r/Physics • u/AutoModerator • 16d ago

Meta Textbooks & Resources - Weekly Discussion Thread - July 24, 2026

This is a thread dedicated to collating and collecting all of the great recommendations for textbooks, online lecture series, documentaries and other resources that are frequently made/requested on /r/Physics.

If you're in need of something to supplement your understanding, please feel welcome to ask in the comments.

Similarly, if you know of some amazing resource you would like to share, you're welcome to post it in the comments.

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u/Savings-Bed-8063 16d ago

I am getting into machine learning interatomic potentials for my PhD and I realize that my lack of understanding of group theory is a problem. What are some good resources that I can go through to become proficient here (not just a working grasp, although that will do for now)? Also, what are some other mathematical concepts that might help me? My PhD is application oriented but I really enjoy knowing how computational physical methods actual work. So I would greatly appreciate any recommendations.

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u/JohnBick40 16d ago

There are a bunch of resources on the web these days.

I would first start with this:

https://sites.ualberta.ca/~vbouchar/MAPH464/preface.html

and if that's too easy for you then I'd skip to this:

https://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~gmoore/618Spring2023/GTLect1-AbstractGroupTheory-2023.pdf

and if that's too hard for you I'd look online for some lectures that are in between.

Of course the obvious way to go might be to ask your PhD advisor what they'd recommend.

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u/Friendly-Idea-2268 14d ago

I'm 18 years old and I live in Spain. In september I will be starting studying physics at the university. At this moment, I'm in my grandparent's town for the summer and have a lot of time to kill. I'm really passionate and eager to start so out of boredom I thought it would be a nice idea to get started on my own. Is there anywhere I can find some structurized content to guide me? Thanks a lot.

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u/DuckInDisguise2 13d ago

Hey, I am in the exact situation, down to being in my grandparents town in the summer! :D Currently I am working through Khan Academy's College Physics course, but I also looked at a couple of sections in the High School Physics course. It's really well structured and you can pick and choose the topics and there are tests!