Nonclassical Physics: Beyond Newton's View,   ISBN:9780201834369

Customer Rating: 

This subject doesn't need to be hard, but this book makes it as hard as possible. It makes the student hunt for the needed information to work the practice problems. This makes the time spent doing homework very nonproductive. One may attempt to justify this approach as forcing the student to developed problem solving skills. This argument is just bunk! The best way to teach problem solving skills is to give the student as many tools as possible and then giving them the chance to practice. This technique is well proven. That's why it's used for all math classes up through differential equation and linear algebra. If math texts were written like this book, very few people would get through algebra let alone anything more advanced. If your instructor is good, you should be OK, but if you need to rely on the book, you're if for a miserable experience!

Customer Rating: 

I used this book in a Modern physics class and for studying the basics of modern physics. I think Harris does a fair job in explaining the ideas and did not find it difficult to read, he is sometimes too detailed in explanations, but I think for the most part thats a good thing. The lack of examples is also nice,it's better to figure out the exercises without use of examples to guide your way, makes you try to understand the physics better rather than a more plug and chug approach. Overall, I think it's a very good book.

Customer Rating: 

Great book, Harris tels you evertything on a easy, clear way.

Customer Rating: 

Hey randy harris is my professor at UC Davis and I had him for about 2 quarters so far. he is a great teacher but I agree with most people that his teaching style is conversational and lecturelike at many points. From a person that read his book and listen to him speak are almost one in the same. He often patronizes students because he understands that things are hard to understand in Nonclassical physics yet he lectures you on issues that may seem confusing to us but not him. Oh well that is randy harris for you (aka Chandler of DAvis)

Customer Rating: 

As a physics student using this book as a main text, I found it of little help as a learning aid. While Dr. Harris does do a wonderful job explaining the Schroedinger equation he does a very poor job at relaiting it to applications and explaining anything else. His writing style is inconsistant, going from conversational to lecturelike often within the same paragraph, and overly complex. Most explinations are overly analizied and the same material can be found using fewer words in other texts.

The problems that go along with each section of this book are also very poor. It is very seldom that the problems from a section actually correspond to the section of the book they are said to. The lack of in text examples, and especially the lack of complete work on the few examples there are, as well as the lack solutions to answers also makes learning from this book very difficult.