This guide suggests resources and strategies for research on topics falling under the general discipline of Physics.

Background Information  |  Facts & Figures  |  Find Articles  |  Find Books  |  People  |  Organizations  |  Web Resources  | 

Encyclopedias and other reference works are an excellent place to start a research project or simply learn more about a particular topic.  They provide topic summaries, context, and bibliographies for further reading.

Q is for Quantum:  An Encyclopedia of Particle Physics		R 539.703 G8711q
Macmillan Encyclopedia of Physics		R 530.03 M228 v. 1-4
The New York Public Library Science Desk Reference		Ref Desk 500 B263n

Use dictionaries, statistical works, atlases, handbooks and similar works to find and check facts about topics, people, or events.

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics		R 547.00212 C421
American Institute of Physics Handbook		R 530.0202 Am35a3
Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measures		R 530.812 C1783e

Search indexes, abstracts, and databases to find journal, magazine, and newspaper articles.  For a complete list of Kent Library's online indexes and databases, see the Find: articles page (http://library.semo.edu/find/articles.asp).

To find historical/source materials, use the following print source:

Physics Abstracts
 

To find recent articles and scholarly/peer-reviewed articles use the following online databases:

E-print ArXive (physics)
Article 1st
 

Use the Kent Library Catalog (http://library.semo.edu/find/books.html) to find books, periodicals (journals, magazines, & newspapers), videos, government documents and other materials.

Keyword searches allow you to use your own words as search terms.
Subject heading searches use Library of Congress subject headings. Printed volumes of these headings are located near the Reference Desk on the main floor.

Possible subject headings include:

Physics
Astrophysics
Ballistics
Biophysics
Capillarity
Conservation laws (Physics)
Constraints (Physics)
Cosmic physics
Critical phenomena (Physics)
Diffusion
Expansion (Heat)
Fluids
Force and energy
General relativity (Physics)
Geophysics
Gravitation
Heat
Magnetism
Matter
Mechanics
Microphysics
Motion
Nanostructures
Nuclear physics
Optics
Permeability
Physical metallurgy
Pneumatics
Quantum theory
Radiation
Solid state physics
Sound
Thermodynamics
Viscosity
 

Browse the shelves by call number.  Use the Dewey Decimal chart (http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/fi_books_dd_list.htm) to get you in the right subject areas or try the following:

530      Physics
531      Classical mechanics; solid mechanics
532      Fluid mechanics; liquid mechanics
533      Gas mechanics
534      Sound & related vibrations
535      Light & infrared & ultraviolet phenomena
536      Heat
537      Electricity & electronics
538      Magnetism
539      Modern physics

 

Learn about important people, such as authors, researchers & historical figures related to this topic or field.

American Men and Women of Science		R 925 Am35
Remarkable Physicists:  From Galileo to Yukawa		530.0922 J2339r
Brotherhood of the Bomb:  The Tangled Lives of Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller		539.7092273 H4258b
Great Physicists:  The Life and Times of Leading Physicists from Galileo to Hawking		R 925.3 C8832g
In the Shadow of the Bomb : Bethe, Oppenheimer, and the Moral Responsibility of the Scientist		172.422 Sch971i

Professional organizations and/or societies often provide very useful topic related information.

Society of Physics Students
      http://www.aip.org/education/sps/
American Association of Physics Teachers
      http://www.aapt.org/
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
      http://www.aaas.org/index.shtml
 

American Physical Society:  A Century of Physics
    http://timeline.aps.org/APS/home_HighRes.html
Fundamental Physical Constants
    http://www.chemie.fu-berlin.de/chemistry/general/constants_en.html
College Physics for Students of Biology and Chemistry
    http://www.rwc.uc.edu/koehler/biophys/text.html
Physics 2000
     http://www.rwc.uc.edu/koehler/biophys/text.html
Center for History of Physics
    http://www.aip.org/history/
Contributions of 20th Century Women to Physics
    http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~cwp/
Amusement Park Physics
    http://www.learner.org/exhibits/parkphysics/
PhysicsWeb:  Physics News, Jobs and Resources
    http://physicsweb.org/
Inquiring Minds
    http://www.fnal.gov/pub/inquiring/
 

For a list of Web searching tools, see the Find: web resources page (http://library.semo.edu/find/webpages.html).