Physics is about understanding the workings of the world and its predictability. It is a systematic, mathematical way of looking for symmetries in nature.
Here are some general resources related to Physics. These should be a useful introduction, regardless of which Physics related course you’re interested in and where you might want to study it.
These resources are really useful for developing your calculus: which is a key mathematical tool for studying physics. This firm grounding will help you prepare for your exams, and any admissions tests/ interviews you may have.
Khan Academy 🔗 🌟 This is a great place to start, and can be referred back to when exploring higher-level resources.
Linear Algebra 🔗 Professor Andre Lukas has compiled some comprehensive lecture notes for Linear Algebra which may be a useful supplement to A Level courses.
You’ll learn all this at university, so you’ll be perfectly fine knowing only Calculus and some Classical Mechanics before starting your course. If you want to explore your subject further, however, below are some additional resources which may be of use.
Books are a great way to decide whether the subject is right for you - if you find the content interesting and want to learn more, that's a good sign! You might be able to use the concepts you've learned to help with solving problems in your admissions tests or interviews, if applicable.
'The Theoretical Minimum' by George Hrabovsky and Leonard Susskind - this is a great resource for students interested in learning some advanced physics, with all the concepts explained clearly and as simple as possible. The aim of the book is to develop readers' interest in the subject area and to explain some ideas intuitively, rather than teaching how to solve specific complex problems.
Online courses are a great way to find extra study material. Use them to get a feel for if physics is the right course for you. Do some extra research on anything you find interesting. These sorts of courses may end up featuring on your personal statement.
MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) 🔗 🌟 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) makes many of its course materials public, including lectures, problem sets, exams, solutions, etc. It’s an amazing place to find any study material, not just Physics.
Oxford Online Maths Club 🔗 Oxford runs an online Maths Club which is a livestreamed session every week. It will be returning in 2024 but on the page there is lots of recorded previous sessions you can access.
EdX 🔗 and Coursera 🔗 These websites contain thousands of online courses in various subjects, and are definitely worth a look.
Mathematical Physics courses 🔗 These courses are based on 'Advanced Maths for Physics', including many high level methods to solve problems.
Lectures are the way that we learn at university, so getting used to learning like this is really good preparation for student life. Take notes, and follow up anything you don’t understand or that you find interesting. This will develop your thinking (which will come in useful at admissions tests and interviews, if applicable) and could become part of your personal statement.
Walter Lewin’s Lectures on YouTube 🔗 🌟 These three courses provide a really good foundation in the subject of Classical Physics. Lewin provides great intuition and every lecture concludes with a very cool Physics experiment to demonstrate that the maths works!
Classical Mechanics 🔗 These lectures, by Professor Balakrishnan, are more mathematical lectures than the ones given by Professor Lewin, but equally interesting.
Quantum Mechanics 🔗 🌟 Also by Professor Balakrishnan, these are quite maths-heavy but great to watch.
Perimeter Institute for Theoretic Physics 🔗 The Institute uploads loads of lectures, and these are at quite a high level. Do check out the institute too, which offers a free masters programme to 30 students per year around the world.
Lectures by Frederic Schuller 🔗 These lectures are generally at a high mathematical level, which might not be super accessible to a beginner - so don’t worry if you find the content hard!