Feynman Lectures on Physics
Richard Feynman's Famous Lecture Series is Tutorial for Physicists
Sep 8, 2009
Richard Feynman, who won the 1965 Nobel prize in physics, is generally regarded as among the most brilliant physicists of the 20th century. Professors, of physics or anything else, of Feynman's caliber often do not teach freshman classes. They instead prefer to concentrate on research or mentoring graduate students. Feynman, however, seldom did things like everyone else. So from 1961 to 1963 he taught the introductory physics course at the California Institute of Technology where he was a professor.
Rather than following an existing textbook, Feynman reworked the freshman physics course from the beginning. Feynman considered the course somewhat of a failure because it turned out to be too difficult for most freshmen. However in at least one way the course was very successful. It resulted in the Feynman Lectures on Physics.
The Feynman Lectures on Physics
When teaching the freshman course, Feynman gave the course lectures. Other Caltech physicists, including Robert Leighton and Matthew Sands transcribed and edited recordings of the lectures. They then put these lectures together and published them as a three volume set: The Feynman Lectures on Physics.
Since then physicists, physics students, and physics teachers have regularly consulted the Feynman Lectures when they need a quick tutorial on some aspect of physics. The Feynman lectures are clearly written and provide original lucid explanations of almost all aspects of physics. They are challenging but not impossible for a freshman physics student to read. More advanced physics students and professional physicists should find Feynman's lectures very readable.
How Much Mathematics Does Feynman Use?
Despite Feynman's mathematical ability as a brilliant theoretical physicist, the Feynman Lectures are not excessively mathematical. Feynman does not shy away from using mathematics, up to the level of calculus, when it is needed. However Feynman always accompanies any mathematics with clear physical reasoning and explanations. A reader who is not gifted in mathematics can nearly always skip the equations and still obtain a good conceptual understanding of the physics topic under discussion.
Unlike typical physics textbooks the Feynman Lectures do not provide homework problems or worked example problems. However virtually all other physics textbooks provide more problems than any student could need. What Feynman provides is more difficult to find: A clear understanding of fundamental physical principles. This understanding is needed to solve physics problems.
Anyone who is seriously interested in acquiring a deeper understanding of physics in general or some specific topic in physics can profit by reading The Feynman Lectures on Physics.
Further Reading
Feynman, RP, Leighton, RB, Sands, M, The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Addison Wesley, 1963. (original edition)
Feynman, RP, Leighton, RB, Sands, M, The Feynman Lectures on Physics including Feynman's Tips on Physics the Definitive and Extended Edition, Addison Wesley, 2005. (latest edition)
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