Concepts of Modern Physics 7th By Arthur Beiser

The revised edition retains its fundamental classic flavor. The balance in this book leans more toward ideas than toward experimental methods and practical applications, because the beginning students are better served by a conceptual framework rather than by a mass of details. To help build a conceptual framework, a plethora of solved and unsolved problems, varying from simple to complex, have been incorporated.

Modern Physics is the most up-to-date, accessible presentation of modern physics available. The book is intended to be used in a one-semester course covering modern physics for students who have already had basic physics and calculus courses. The balance of the book leans more toward ideas than toward experimental methods and practical applications because the beginning student is better served by a conceptual framework than by a mass of details. The sequence of topics follows a logical, rather than strictly historical, order. Relativity and quantum ideas are considered first to provide a framework for understanding the physics of atoms and nuclei. The theory of the atom is then developed, and followed by a discussion of the properties of aggregates of atoms, which includes a look at statistical mechanics. Finally atomic nuclei and elementary particles are examined.