Library: Physics: Learning at Bath

Find recommended reading

Library Lists
Find your recommended reading for each unit in the Library Lists system. A unit reading list will give you easy access to e-books, and location and availability information for print books.

Access physics e-books

Physics for scientists and engineers, with modern physics (6th ed.) by Paul Allen Tipler. Mosca Gene
Publication Date: 2008
A key text for introductory physics.
Fundamentals of physics (10th ed.) by David Halliday, Robert Resnick and Jearl Walker
Publication Date: 2014
This extended 10th edition offers a clear outline of fundamental concepts in physics, helping readers to apply this to quantitative problem solving in an easy-to-understand style.
Physics : a student companion by Lowry A. Kirkby
Publication Date: 2011
Handy reference and essential learning tool for students, graduates and researchers in the physical sciences.
Practical Physics (4th ed.) by G. L. Squires
Publication Date: 2001
Practical Physics demonstrates the purposive and critical approach that should be made to all experimental work in physics. It does not describe a systematic course of experiments, but is intended as a companion to any undergraduate course of practical work.
An introduction to modern astrophysics (2nd ed.) by Bradley W. Carroll and Dale A. Ostlie
Publication Date: 2014
Thoroughly revised, the 2nd edition has been updated to include the latest results from relevant fields of astrophysics and advances in our theoretical understanding of astrophysical phenomena.

General and subject encyclopedias

The encyclopedia of physics
A peer-reviewed and regularly updated reference work from Oxford University Press.

The encyclopedia of cosmology by Giovanni G. Fazio (editor)

ISBN : 9814656208 Publication date: 2018

This is a major, long-lasting, seminal reference at the graduate student level, laid out by the most prominent, respected researchers in the general field of Cosmology.

Explore physics e-book collections

CUP Physics and astronomy collection
Over 1,500 ebooks spanning all areas of physics and astronomy.
IOP Astronomy
The American Astronomical Society (AAS) has partnered with IOP Publishing to create an exciting new collection of astronomy and astrophysics e-books.
IOP Concise Physics
Focuses on shorter texts in rapidly advancing areas and on topics where an introductory text is more appropriate.
IOP Expanding Physics
High-quality texts from leading voices across the research landscape in key areas in physics and related subjects.

Useful websites

Institute of Physics (IoP)
Information about the Institute and its activities, especially that of its active publishing division. The IOP publishes major research journals in pure and applied physics, including materials science, microengineering, semiconductors and biophysics.

Submitting your thesis or dissertation

Taught postgraduate students

Deposit your dissertation online with the Library
You can submit your Masters (taught postgraduate) dissertations (MA, MSc, MBA, etc) in electronic format to the Library. Submission to the Library is optional.

Higher degree students including those completing a MPhil, PhD, DBA, EdD, EngD, DHealth, DClinPsy, MS or MD.

How to submit your thesis
Follow the link to find advice and procedures for higher degree students for submitting a print and online copy of your completed thesis to your department and the library.

Library catalogue

Library Catalogue
Search the library catalogue to check availability of books and recommended reading and to access e-books and online journal articles.

Look up meanings of words and terms

Oxford Reference Online
Collection of reference works published by Oxford University Press covering the Arts, English Language Reference, Modern Languages, Politics and Social Sciences, and Science.
Glossary of physics terms from Wikipedia
A list of definitions of terms and concepts in the field of physics.

Past exam papers

Past exam papers
The Library provides you with access to Semester 1 and Semester 2 exam papers from the last 5 years, to help with revision. If you can't find the paper you are looking for it may be because:
• The unit code has changed
• It has been restricted by your Department
Please be aware that older papers might not be relevant to current course content.

Information skills

Literature searching: an introduction
Library training events for researchers
Library training sessions provided through the Doctoral Skills programme. These cover a range of topics from literature searching to research data management.
University of Bath Library Systematic Reviews Guide
Advice on doing a systematic review: how to formulate a question, write a protocol, search literature, manage references, select studies, assess evidence and write-up.

Guide to using Covidence
The University subscribes to the tool, Covidence, which you can use to screen references, review the full text of documents, assess risks of bias, extract both study characteristics and outcomes, and export references and data. To find out how to access and use Covidence, refer to the above guide.

Develop your writing skills

Academic skills
Courses and one-to-one sessions for all students are provided by the Skills Centre.

Skills for Study This link opens in a new window
Description: Interactive tutorials with activities and tests covering: academic study skills, reading and note-making, critical thinking skills and referencing and understanding plagiarism.

Writing for Scientists
Library list of e-books with information on how to write in various science subjects, including journal articles and lab reports.

Doctoral skills

DoctoralSkills
Workshops and courses for doctoral students, organised by The Doctoral College and delivered by specialist university staff or external trainers.

Improve your research software skills

Research Software Learning Online
A guide to research software online courses from O'Reilly Learning. Courses cover Excel, Git and GitHub, LaTEX, MATLAB, Python, R and RS Studio, SAS, SPSS, Stata and SQL.

Find videos, broadcasts, podcasts and images

Box of Broadcasts National (BoB)
Record and access broadcasts from more than 65 TV and radio channels. Includes an option to create clips. Users can embed content in presentations and Moodle (using BoB links/codes). Note that BOB only permits access from within the UK.