The Feynman Lectures on Physics including Feynman's Tips on Physics: The Definitive and Extended Edition (Hardcover)

by Richard P. Feynman (Author), Robert B. Leighton (Author), Matthew Sands (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This revised edition of Feynman’s legendary lectures includes extensive corrections Feynman and his colleagues received and Caltech approved. This boxed set provides Volumes 1-3 together with Feynman’s Tips on Physics making this the complete and definitive set of The Feynman Lectures on Physics. For all readers interested in physics.

About the Author

Richard P. Feynman was born in 1918 in Brooklyn and received his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1942. Despite his youth, he played an important part in the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos during World War II. Subsequently, he taught at Cornell and at the California Institute of Technology. In 1965 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics, along with Sin-Itero Tomanaga and Julian Schwinger, for his work in quantum electrodynamics.

Dr. Feynman won his Nobel Prize for successfully resolving problems with the theory of quantum electrodynamics. He also created a mathematical theory that accounts for the phenomenon of superfluidity in liquid helium. Thereafter, with Murray Gell-Mann, he did fundamental work in the area of weak interactions such as beta decay. In later years Feynman played a key role in the development of quark theory by putting forward his parton model of high energy proton collision processes.

Beyond these achievements, Dr. Feynman introduced basic computational techniques and notations into physics, above all, the ubiquitous Feynman diagrams that, perhaps more than any other formalism in recent scientific history, have changed the way in which basic physical processes are conceptualized and calculated.

Feynman was a remarkable effective educator. Of all his numerous awards, he was especially proud of the Oersted Medal for Teaching which he won in 1972. The Feynman Lectures on Physics, originally published in 1963, were described by a reviewer in Scientific American as "tough, but nourishing and full of flavor. After 25 years it is the guide for teachers and for the best of beginning students." In order to increase the understanding of physics among the lay public, Dr. Feynman wrote The Character of Physical Law and Q.E.D.: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter. He also authored a number of advanced publications that have become classic references and textbooks for researchers and students.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Addison Wesley; 2 edition (August 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805390456
• ISBN-13: 978-0805390452
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 9.1 x 3.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #24,413 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

164 of 173 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another incarnation of a classic, October 10, 2005

By	Ursiform (Torrance, CA USA) - See all my reviews

As the proud owner of the original editions of the Lectures, I'm glad to see a new hardcover edition. (My copies still have the original prices--10.95, 10.50, and 11.50--stamped in them. But that was thirty years ago! I even recall Leighton having a shelf in his office with various translations of the Lectures lined up.)

It is sometimes claimed that the original lectures were a failure. In the April 2005 issue of Physics Today, Matthew Sands writes about the project that resulted in the Feynman Lectures. He disputes the claim that the undergraduates drifted away from Feynman's lectures in large numbers, and explains how Feynman's preface came about, and why he (Sands) finds it unduly negative.

It has always been widely agreed that the Lectures are insufficient as a standalone textbook, and best used as supplemental reading. Feynman's approach appeals to many readers, but falls flat with others. This is not surprising, as different people respond to different ways of explaining physics. As an historical aside, Feynman and Schwinger took such different approaches to developing quantum electrodynamics theory that it wasn't immediately clear that their formulations were even equivalent. Most physicists find Feynman's approach easier to learn, but others find it unsatisfying. People are different. Physicists are different. Even physics students are different. There is not, and will never be, one book that is the best for every reader. The Feynman Lectures are great because they have been so enlightening to so many people, not because they meet the impossible standard of being clear to every reader.

51 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic to be enjoyed in a new edition., August 31, 2005

By	Keith Dow "Keith Dow" (Folsom, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Feynman lectures on physics are among the best physics books published. This edition includes the standard three volumes, with a new introduction and corrections, plus a separate book, Feynman's tips on physics. All four books are well worth reading.

The lectures are excellent because they give new insights, compared to the standard presentation. The faculty at Caltech used to sit on the lectures to learn more about physics. Considering these lectures were for lower division students, that is quite a compliment.

Please read reviews of earlier editions to get more insight into their content.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive edition, October 28, 2005

By	M. van Genderen (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Richard Feynman's Lectures on Physics are classics, due to both the physics they contain as well as the different method of education that is displayed: do not hesitate to deal with complicated subjects early on, as long as you explain them clearly. This edition has corrections for all reported errors, and includes the new volume "Tips on Physics" by Feynman. If you thought about buying the Lectures; hesitate no longer! If you already have an older version (as I had): this is a worthy update.