Fundamentals of Physics

Citation

Halliday, D., Resnick, R., & Walker, J. (2021). Fundamentals of Physics, Extended (12th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.

Chapter Summary

The extended edition has 44 chapters and about 1,500 pages. It is also split into two volumes: chapters 1–20 (mechanics, waves and thermodynamics) and chapters 21–44 (electromagnetism, optics and modern physics). Every chapter is divided into numbered modules (for example 1.1 Measuring Things, Including Lengths) and ends with a Review & Summary, Questions and Problems.

Chapters 1–3: Measurement; Motion Along a Straight Line; Vectors

The book starts with SI units, chain-link unit conversion and significant figures, then describes straight-line motion: position, velocity, acceleration, constant acceleration, free fall and graphical integration. Chapter 3 introduces vectors, components, unit vectors and the products of vectors.

Chapter 4: Motion in Two and Three Dimensions

Position, displacement, velocity and acceleration in more than one dimension, with projectile motion, uniform circular motion and relative motion in one and two dimensions.

Chapters 5–6: Force and Motion—I; Force and Motion—II

Newton's three laws and their application, then friction, the drag force and terminal speed, and uniform circular motion as a dynamics problem.

Chapters 7–8: Kinetic Energy and Work; Potential Energy and Conservation of Energy

Work done by gravity, by a spring and by a general variable force, and power. Chapter 8 develops potential energy, conservation of mechanical energy, potential energy curves, work done by an external force on a system, and conservation of energy.

Chapters 9–11: Center of Mass and Linear Momentum; Rotation; Rolling, Torque, and Angular Momentum

Systems of particles, momentum, impulse, collisions in one and two dimensions and the rocket. Rotation then repeats the pattern for angular variables, rotational inertia and torque; Chapter 11 covers rolling, the yo-yo, angular momentum and its conservation, and precession of a gyroscope.

Chapters 12–14: Equilibrium and Elasticity; Gravitation; Fluids

Static equilibrium and elasticity; Newton's law of gravitation, gravity near and inside the Earth, gravitational potential energy, Kepler's laws, satellites and a closing section on Einstein and gravitation; and fluid statics and dynamics (pressure, Pascal's and Archimedes' principles, continuity, Bernoulli's equation).

Chapters 15–17: Oscillations; Waves—I; Waves—II

Simple harmonic motion, energy, pendulums, damping and forced oscillations; transverse waves on a string, the wave equation, interference, phasors and standing waves; and sound waves, intensity, beats, the Doppler effect and shock waves.

Chapters 18–20: Temperature, Heat, and the First Law of Thermodynamics; The Kinetic Theory of Gases; Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics

Temperature scales, thermal expansion, heat absorption, the first law and heat-transfer mechanisms; the kinetic theory, including rms speed, mean free path, the distribution of molecular speeds and adiabatic expansion; and entropy with engines, refrigerators and a statistical view of entropy.

Chapters 21–25: Coulomb's Law; Electric Fields; Gauss' Law; Electric Potential; Capacitance

Electrostatics in the usual order: charge, fields (including the dipole), flux and Gauss' law, potential, and capacitors with dielectrics.

Chapters 26–27: Current and Resistance; Circuits

Current, current density, resistance and Ohm's law, followed by single-loop and multiloop circuits, ammeters, voltmeters and RC circuits.

Chapters 28–32: Magnetic Fields; Magnetic Fields Due to Currents; Induction and Inductance; Electromagnetic Oscillations and Alternating Current; Maxwell's Equations; Magnetism of Matter

Magnetic force and the Hall effect, cyclotrons and torque on a current loop; sources of fields and Ampere's law; Faraday's and Lenz's laws and inductance; LC and RLC circuits and transformers; and Maxwell's equations, displacement current and the magnetic behaviour of matter.

Chapters 33–36: Electromagnetic Waves; Images; Interference; Diffraction

Electromagnetic waves, polarization, reflection and refraction; images from mirrors, lenses and optical instruments; interference, including Young's experiment, thin films and the Michelson interferometer; and diffraction by slits, apertures and gratings, ending with X-ray diffraction.

Chapter 37: Relativity

Simultaneity and time dilation, the relativity of length, the Lorentz transformation, velocity addition, the Doppler effect for light, and momentum and energy.

Chapters 38–40: Photons and Matter Waves; More About Matter Waves; All About Atoms

The photon and photoelectric effect, matter waves, Schrödinger's equation, the uncertainty principle and tunneling; trapped electrons, wave functions and the hydrogen atom; and the properties of atoms, the Stern–Gerlach experiment, magnetic resonance, the periodic table and lasers.

