Understanding Mathematical Concepts in Physics

Modern Introductory Physics, 2nd Edition, by Charles H. Holbrow, James N. Lloyd, Joseph C. Amato, Enrique Galvez, and Beth Parks, is a successful innovative text for teaching introductory college and university physics. It is thematically organized to emphasize the physics that answers the fundamental question: Why do we believe in atoms and their properties? The book provides a sound introduction to basic physical concepts with particular attention to the nineteenth- and twentieth-century physics underlying our modern ideas of atoms and their structure.

This book presents the fundamentals of modern tensor calculus for students in engineering and applied physics, emphasizing those aspects that are crucial for applying tensor calculus safely in Euclidian space and for grasping the very essence of the smooth manifold concept.

Mathematics is the language of the physical sciences and is essential for a clear understanding of fundamental scientific concepts. The fortuna te fact that the same mathematical ideas appear in a number of distinct scientific areas prompted the format for this book. The mathematical framework for matrices and vectors with emphasis on eigenvalue-eigenvector concepts is introduced and applied to a number of distinct scientific areas. Each· new application then reinforces the applications which preceded it.

This textbook provides students with a solid introduction to the techniques of approximation commonly used in data analysis across physics and astronomy. The choice of methods included is based on their usefulness and educational value, their applicability to a broad range of problems and their utility in highlighting key mathematical concepts.