Princeton Companion to Physics

A full table of contents for the volume follows below, although this is subject to amendment as the project comes together.

Part I. Intro

I.1 Introductory essay
I.2 Reader’s guide
I.3 Order of magnitude thinking/estimation

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Part II. Concepts

II.1 Accelerators
II.2 Anderson localization
II.3 Anthropic argument / anthropic principle
II.4 Antiparticles and antimatter
II.5 Asymptotic freedom
II.6 Atomic structure
II.7 Arrow(s) of time
II.8 Axion
II.9 Big bang
II.10 Black hole
II.11 Bosons, fermions, and anyons
II.12 Celestial mechanics
II.13 Chaos
II.14 Classical mechanics
II.15 Complementarity
II.16 Conservation laws
II.17 Core theory / standard model
II.18 Dark energy
II.19 Dark matter
II.20 Duality
II.21 Electrodynamics / quantum electrodynamics
II.22 Electromagnetic spectrum
II.23 Elementary particles
II.24 Emergence
II.25 Energy
II.26 Entanglement
II.27 Entropy
II.28 Feynman diagrams
II.29 Fractional quantum numbers
II.30 Free energy
II.31 General relativity
II.32 Geometric and wave optics
II.33 Gravitational waves
II.34 Higgs field / Higgs fluid / Higgs mechanism / Higgs particle
II.35 Inertial frame
II.36 Initial conditions
II.37 Inflation
II.38 Large hadron collider (LHC)
II.39 Local symmetry / gauge symmetry
II.40 Magnetic resonance
II.41 Mass
II.42 Microwave background radiation
II.43 Neutrino
II.44 Neutron star
II.45 Nuclear structure
II.46 Parity / parity transformation / parity violation / handedness
II.47 Path integrals
II.48 Phase transition
II.49 Quantum chromodynamics (QCD)
II.50 Quantum fluctuation (virtual particle/vacuum polarization/zero point motion)
II.51 Quantum fluid / quantum field
II.52 Quantum theory
II.53 Renormalization / renormalization group
II.54 Resonance
II.55 Special relativity
II.56 Spectra (electromagnetic, atomic, molecular, and other)
II.57 Spin
II.58 Spontaneous symmetry breaking
II.59 String theory
II.60 Superconductivity
II.61 Superfluidity
II.62 Supersymmetry (SUSY)
II.63 Symmetry / symmetry transformation / symmetry group
II.64 Thermodynamic equilibrium / thermodynamic state
II.65 Tunnelling
II.66 Turbulence
II.67 Vortices
II.68 Weak and electroweak interactions

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Part III. Milestone observations & experiments

III.1 Galileo’s astronomical discoveries
III.2 Falling bodies (Galileo)
III.3 The gravitational force (Cavendish, Eotvos, and beyond)
III.4 Laws of gases
III.5 Heat as a form of motion
III.6 Phases and phase transitions
III.7 The nature of color (Newton)
III.8 Spectroscopy
III.9 Trichromatic vision (Maxwell)
III.10 The speed of light
III.11 Light is waves (interference)
III.12 Light is particles
III.13 The foundations of electrodynamics
III.14 Electromagnetic waves (Hertz)
III.15 Black body experiments
III.16 The nuclear atom
III.17 Atomic number
III.18 Quarks and gluons: jets
III.19 The Higgs particle
III.20 Brownian motion (experiments of Perrin)
III.21 X-ray diffraction
III.22 Synthesis of materials: the Bessemer process
III.23 Synthesis of materials: plastics
III.24 Synthesis of materials: innovation by evolution
III.25 Synthesis of materials: de novo protein design
III.26 Microelectronics
III.27 Superconductivity
III.28 Superfluidity
III.29 Lasers and masers
III.30 The size of the universe
III.31 The expansion of the universe
III.32 Dark matter
III.33 Dark energy
III.34 Bell’s inequality
III.35 Gravitational waves
III.36 Exoplanets
III.37 The industrial laboratory (Edison)
III.38 Black holes
III.39 Quantum hall effect
III.40 The quantum vacuum (Lamb shift, g-factors, Casimir effect)
III.41 Intensity interferometry
III.42 Imaging atoms

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Part IV. Unifications

IV.1 Space and number; geometry and algebra (Descartes)
IV.2 Celestial and terrestrial law (Galileo, Newton)
IV.3 Mechanics and ray optics (Hamilton)
IV.4 Electricity, magnetism, and wave optics (Maxwell)
IV.5 Space and time (Einstein, Minkowski)
IV.6 Wave and particle (Einstein, de Broglie)
IV.7 Microphysics and cosmology
IV.8 Entropy and information

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Part V. Great equations

V.1 F = ma
V.2 Newton’s law of gravity
V.3 The Maxwell equations
V.4 The laws of thermodynamics
V.5 Entropy and state-counting
V.6 Black body formula
V.7 Lorentz transformation
V.8 Mass energy conversion
V.9 Einstein’s field equations (GR) – R=T
V.10 Expansion of the universe (homogeneous cosmology)
V.11 Schroedinger equation
V.12 Commutation relations and uncertainty principle
V.13 Born rule
V.14 Dirac equation
V.15 Yang-Mills equation
V.16 Renormalization group; running of couplings
V.17 BCS wave function
V.18 Laughlin wave function
V.19 Josephson effects
V.20 Bekenstein-Hawking entropy formula
V.21 Least action principle
V.22 Equations of fluid dynamics
V.23 Heat equation/Fourier analysis

