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University Physics Volume 3

OpenStax · 95 sections in 12 chapters. Each section is its own page.

Front matter

• Preface

• Units

• Conversion Factors

• Fundamental Constants

• Astronomical Data

• Mathematical Formulas

• Chemistry

• The Greek Alphabet

The Nature of Light

• Introduction

• The Propagation of Light

• The Law of Reflection

• Refraction

• Total Internal Reflection

• Dispersion

• Huygens’s Principle

• Polarization

Geometric Optics and Image Formation

• Introduction

• Images Formed by Plane Mirrors

• Spherical Mirrors

• Images Formed by Refraction

• Thin Lenses

• The Eye

• The Camera

• The Simple Magnifier

• Microscopes and Telescopes

Interference

• Introduction

• Young's Double-Slit Interference

• Mathematics of Interference

• Multiple-Slit Interference

• Interference in Thin Films

• The Michelson Interferometer

Diffraction

• Introduction

• Single-Slit Diffraction

• Intensity in Single-Slit Diffraction

• Double-Slit Diffraction

• Diffraction Gratings

• Circular Apertures and Resolution

• X-Ray Diffraction

• Holography

Relativity

• Introduction

• Invariance of Physical Laws

• Relativity of Simultaneity

• Time Dilation

• Length Contraction

• The Lorentz Transformation

• Relativistic Velocity Transformation

• Doppler Effect for Light

• Relativistic Momentum

• Relativistic Energy

Photons and Matter Waves

• Introduction

• Blackbody Radiation

• Photoelectric Effect

• The Compton Effect

• Bohr’s Model of the Hydrogen Atom

• De Broglie’s Matter Waves

• Wave-Particle Duality

Quantum Mechanics

• Introduction

• Wave Functions

• The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

• The Schrӧdinger Equation

• The Quantum Particle in a Box

• The Quantum Harmonic Oscillator

• The Quantum Tunneling of Particles through Potential Barriers

Atomic Structure

• Introduction

• The Hydrogen Atom

• Orbital Magnetic Dipole Moment of the Electron

• Electron Spin

• The Exclusion Principle and the Periodic Table

• Atomic Spectra and X-rays

• Lasers

Condensed Matter Physics

• Introduction

• Types of Molecular Bonds

• Molecular Spectra

• Bonding in Crystalline Solids

• Free Electron Model of Metals

• Band Theory of Solids

• Semiconductors and Doping

• Semiconductor Devices

• Superconductivity

Nuclear Physics

• Introduction

• Properties of Nuclei

• Nuclear Binding Energy

• Radioactive Decay

• Nuclear Reactions

• Fission

• Nuclear Fusion

• Medical Applications and Biological Effects of Nuclear Radiation

Particle Physics and Cosmology

• Introduction

• Introduction to Particle Physics

• Particle Conservation Laws

• Quarks

• Particle Accelerators and Detectors

• The Standard Model

• The Big Bang

• Evolution of the Early Universe

Attribution. University Physics Volume 3, OpenStax, Rice University, and the contributing authors credited in the book. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. Source revision db44eb99e9 of openstax/osbooks-university-physics-bundle (2026-02-02). CC BY 4.0. Original source ↗. Text edition of a pinned CC BY 4.0 source revision of the OpenStax book, converted from CNXML by the EvidenceHelix importer. Original prose, learning objectives, tables, exercises, glossary and captions are preserved; images are not copied (figures link to the original source and keep their credits). No new content was added. Later revisions of this book can carry different licence terms and are not used.