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The ''Feynman Lectures on Physics'', by Richard Feynman , Robert Leighton , and Matthew Sands is perhaps Feynman's most accessible technical work, and is considered a classic introduction to modern physics, including lectures on Mathematics , Electromagnetism , Newtonian Physics , Quantum Physics , and even the relation of physics to other sciences. The three volumes were compiled from material presented in a 2-year introductory physics course given in the early 1960s by Feynman at Caltech . Six readily accessible chapters were later compiled into a book entitled ''Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher'', and six more in ''Six Not So Easy Pieces: Einstein's Relativity, Symmetry and Space-Time''. The first volume focuses on Mechanics , Radiation , and Heat . The second volume is mainly on Electromagnetism and Matter . The third volume, on Quantum Mechanics , shows, for example, how the Double-slit Experiment contains the essential features of quantum mechanics. BACKGROUND By 1960 Richard Feynman was already a legend in his own time; at age 42 his research and discoveries in physics had resolved a number of troubling inconsistencies in several fundamental theories. In particular, it was his work in Quantum Electrodynamics which would lead to the award in 1965 of the Nobel Prize in physics. At the same time that Feynman was at the pinnacle of his fame, the faculty of the California Institute Of Technology was concerned about the quality of the introductory courses being offered to the undergraduate students. It was felt that these were burdened by an old fashioned syllabus and that the exciting discoveries of recent years, many of which had occurred at Caltech, were not being conveyed to the students. Thus it was decided to reconfigure the first physics course offered to students at Caltech, with the goal being to generate more excitement in the students. Who better to teach this course than the most famous lecturer of physics on campus? To the surprise of the Department, Feynman readily agreed to give the course, though only once. Aware of the fact that this would be a historic event, Caltech recorded each lecture and took photographs of each drawing made on the blackboard by Feynman. Based on the lectures and the tape recordings, a team of physicists and graduate students put together a manuscript that would become Richard Feynman's most widely read and influential scientific work: ''The Feynman Lectures on Physics''. As the two-year course (1961-63) was still being completed, word of it spread throughout the physics community. In a special preface to the 1989 edition, David Goodstein and Gerry Neugebauer claim that, as time went on the attendance by registered students dropped sharply but was matched by a compensating increase in the number of faculty and graduate students. Sands, in his memoir accompanying the 2005 edition, contests this claim. Addison-Wesley published a collection of problems to accompany ''The Feynman Lectures on Physics''. The problem sets were first used in the 1962-63 academic year and organized by Robert Leighton. Some of the problems are sophisticated enough to require understanding of topics as advanced as Kolmogorov's Zero-one Law , for example. Addison-Wesley also released all the audio tapes of the lectures, over 103 hours with Richard Feynman, in CD format after remastering the sound and clearing the recordings. In March of 1964, Feynman appeared before the freshman physics class as a guest lecturer, but the notes for this lecture were lost for a number of years. They were finally located, restored, and made available as . In 2005, Michael A. Gottlieb and Ralph Leighton co-authored ''Feynman's Tips on Physics'', which includes four of Feynman's freshman lectures (three on problem solving, one on inertial guidance) not included in the main text, a memoir by Matt Sands about the origins of the Feynman Lectures on Physics, and exercises (with answers) that were assigned to students by Robert Leighton and Rochus Vogt in recitation sections of the Feynman Lectures course at Caltech. CONTENTS Volume 1. Mainly mechanics, radiation, and heat |
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