dr. Rod Nave, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University, this web site links physics terms together through concept maps. Definitions for the terms are also included.

Index to Physics Applets
http://www.mip.berkeley.edu/physics/appletindex.html
Created as part of the Museum Informatics Project at the University of California, Berkeley, this website serves as a clearinghouse of high-quality physics applets that can be used in a variety of settings. The site is divided into a few basic topical areas, such as mechanics, waves, properties of heat and matter, and optics. While a search engine isn't provided, visitors can use the "Find" function provided by most browsers to look for specific items of interest. It is worth noting that the applets dealing with various fields of optics are quite strong, and visitors will no doubt locate at least a handful of applets here that they can use in the classroom or just to increase their own understanding of physics.

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News

American Physical Society News
http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/archives/index.cfm
All issues prior to the current issue are available.

Physics News Update
http://www.aip.org/physnews/update/
Current issue plus backfiles to 1990 of the American Institute of Physics' electronically published newsletter, Physics News Update - a digest of physics news items arising from physics meetings, physics journals, newspapers and magazines, and other news sources.

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Teaching Physics

Activity-Based Physics (University of Maryland Physics Education Research Group)
http://www.physics.umd.edu/perg/abp/
"This program represents a multi-university collaborative effort by a team of educational reformers to use the outcomes of physics education research along with flexible computer tools to promote activity-based models of physics instruction." This site has a collection of alternative homework assignments, problems, books and papers, talks, and links.

Physics.org (Institute of Physics)
http://www.physics.org/index.asp
Interactive tutorials on this site help users learn about the history of physics and physics in our daily lives. A natural language search engine allows users to search for web pages and filter them for target age range and level of prior physics knowledge.

Contemporary Physics Education Project
http://www.cpepweb.org/
Created by a non-profit organization of physicists and educators, this web site features educational materials which are available online or by order.

Physics Education Technology (University of Colorado)
http://phet.colorado.edu/index.php
PhET is a free collection of simulations for educators to use in the classroom. You can run the simulations from the web or download them to your computer. The simulations are organized by topic or by alphabetical index, and there is a help page with setup and troubleshooting information.

The Particle Adventure
http://particleadventure.org
This interactive educational site introduces the study of physics to students and accompanying classroom materials.

Exploring the Nano world
http://mrsec.wisc.edu/Edetc/
The site uses examples of nanotechnology and advanced materials to explore science and engineering concepts at the college level.  There are lesson plans and curricula. From The University of Wisconsin-Madison Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (UW MRSEC) Interdisciplinary Education Group.

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Kinematics

Sport Science
http://www.exploratorium.edu/sports/index.html
An educational site on physics as it applies to sports and the movement of the human body. There are sections on baseball, skateboarding, surfing, and hockey.

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Electricity and Electromagnetism

Electricity (Concepts) Theme page (Community Learning Network)
http://www.cln.org/themes/electricity.html
"CLN's theme pages are collections of useful Internet educational resources within a narrow curricular topic and contain links to two types of information. Students and teachers will find curricular resources (information, content...) to help them learn about this topic. In addition, there are links to instructional materials (lesson plans), which will help teachers provide instruction in this theme."

Electronetwork
http://www.electronetwork.org/
This is a multifaceted web site that has educational sections on electromagnetism and its application to technology, art, and other sciences. The site features artwork which has electromagnetism integrated into the design and concept, an explanation behind the construction and principles involved in a computer hard drive, poetry on the subject of electricity and electromagnetism, and philosophical essays on the subject.

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Plasma Physics

Interactive Plasma Physics Education Experience (Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, funded by the Department of Energy)
http://ippex.pppl.gov/
An informational web site on plasma physics, fusion, and fusion energy. An online flash version of a Tokamak, a fusion confinement device, is included.

Plasma Science and Technology
http://www.plasmas.org/
Another informational site on plasma physics that focuses on the application of plasma science to our study of outer space and energy needs.

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High Energy Physics

CERN Document Server
http://cdsweb.cern.ch/
From the European Organization for Nuclear Research, a searchable server of documents on particle physics and related topics, offering bibliographic records, half of which contain the full-text. Also includes video presentations of archived lectures from seminars at universities and conferences.

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) Virtual Visitor Center
http://www2.slac.stanford.edu/vvc/Default.htm
Written for the layperson, this searchable site presents information about subatomic particle accelerators including diagrams of their different components, their history, applications, the method of detecting the particles, theories, cosmic rays, and experiments being conducted at the Center as well as Nobel Prize winners in Physics at the Center. Additionally, information about the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL) is available. Included are a glossary and photos.

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Physicists & History

Breaking Through: A Century of Physics at Berkeley
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/Exhibits/physics/
This site "tells the story of physics at Berkeley, 1868-1968, as compelling a tale as there is in the history of science. Consider the initial setting - a frontier university with ambitions as high as the sky - and consider the results: scientists who made a machine to smash the atom, built a bomb that ended World War II, fought to limit the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and won 7 Nobel Prizes in 19 years." The history is told through four sections, each with several essays and photographs.

Center for History of Physics (American Institute of Physics)
http://www.aip.org/history/
Several online exhibits on this site highlight important contributions to the study of physics. The exhibits include Marie Curie & Radioactivity; Discovery of the Electron; Global Warming; and more.

Contributions of 20th Century Women to Physics
http://cwp.library.ucla.edu/
"An archive presenting and documenting some important and original contributions made before 1976 by 20th century women." This archive includes an annotated photo gallery, quotations, biographical information on women physicists, and a listing of 500+ books and articles. You can search the archives or browse by area of physics.

Einstein Archives Online
http://www.alberteinstein.info/
"The Einstein Archives Online Website provides the first online access to Albert Einstein's scientific and non-scientific manuscripts held by the Albert Einstein Archives at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem."

Einstein: Image and Impact
http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/
Trace Albert Einstein's life through this web page created by The Center for History of Physics. Brief paragraphs and photographs detail important events in the life of Einstein throughout this site. A collection of essays by historians is also included.

Emilio Segrè Visual Archives
http://photos.aip.org/
"A collection of more than 25,000 historical photographs, slides, lithographs, engravings, and other visual materials, the Emilio Segrè Visual Archives focuses on American physicists and astronomers of the twentieth century, but includes many scientists in Europe and elsewhere, in other fields related to physics, and in earlier times."

The Galileo Project
http://galileo.rice.edu/index.html
A project at Rice University, this web site contains a collection of biographical information about Galileo Galilei. There is a glossary and bibliography.

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URL: http://lib.westfield.ma.edu/physics.htm
Page maintained by B. Hubbard
Page created by Oliver Zeff
Last update: April 6, 2010/ph