Modern Physics is an open textbook covering the physics that emerged in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and that underlies our current understanding of nature: special relativity, the quantum theory of light and matter, the structure of atoms and molecules, and nuclear and particle physics. It is written for a first course in modern physics following an introductory calculus-based physics sequence. See the Preface for audience, organization, and how the editions differ.
Contents¶
- Modern Physics
- Preface
- The Need for Relativity
- Special Relativity
- Relativistic Dynamics
- Interference of Light
- Diffraction of Light
- Particle Properties of Waves
- Wave Properties of Particles
- The Schrödinger Equation
- Quantum Mechanics in Three Dimensions
- The Hydrogen Atom
- Many-Electron Atoms
- Molecular Structure
- Nuclear Physics
- Elementary Particles and the Standard Model
- Teaching Guide
Downloadable editions¶
Downloadable editions are not available in this build.
License¶
© 2026 Martin Veillette. This book is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0).
This book adapts openly licensed content from several sources; see
SOURCES.md
for the per-chapter attribution ledger.