Chapters 41–44: Conduction of Electricity in Solids; Nuclear Physics; Energy from the Nucleus; Quarks, Leptons, and the Big Bang

Electrical properties of metals, semiconductors and the p-n junction; nuclear properties, decay modes, dating and radiation dosage; fission, reactors and fusion; and particles, quarks, messenger particles and cosmology.

Key Concepts

Chapters 1–14: Mechanics

• Newton's laws in application: Chapters 5–6 turn the three laws into a method for solving force problems.
• Conservation of energy and momentum: the central tools of Chapters 8–9, extended to rotation in Chapters 10–11.
• Torque and angular momentum: the rotational counterparts of force and linear momentum.
• Kepler's laws and gravitational potential energy: the orbital results of Chapter 13.

Chapters 15–20: Waves and Thermodynamics

• Simple harmonic motion and resonance: the model oscillator and driven response.
• Interference and standing waves: superposition applied to strings and sound.
• First and second laws: energy conservation for heat, and entropy as the measure of irreversibility.

Chapters 21–32: Electromagnetism

• Gauss' law: relates flux through a closed surface to enclosed charge.
• Faraday's law: a changing magnetic flux induces an emf.
• Displacement current and Maxwell's equations: the additions that complete the equations for fields.

Chapters 33–44: Optics and Modern Physics

• Interference and diffraction: the wave-optics evidence for the wave nature of light.
• Lorentz transformation: the relation between observers' coordinates in special relativity.
• Matter waves and the Schrödinger equation: the basis for atoms, tunneling and solid-state behaviour.
• Radioactive decay and fission: the nuclear processes of Chapters 42–43.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• A clear modular structure. Each chapter is broken into modules, each opening with learning objectives and key ideas; the publisher also lists checkpoints for every module, sample problems, and a Review & Summary at the end of each chapter. Readers can study module by module and check progress as they go.
• Wide coverage in one source. The extended edition runs from measurement to cosmology, so it can serve a complete two- or three-semester calculus-based sequence without a second textbook.
• A large problem supply. Wiley states that the 12th edition adds nearly 300 new end-of-chapter problems and several research problems based on real situations, such as a ship riding lower in a channel or a batter's momentary vision loss.
• Current content. The publisher lists new discussion of the first image of a black hole and the detection of gravitational waves, medical imaging and radiation-therapy examples, and sample problems on autonomous cars.

Limitations

• Length. At about 1,500 pages the book is far more than most courses cover. Teachers choose chapters, and students may find it hard to see which parts are essential.
• Calculus is assumed. Graphical integration appears as early as Chapter 2 and work by a general variable force in Chapter 7, so students need to be comfortable with calculus alongside the course.
• Interactive practice is separate. The practice, simulations and videos that Wiley describes are part of WileyPLUS, sold separately from the print text.
• Quick modern physics. The modern-physics chapters (37–44) cover relativity, quantum physics, nuclei and particles in eight chapters, a survey rather than a full course.

Where It Fits in the Course

Among the introductory physics books in this list, Fundamentals of Physics is one of several full calculus-based, two- or three-semester textbooks aimed at science and engineering students; Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Principles of Physics and University Physics are in the same category, and the choice between them is largely a matter of taste in explanation, problem sets and the instructor's course. Its module structure and large problem supply suit a student who wants one reference for the entire sequence. For a gentler first pass, Hewitt's Conceptual Physics gives the ideas with very little mathematics, and OpenStax's College Physics is a free algebra-based course.

For readers who want more depth in one area, Kleppner and Kolenkow's An Introduction to Mechanics is a demanding calculus-based treatment of mechanics, 200 Puzzling Physics Problems is a problem collection with hints and solutions, and The Feynman Lectures on Physics offers a concept-driven alternative explanation of many of the same topics.

How to Use This Book

The book is for students taking a calculus-based general physics sequence, particularly in science and engineering. It assumes algebra, trigonometry and an introductory calculus course.

A practical plan:

• Core for a first semester: Chapters 1–20 as the course allows, in order. Mechanics (1–11) is the foundation for everything that follows; do not skip Chapters 5–9.
• Second semester: Chapters 21–36. Electrostatics (21–25) comes before circuits and magnetism (26–32), then optics (33–36).
• Third semester or self-study: Chapters 37–44 on relativity, quantum physics, atoms, solids, nuclei and particles.
• Can be skipped on a first pass: closing modules such as 13.8 (Einstein and Gravitation) or 34.6 (Three Proofs), which extend rather than build the core.

In each module, read the learning objectives first, then the key ideas, and attempt the checkpoints before looking at the sample problems. Use the Review & Summary at chapter end to review, and work end-of-chapter problems starting with odd-numbered ones, since answers to odd-numbered problems are printed at the back.