<p>I am looking for a solid physics text that hits the introductory theory very well. If anyone is curious as to why, well I am just very into physics and would love to improve my knowledge and have a good text to refer back to. </p>
<p>Area of particular interests: E&M</p>
<p>Hmmm, this one was pretty good:
[Amazon.com:</a> Electromagnetism (9780805385670): Gerald Pollack, Daniel Stump: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Electromagnetism-Gerald-Pollack/dp/0805385673/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292944936&sr=1-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Electromagnetism-Gerald-Pollack/dp/0805385673/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292944936&sr=1-1)</p>
<p>Are you looking for a book at the first semester in E&M level or for a slightly more advanced book? Introductory can mean different things, surprisingly. If you are looking for a slightly more advanced book, Introduction to Electrodynamics by David Griffiths is used a lot and is well liked for undergrad E&M courses.</p>
<p>it would need to cover at a freshman level, but I am hoping to get a little more out of the text than just that. I don’t know if such a textbook exists. I’m thinking of going with the 2nd Volume of Physics by Resnick and Halliday if there is no other really good options.</p>
<p>freshman level? are you referring to physics III at the introductory level? </p>
<p>okay, personal experience: MY TA always has a physics book with him. The other day he was reading this. </p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Electricity and Magnetism (Berkeley Physics Course, Vol. 2) (9780070049086): Edward M. Purcell: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Electricity-Magnetism-Vol-Berkeley-Physics/dp/0070049084/]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Electricity-Magnetism-Vol-Berkeley-Physics/dp/0070049084/)</p>
<p>at my school, the equiv. of Physics III i think would be thermal physics/optics and Physics II is E&M.</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/University-Physics-Chapters-21-37-12th/dp/0321500768/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292968622&sr=8-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/University-Physics-Chapters-21-37-12th/dp/0321500768/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292968622&sr=8-1]Amazon.com:</a> University Physics Vol 2 (Chapters 21-37) (12th Edition) (Chapters 21-37 v. 2) (9780321500762): Hugh D. Young, Roger A. Freedman, Lewis Ford: Books<a href=“Volume%20I%20was%20mechanics,%20and%20III%20is%20relativity;%20II%20is%20electromagnetism%20and%20optics.”>/url</a></p>
<p>That’s the one I just finished using for my Physics B (E&M) class, and it was a really good textbook. It broke down the concepts, showed how they were applicable, derived relevant equations, and had enough example problems to help me make sure I knew what to do for the homework. There’s also upwards of 50 practice questions at the end of every chapter to see if you understand & can apply the concepts. I really enjoyed it.</p>
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<p>I second young & freedman. That is what I used for freshmen university physics.</p>
<p>I will be using that texbook (University Physics) for my physics II course next semester. I somewhat enjoyed volume I for mechanics, but I am looking for another textbook to use along with volume II as a reference. Sometimes I did not like how University Physics tried to present the concepts, it seemed as if they just put down equations on the page and just said here you go on some topics especially angular momentum which was disappointing because they did a great job of deriving and explaining the significance of the concepts of linear momentum. Nonetheless, I do feel it left me with a very good understanding of basic mechanics.</p>
<p>Pretty much all the freshmen physics books are very similar. You don’t really have a good enough math background or the time when you take a freshmen physics course for them to go in great detail / go through all the derivations, especially with stuff like rigid body mechanics and electromagentics, some of the derivations can be pretty long/involved. </p>
<p>I just took engineering thermodynamics this past semester and I went back and looked at my freshmen physics book skimming through the sections on thermo and was shocked at the difference in detail between my thermo book and my physics book.</p>
<p>Freshmen physics is just a survey course. I really actually think it’s kind of a waste in someways. I think of freshmen physics as a roller coaster tour of all physics, and each of the topics are billboards you pass as you ride the roller coaster. </p>
<p>Most of my engineering professors didn’t assume the background of freshmen physics and started from a ground up engineering point of view when teaching thermo, electromagnetics and dynamics, which was good. Because expecting us to recall something from that course is just like my analogy of roller coaster and billboard. There is no way you can read something on a billboard while your riding this roller coaster and recall it later, and just like there is no way you can recall some intimate detail from a freshmen physics course.</p>
<p>I guess my whole point of this discussion is don’t waste your money on another introductory physics text. Just use the one you are assigned and take a specific course for the topics you find interesting and that you want to learn more about. Since you said you like electromagnetics, take an electromagnetics course when you are a junior. You’ll gain next to nothing from a different introductory physics text than the one you are already assigned.</p>
<p>If you really want something now, I suggest buying Elements of Electromagnetics by Matthew N.O. Sadiku. That is what I used for my engineering electromagnetics course and found it to be really good for self-study (my prof was terrible). All the examples are really worked out (the author doesn’t skip a ton of steps). The first three chapters (100 pages or so) contain all the math (without the physics) beyond single variable calculus that you need to know. You can get a 4th edition new for about 30 bucks on amazon, or you can get the latest edition new for around 80 bucks. I’d stay away from the third edition since the reviews say that edition has a lot of errors.</p>