Library: Physics: Guide Home

Physics Research Starter

Some ways to start research are:

Consult reference books and databases (encyclopedias, Credo Reference)
Find print and e-books (EBSCO Ebook Collection)
Search journal indexes and databases for articles (Academic Search Complete, Gale databases)

These tasks can be done in any order, but reference books are a good starting place to find an overview of a topic or to look up basic facts quickly. Books and journal articles will contain more in-depth information. There may be more commentary in journals or magazines than in books if the topic is very recent.

Frequently-used Resources

Reference databases and books

Journal Collections

Springer Nature Link Journals

Books and Ebooks

Print books on physics are likely to have shelving numbers starting with the following letters:

Q - Science (General)
QB - Astronomy
- QB460-466 - Astrophysics
QC - Physics
- QC1-75 - General
- QC81-114 - Weights and measures
- QC120-168.85 - Descriptive and experimental mechanics
- QC170-197 - Atomic physics. Constitution and properties of matter
- QC221-246 - Acoustics. Sound
- QC474-496.9 - Radiation physics (General)
- QC501-766 - Electricity and magnetism
- QC770-798 - Nuclear and particle physics. Atomic energy. Radioactivity
- QC801-809 - Geophysics. Cosmic physics
- QC811-849 - Geomagnetism
- QC851-999 - Meteorology. Climatology

A selection of library ebooks:

Science Weekly
Weekly podcast on current science events.
The Science Hour
Science news and highlights of the week

Cartoon Physics: A Graphic Novel Guide to Solving Physics Problems

Free Physics Resources on the Web

American Institute of Physics (AIP)
American Physical Society (APS) "The American Physical Society (APS) is a nonprofit membership organization working to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics...."
American Physical Society (APS): Minorities in Physics "APS is committed to the inclusion of underrepresented minorities in physics and has spent decades working on programs to increase recruitment and retention of African American, Hispanic American, and Indigenous physicists."
American Physical Society (APS): Women in Physics "APS is committed to encouraging the recruitment, retention, and career development of women physicists at all levels."
European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) Home of the world's largest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider.
Institute of Physics (IOP) "The Institute of Physics is the professional body and learned society for physics in the UK and Ireland...."
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST): Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML) ( "PML is a world leader in the science of measurement."
National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST): Physics
U.S. Department of Energy

Eric Weisstein's World of Physics From Wolfram.com's Scienceworld.
NIST Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML): Fundamental Physical Constants
NIST Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML): Physical Reference Data
Periodic Table An interactive Periodic Table of the Elements from the U.K. Royal Society of Chemistry.

International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM): The International System of Units (SI) A description of the International System of Units (SI), or metric system, from its international governing body.
National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST): SI Redefinition A summary of SI and its redefinition in terms of fundamental constants of nature from the U.S. Department of Commerce's body on standards.

Subject Librarian

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