What books to read

[aViolentBee]

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. What books would you recommend reading? I'm interested in space in general. I'm still in high school and I am no genius at maths so please, make sure it doesn't contain mind breaking equations and what not. It can contain some maths but... not overly complicated. Thank you and have a nice day.

[Nicholas Kang]

I am also in high school. To study space and astronomy, be sure to have a good understanding about Modern Physics. My personal experience tells me classical physics that you learn in high school isn`t enough. The 2 main physics are Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. For relativity, I would recommend Ira Mark Egdall`s Einstein`s Relatively Simple. Mr. Egdall is one of the members in this forum. His book is very suitable for undergraduates and those who are interested in relativity but never though possible. It is about RM 62 in Malaysia. For quantum mechanics, I offer no suggestion becuase I haven`t really found any good book about QM. Nevertheless, you can still attain knowledge by reading through many articles about QM in the web or several books, like Stephen Hawking`s The Universe In A Nutshell.

 

Modern physics do rely on equations/maths, you can never get away from them, but some of them can be quite simple. I would recommend studying relativity first. Its equations are quite easily understood, compared to QM. I do have a collections of papers and ebooks about modern astronomy and physics. Feel free to request them if you want.

 

Astrochemistry and astrobiology are important too. But they are not "attracting" the limelight, unless there are some new or stunning discoveries. One famous example is the landing of Philae from Rosetta, an esa probe, on the comet 67P. Scientists strongly believe that comets and other planetary remnants are keys to discovering the origin of lives and the evolution of the early solar system.

 

Have you studied calculus? A good ebook brings you through the QM world from scratch is Richard Feynman`s Lectures on Physics

http://www.feynmanlectures.info/

http://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/

 

I would recommend encyclopedias too. I have 4 astronomy encyclopedias. If you are living in Europe-America, I believe that you can access encyclopedias easily from library or buy them from bookstores. Encyclopedias are key to mastering astronomy. One of them is The Illustrated Atlas of The Universe, which is one of my collections.

[aViolentBee]

Thanks for the reply, very helpful! I'll take a look at those links and make sure to visit my local library and see what they have. I have read 'Simply Einstein Relativity Demystified' by Richard Wolfson a long ago. I think I'll read it again. Right now I am reading 'Parallel Worlds' by Michio Kaku.

[RobertMD]

Hi.

 

I enjoyed reading Dr. Michio Kaku's books. Most of his books are indicated for general (science) readers, with decreased levels of technicality and complex topics. But they're good reads. It's just like reading a novel. Hyperspace, Parallel Worlds, Physics of the Future, Physics of the Impossible, and The Future of the Mind are my top picks.

 

Dr. Brian Greene's books are also worth the shot. If you have it in your local bookstores, try looking for The Fabric of the Cosmos and The Hidden Reality. Really awesome.

 

Good luck, future scientist!