Physics

Databases:

• Inside the Gale Virtual Reference Library, browse “Science” for specialized reference books.
• Gale “Science in Context” – reference, magazine and journal articles, videos, images.
• JSTOR (Journal articles that are at least 6 months old… includes some seminal research)
• Proquest E-book Central (full text e-books… many are recent publications from leading universities, including PhD theses.)
• Academic One File (inside the GALE databases) – includes journal articles for advanced learners. Use “Advanced Search.”
• Visit the Arlington Public Library’s Research Resources for additional science databases.  All you need to use them is your library card.
• Updated, cutting edge research! American Physical Society:  APS issued devices are authenticated to access the cutting edge research articles from the American Physical Society that follow:
  APS Journals Homepage: http://journals.aps.org/
  Physical Review Letters (PRL) (brief important papers, all topics in physics): http://journals.aps.org/prl/
  Physical Review A (atomic, molecular, and optical physics): http://journals.aps.org/pra
  Physical Review B (condensed matter and materials physics): http://journals.aps.org/prb
  Physical Review C (nuclear physics): http://journals.aps.org/prc
  Physical Review D (particles, fields, gravitation and cosmology): http://journals.aps.org/prd Physical Review E (statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics): http://journals.aps.org/pre Physical Review X (open access articles, all topics of physics): http://journals.aps.org/prx
  Physical Review Applied (applied physics): http://journals.aps.org/prapplied
  Reviews of Modern Physics (in-depth articles, all topics in physics): http://journals.aps.org/rmp Physical Review Special Topics – Accelerators and Beams: http://journals.aps.org/prstab
  Physical Review Special Topics – Physics Education Research: http://journals.aps.org/prstper
  APS Journal Archive (back to 1893): http://journals.aps.org/archive
  Upon accessing these journals, your users will see a message as follows: “Access provided through the APS Public Access Program and Arlington Public Schools.” In addition APS offers several publications and informational websites that are available free to all users, with no registration or subscription required:
  Physics (highlighting significant papers from APS journals): http://physics.aps.org/
  Physics Central (educational/informational site about physics, for students and the public): http://www.physicscentral.com/
  American Physical Society homepage: http://www.aps.org/

Podcasts:

• Science Friday
• NBC Nightly News provides topical analysis with video content, including this intro to some of the BIG IDEAS of astronomy and why you should care (featuring Dr. Jackie Faherty)

Recommended Internet Sources:

• Gaia – the European Space Agency: its mission, the catalog, released in April, 2018 as a HUGE breakthrough in astronomy. It provides data on billions of objects moving around the cosmos, their trajectories, their mass, etc. Gaia Videos.
• Astrobites
• Science Friday
• ScienceNews.org
• New Scientist
• Scientific American – (ask librarian for password to online edition)
• EurekAlert – breaking news in science  (advanced)
• NASA has made their entire media library publicly accessible and copyright free!

Research Efficiently:

When searching with broad terms in a database, combine your terms with the Boolean Operator “AND” in all caps.   Some search engines support Boolean searching in their “advanced search” menu. When approaching a new-to-you science topic, begin in a reference source and search for the field of study as the SUBJECT AND the dependent variable as a KEYWORD.   For example:  PHYSICS (as the subject) and PROJECTILES (as a keyword.)

As you become more creative, focused and flexible with your search terms, adjust the Boolean Operators (#1 and 2) as well as the options in #3-7 to broaden or narrow your search findings on the “Advanced Search” screen.  Tip: When using such menus as show below, be very careful with the settings in 3-5 because the default settings probably need your adjustment.

Internet-based Visual Demonstrations of Physical Forces:

Physlets from Davidson College: http://webphysics.davidson.edu/Applets/Applets.html

Physlets from Compadre: http://www.compadre.org/physlets/

Astronomy: Gaia Videos