Recommended Physics Literature

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This is not an official IPhO reading list.

Of course, it is also recommended that you read books on other disciplines.

Collections of IPhO problems with solutions:

International Physics Olympiads.
Waldemar Gorzkowski (ed.)
World Scientific, 1990. [See this book at Amazon.com]
Proceedings of the XX International Physics Olympiad, Warsaw, 16-24 July, 1989.
Waldemar Gorzkowski (ed.)
World Scientific, 1990. [See this book at Amazon.com]
International Physics Olympiads: Problems and Solutions from 1967 - 1995.
Chaleo Manilerd (ed.)
Rangsit: Rangsit University Press, 1996. ISBN 974-530-037-3.
You can order the book from Dr. Chaleo Manilerd, Science Faculty, Rangsit University, Pathumthani 12000, Thailand (manilerd@rangsit.rsu.ac.th) for US$ 25 + US$ 10 (airmail postage).

A collection of physics problems for fun:

The Flying Circus of Physics, With Answers.
Jearl D. Walker.
John Wiley & Sons, 1977. [See this book at Amazon.com]

The bible of undergraduate physics still is:

The Feynman Lectures on Physics.
Richard P. Feynman, Robert B. Leighton, and Matthew L. Sands.
[See this book at Amazon.com]
- Volume I: Mainly Mechanics, Radiation and Heat, 1963 [See this book at Amazon.com]
- Volume II: Mainly Electromagnetism and Matter, 1964 [See this book at Amazon.com]
- Volume III: Quantum Mechanics, 1965 [See this book at Amazon.com] Addison-Wesley.

Another `must' by Feynman:

The Character of Physical Law.
Richard P. Feynman.
The MIT Press, 1965. [See this book at Amazon.com]

`The funniest book about physics ever written' (and very much worth reading):

The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question?.
Leon Lederman (with Dick Teresi).
Houghton Mifflin, 1993. [See this book at Amazon.com]

Everyday phenomena analysed physically:

Light and Color in the Outdoors.
Marcel Minnaert.
Springer, 1993. [See this book at Amazon.com]
Older (and cheaper) edition:
The Nature of Light and Color in the Open Air.
Dover, 1948. [See this book at Amazon.com]

Translated from the Dutch original:
De natuurkunde van 't vrije veld. Zutphen, NL: Thieme.
- Deel 1: Licht en kleur in het landschap, 5e druk, 1974
- Deel 2: Geluid - warmte - electriciteit, 3e druk, 1970
- Deel 3: Rust en beweging, 3e druk, 1971

Physics concepts placed in a popular context:

Sympathetic Vibrations: Reflections on Physics as a Way of Life.
K.C. Cole.
Bantam Books, 1985.

The authoritative data book, which can be found in every self-respecting physics and chemistry laboratory is:

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 81st Edition.
David R. Lide (editor-in-chief) and H.P.R. Frederikse (assoc.ed.)
CRC Press, 2000. [See this book at Amazon.com]

Also available on CD-ROM. There also exist student editions of this book. Older editions of the CRC Handbook are also still very useful.

`Bedside' Physics Literature

Here follow some references to books that may not directly improve performance at the IPhO, but that put physics and its players into a broader perspective.

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character.
Richard P. Feynman.
Bantam Books, 1985. [See this book at Amazon.com]
What Do You Care What Other People Think?: Further Adventures of a Curious Character.
Richard P. Feynman.
Bantam Books, 1988. [See this book at Amazon.com]
Genius: Richard Feynman and Modern Physics.
James Gleick.
Little, Brown and Company, 1992. [See this book at Amazon.com]

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