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Part VI. State of the art

VI.1 The standard model of cosmology
VI.2 The content of the universe
VI.3 The structure of the universe
VI.4 Tools of astronomy and astrophysics: computation
VI.5 Tools of astronomy and astrophysics: instruments
VI.6 Physics of the earth and its relatives
VI.7 Fluid dynamics
VI.8 Physics of the atmosphere, oceans, and climate
VI.9 Biophysics, from molecules to biosphere
VI.10 Physics of perception
VI.11 Physics of information processing
VI.12 States of matter
VI.13 Colloids and liquid crystals
VI.14 Polymers
VI.15 Active matter
VI.16 Making things cold
VI.17 Superfluidity and superconductivity
VI.18 Cold atom physics
VI.19 Two dimensional materials
VI.20 Topology in condensed matter physics
VI.21 Nanophysics and nanotechnology
VI.22 The standard model and beyond
VI.23 Quantum field theory of matter
VI.24 Computational physics
VI.25 Quantum computation
VI.26 Quantum simulation
VI.27 Quantum communication
VI.28 Quantum sensing
VI.29 Symmetry in physics
VI.30 Gravitational physics
VI.31 Physics of neural nets
VI.32 Modern timekeeping
VI.33 Non-equilibrium physics
VI.34 Turbulence
VI.35 Black hole collisions
VI.36 (Geo)dynamo simulations
VI.37 Astrophysical magnetohydrodynamics
VI.38 Mantle convection simulations
VI.39 Computational mineral physics (DFT, Quantum Espresso)
VI.40 Computational continuum mechanics
VI.41 Computational plasma physics
VI.42 Glasses
VI.43 String theory
VI.44 Inflationary cosmology
VI.45 Extrasolar planets
VI.46 Neutrino physics and astronomy
VI.47 Heavy ion physics
VI.48 Metrology

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Part VII. The human side

Worldlines
VII.1 The value of curiosity
VII.2 Process of becoming a physicist (mainstream and other)
VII.3 Varying routes to physics 1
VII.4 Varying routes to physics 2
VII.5 Varying routes to physics 3
VII.6 Varying routes to physics 4
VII.7 Varying routes to physics 5
VII.8 Varying routes to physics 6
VII.9 Perspectives on physics 1
VII.10 Perspectives on physics 2
VII.11 Perspectives on physics 3
VII.12 Perspectives on physics 4
VII.13 Perspectives on physics 5

Interactions
VII.14 The legacy of antiquity
VII.15 The disciplinary formation of physics
VII.16 How physics knowledge/research gets disseminated 1
VII.17 How physics knowledge/research gets disseminated 2
VII.18 How physics knowledge/research gets disseminated 3
VII.19 Physics and education
VII.20 ”Schools” of physics
VII.21 Role of institutes
VII.22 New forms of collaboration
VII.23 Physics as Big Science
VII.24 The family of physics (interdisciplinary physics)

Physics in the world
VII.25 Physics and industry
VII.26 Physics in culture: visual art
VII.27 Physics in culture: music
VII.28 Physics in culture: literature
VII.29 Physics in culture: humor
VII.30 Physics is for everyone
VII.31 Physics under authoritarian regimes
VII.32 The physics community in the Cold War
VII.33 Physics around the world: Latin America
VII.34 Physics around the world: Africa
VII.35 Physics around the world: India
VII.36 Physics around the world: East and Southeast Asia
VII.37 Physics in China: contemporary
VII.38 Physics in China: history
VII.39 Women in physics
VII.40 Ethical considerations in physics
VII.41 Physics and policy
VII.42 Fostering research and innovation
VII.43 Physics in the anthropocene

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Part VIII. At the frontier

Technology
VIII.1 Nuclear power
VIII.2 Quantum computers
VIII.3 Chemistry by computation
VIII.4 Materials by computation
VIII.5 Biologically inspired materials
VIII.6 Intelligent matter
VIII.7 Expanded sensoria

Extremes
VIII.8 Frontier physics at the extremes of cold
VIII.9 Frontier physics at extreme pressures
VIII.10 Frontier physics at the extremes of strength
VIII.11 Frontier physics at extreme energies
VIII.12 Frontier physics at extremes of transience
VIII.13 Frontier physics of extreme smallness
VIII.14 Frontier physics of extreme largeness
VIII.15 Frontier physics at the extremes of complexity (density of)
VIII.16 Frontier physics at extremes of precision
VIII.17 Frontier physics at extremes of synthesis
VIII.18 Frontier physics at extreme speed of computation
VIII.19 Frontier physics at extremes of intelligence (AI)

Questions
VIII.20 How did the universe get this way?
VIII.21 What is dark matter?
VIII.22 What is dark energy?
VIII.23 How much life and intelligence is there in the universe?
VIII.24 What is quantum mechanics?
VIII.25 How might quantum theory and dynamical spacetime coexist?
VIII.26 Is time reversible?
VIII.27 Why is there a muon?
VIII.28 Do protons decay?
VIII.29 Could an AI win a Nobel prize in physics?
VIII.30 What is the ultimate scope of physical law?

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Part IX. Conclusion

IX.1 Concluding essay “the joy of physics”?

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