Daniel V. Schroeder, Department of Physics, Weber State University
Our main textbook for most of the course will be Modern Physics for Scientists and Engineers, second edition, by Taylor, Zafiratos, and Dubson. This book is currently (since 2015) published in a paperback version by University Science Books, ISBN 978-1-938787-75-1. The cover is mostly red, with nine black-and-white photos of famous physicists. As of 2025 the list price is about $130, but you may be able to get it at a discount online, and used copies should be available at deeper discounts.
However: This book was originally published in 2003 by Prentice Hall (later acquired by Pearson), ISBN 0-13-805715-X. This older version of the book is identical in content but has better print quality and a more durable hardcover binding. The cover is mostly blue, with a couple of hard-to-identify images and a couple of famous equations. If you can find a used copy of this version online for a reasonable price, in reasonable condition, I think you’ll get a better deal than with the newer paperback version.
If you’re on a tight budget you might instead opt for a used copy of the first edition of the same book, by Taylor and Zafiratos only (ISBN 0-13-589789-0, published in 1991, with a photo of a section of a particle accelerator on the mostly greenish cover). I’ve seen copies advertised online for under $10. The differences between the first and second editions are minor, at least as far as our course is concerned, but the chapter numbering is different, so you would have to put up with some inconvenience to determine what to read when.
If you would rather not purchase this book at all, there should be a copy in the library (on reserve) and another copy in the physics majors study room (which anyone taking this course, majoring in physics or not, is welcome to use during the semester).
For the first three weeks of the course our main text will be Relativity in Five Lessons, a mini-text on special relativity that I wrote and have posted online for free access at https://physics.weber.edu/schroeder/r5/. I’ll hand out printed copies on the first day of class, but meanwhile feel free to start reading it on your screen.