Skip To Main ContentUniversity of Oregon
University of Oregon Libraries
University of Oregon Libraries

Physics

The following is a selected list of resources for starting research in Physics, including astrophysics and astronomy. For further assistance, contact Victoria Mitchell, Head, Science Library.

Starting Your Research

These sources can help you identify a topic for your research, provide an overview of a specific issue or topic, and suggest other materials which might be useful for your research. All of the books below are located in the Science Reference area.

  • Subject Encyclopedias and Other Reference Works
    Subject encyclopedias usually provide essay type articles and a list of citations, and thus can be a very useful starting point. General physics encyclopedias are located in Science Reference, mostly at the beginning of the QC section. There also are physics dictionaries and handbooks in this section that may be useful. More specialized references on astronomy and astrophysics, and on physics sub-disciplines, will be located in QB, and elsewhere in QC, respectively. Below are some titles that may be helpful.
    • Dictionary of Physics, 4th ed. Alan Isaacs. [QC5 .D496 2000]
    • Dictionary of Pure and Applied Physics. Dipak Basu. [QC5 .D485 2001]
    • Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology, 3rd ed. [Q123 .E497 2002]
      This 18-volume work covers physics, chemistry, engineering and materials science.
    • Encyclopedia of Physics, 2nd ed. [QC5 .E545 1991]
    • Oxford Reference Online: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
  • Handbooks and Reference Data
    • American Institute of Physics Handbook. [QC61 .A5 1972]
    • Conversion of Units
      Allows you to enter a numerical value, select a unit, and convert it to another unit.
    • Fundamental Physical Constants from NIST
    • Handbook of Physical Quantities. [QC61 .P49 1989]
      Includes materials, semiconductors, optical properties.
    • National Nuclear Data Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory
    • NIST Physical Reference Data
    • Physicist's Desk Reference. [QC61 .P49 1989]
    • Physics Quick Reference Guide. [QC61 .C65 1996]
      Quick look-up for units, symbols, constants, formulae.
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
    • Cambridge Concise History of Astronomy. [QB15 .C355 1999]
    • Cambridge Dictionary of Astronomy. Jacqueline Mitton. [QB14 .M55 2001]
    • A Dictionary of Astronomy. Ian Ridpath, rev. ed. [QB14 .D52 2003]
    • Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics. [QB14 .E534 2001] 4 volumes
    • Encyclopedia of the Solar System. [QB501 .E53 1999]
    • Gravitation and Spacetime, 2nd ed. Hans C. Ohanian. [QC178 .O35 1994]
    • Monthly Sky Guide, 6th ed. Ian Ridpath. [QB63 .R525 2003]
    • Nuclear Astrophysics Bibliography
  • Materials Science and Optics
    • Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics Handbook. [QC173 .A827 1996]
    • Encyclopedia of Lasers and Optical Technology. [TA1509 .E53 1991]
    • Encyclopedia of Materials: Science and Technology [TA402 .E53 2001] 11 volumes
    • Optics Encyclopedia: Basic Foundations and Practical Applications. [QC351.2 .O64 2004] 5 volumes
    • Optics Source Book. [QC355.2 .O69 1988]
      A lot of basic optics information gathered into one book.
  • Journals
    You might want to browse through the table of contents of current physics journals such as Physics Today and Physics World for current topic ideas. You will find them on the Current Journals shelves in the Science Library, shelved alphabetically by title.

Finding Articles

To look for articles in journals, newspapers, or magazines, you will need to start with an index or database (online index.) An index will allow you to look by subject or a few keywords which describe your topic, or by author.

  • INSPEC
    The most comprehensive index available for the physics literature, covering from 1969 to the present. Many of the recent references are linked to the electronic journal article. Click on the button to see if the UO has the article in electronic full-text. If not, you can check if the UO Libraries own a print copy of the journal containing an article you want, or request it from another library.
  • arXiv.org e-Print archive
    Formerly xxx.lanl.gov, this is a searchable database of electronic preprints ("e-prints") in physics and related disciplines. Many of the papers posted here are later published in peer-reviewed journals. Most heavily used by high energy physicists.
  • ingenta.com
    will email you the table of contents from any of more than 30,000 journals or magazines, both online and in print. From the ingenta homepage, click "Register," then "Manage My Ingenta."
  • NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
    Consists of four searchable databases of abstracts of articles in astronomy and astrophysics, instrumentation, and physics and geophysics. Some full-text articles, as well as astronomy preprints, are available, including digitized historical astronomy and astrophysics literature.
  • SPIRES HEP
    A high energy physics literature database maintained by the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center Library.
  • Web of Science
    The web version of the Science Citation Index (as well as the Social Sciences Citation Index) from 1975 to the present. This interdisciplinary database allows you to find out who has cited a known reference, as well as searching for current research articles by author, topic, etc. Click on the button (found in the Full Record of a citation) to see if the UO has the article in electronic full-text. If not, you can check if the UO Libraries own a print copy of the journal containing an article you want, or request it from another library. Earlier years of the Science Citation Index can be searched in print [Z7401 .S365].

Return to top

Finding Books

  • UO Library Catalog
    Identify books by topic, title or author; identify journals and magazines owned by the UO Library. To find journal articles on your topic, use the databases listed in the section above. Once you have a citation, you can check the library catalog by doing a title search on the name of the journal to see if we have it here.
  • Summit: The Orbis Cascade Alliance Union Catalog
    A library catalog that combines information from Northwest academic libraries into a single unified database, putting millions of items at your fingertips. Look here first for books the UO does not own or that are not available for checkout. UO students and faculty may borrow books from Orbis-Cascade institutions by selecting the 'Request Item' option. Within 3 days the book requested should be on hold for you at Knight Library. You can request books and some other types of material, but not journal articles.
  • WorldCat
    WorldCat provides access to library catalogs from around the world. The database contains bibliographic records describing books, dissertations, journals, maps, electronic and internet resources, manuscripts, and more. From within this database, you can check if UO owns a book of interest, and if not, request an interlibrary loan. (Always check Orbis first, though.)

Return to top

People & Organizations

Return to top

Web Resources

Prepared by Victoria Mitchell, Head, Science Library
(541) 346-3076
vmitch@uoregon.edu
Last modified August 10, 2006 • DPW
http://libweb.uoregon.edu/guides/physics.html