Feynman Lectures Online
Posted by on Friday, September 13, 2013
There is great news today for physics students around the world - the legendary Feynman Lectures on Physics are now available online in glorious HTML & LaTeX. They can be accessed through the website: http://feynmanlectures.info/flp.html
For those not familiar with the story, long ago (the early 1960s) the Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman was working at CalTech when someone brought up the idea of an introductory physics course for first year students, which would present many of the exciting topics in both classical and modern physics. A sort of quick survey course for students who probably would not be doing the six years or more needed to learn all of the subjects in great detail. Of course world famous scientists do not teach first year students - they usually negotiate contracts that require either no teaching or only teaching advanced classes in their specialized subject. But the iconoclastic Feynman liked the idea so much that he taught most of it himself.
As expected, his ability to visualize the physics behind the mathematics and to present it in ways that anyone could understand made the lectures approachable by everyone. (In fact, the work that Feynman shared the Nobel Prize for involved duplicating other people's rigorous mathematical formulae in a few stick figure drawings, which were dubbed Feynman diagrams are now the dominant method of performing particle physics calculations. But I digress..)
As such the Feynman Lectures on Physics were converted into a set of three books, at least three audio releases on CD and digital media, and a few videos. They have become required reading for every serious science student, and are cited as the inspiration for generations of physicists to enter the field. And perhaps most fascinating and a sign of the genius of Feynman, is that even now when they are fifty years old, the content is still relevant.
So if you are interested in physics, go over to their new website and have a look at the pinnacle of scientific instruction, taught by a true master of the often disparate arts of teaching and research. You won't be disappointed.
For those not familiar with the story, long ago (the early 1960s) the Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman was working at CalTech when someone brought up the idea of an introductory physics course for first year students, which would present many of the exciting topics in both classical and modern physics. A sort of quick survey course for students who probably would not be doing the six years or more needed to learn all of the subjects in great detail. Of course world famous scientists do not teach first year students - they usually negotiate contracts that require either no teaching or only teaching advanced classes in their specialized subject. But the iconoclastic Feynman liked the idea so much that he taught most of it himself.
As expected, his ability to visualize the physics behind the mathematics and to present it in ways that anyone could understand made the lectures approachable by everyone. (In fact, the work that Feynman shared the Nobel Prize for involved duplicating other people's rigorous mathematical formulae in a few stick figure drawings, which were dubbed Feynman diagrams are now the dominant method of performing particle physics calculations. But I digress..)
As such the Feynman Lectures on Physics were converted into a set of three books, at least three audio releases on CD and digital media, and a few videos. They have become required reading for every serious science student, and are cited as the inspiration for generations of physicists to enter the field. And perhaps most fascinating and a sign of the genius of Feynman, is that even now when they are fifty years old, the content is still relevant.
So if you are interested in physics, go over to their new website and have a look at the pinnacle of scientific instruction, taught by a true master of the often disparate arts of teaching and research. You won't be disappointed.
I am a theoretical physicist & mathematician, with training in electronics, programming, robotics, and a number of other related fields.
