What is Reddit's opinion of Vibrations and Waves (The M.I.T. Introductory Physics Series)?

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Hi OP (nice username btw),

A vast majority of US universities (that I'm aware of) no longer have full courses on Waves and Oscillations, the one's I'm aware that have name power of are Cornell and MIT. Most other institutions wrap it up in either Modern Physics or Quantum Mechanics.

For the sake of my recommendation, I'll assume you're a U.S. undergraduate either in their 2nd or 3rd year taking a full Waves and Oscillations course.

Books

• R.A. Waldron - Waves and Oscillations - Archive link. As far as I'm aware it's a fairly conceptual book (only ~ 60 pages) but derives topics in W&O using PDE's and such. Seems like a decent book, and I've seen it recommend across a few forums and a quick scan seems like it'll do what you want. Chapter 6 does seem outdated though (Network Theory)

• David Morin - Waves and Oscillations Draft - Harvard Scholar link, from the same Morin that has a Classical Mechanics Book out with Thompson. It's in draft format from a new book that he's writing. I haven't seen many PDE's rather n-th order Linear ODE's

• A.P French - Vibrations and Waves - MIT's book on said topic used in their version of the class at MIT, and possibly on OCW (will have to check on that). I'd imagine it's good enough, as it is used at MIT. Haven't done much checking on this book, but I recall his Introductory Physics book was pretty solid in any case.

• Howard Geogri - The Physics of Waves - This is like a "textbook" textbook. Has a complete chapter on symmetries of physics.

I have other resources at my sub: /r/bibliographies

Got busy, will finish comment later

Real answers for real high school student interesting in the conventional path to a conventional first course in quantum physics. Much of this advice applies more to the American school system, as that's where I was educated.

You're right, the first job is to get to calculus. Khan Academy is a good place for that! It's a bit messy, but just follow the knowledge web they have set up until you get to the topic of limits, which is the front door to introductory calculus. Along the way you'll also learn algebra and geometry. As soon as you can and as soon as you're ready for it, try and take a proper calculus class in your school. If you're in the United States, try to take AP Calculus.

If possible, take a physics class at your high school. If it's a reasonably big school, they'll have an algebra-based physics class and may even offer a college-level physics course that uses calculus (if you're in the United States, this will be called AP Physics C). Take this as soon as possible! If it's not offered, you may be able to take the equivalent course at a nearby college before you leave high school.

If you've done all of this right, you should know how to calculate things called derivatives and integrals, manipulate things called sequences and series, and understand the the basic rules of mechanics (force, momentum, energy, etc) and the electric and magnetic fields phrased in terms of calculus. In the language of most American universities, you now know Physics I & II and Calculus I & II.

Physics-wise, the usual next step is to take a course on waves, vibrations, and oscillations (see this table or contents) and / or a survey course on modern physics (see this standard text).

Math-wise, the next step is to take classes usually called

• multivariable calculus / vector calculus
• ordinary differential equations
• linear algebra

The simplest way to do this is just to take these courses in a college or university, but there are also great online resources. I can personally endorse MIT OCW and Paul's Online Notes. Many schools also offer surveys of applied math at this level (with names like "mathematical physics" or "mathematical methods") that cover the basics of partial differential equations, fourier series, and more linear algebra / multivariable calculus / ODEs. See this book by Boas for a good idea of the content.

Once you know all of that, you're ready to ready a real textbook on quantum physics. Some of the usual standards for a physicists' first course are the books by Griffiths or Shankar.

Edited for link formatting

TL;DR To go the physicist route, learn the following through school if you can swing it, but independent learning is possible and good resources exist online:

• Algebra I and II
• Geometry
• Calculus I and II

Then these three in any order:

• Multivariable calculus
• Ordinary differential equations
• Linear algebra

Then this, if you're going the usual physicist route:

• Mathematical methods

On the physics side, you should take

• Physics I (sometimes called 'mechanics') with calculus
• Physics II (sometimes called 'electromagnetism) with calculus

and then one or both of

• Modern Physics (sometimes called Physics III)
• Vibrations, waves, and oscillations (also sometimes called Physics III)