Best materials science books according to redditors

We found 195 Reddit comments discussing the best materials science books. We ranked the 112 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.

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Subcategories:

Metallurgy books
Fracture mechanics books
Material extraction & processing books
Polymers & textiles books
Mechanics of materials engineering books
Material testing books
Concrete engineering books
Material science books

Top Reddit comments about Materials & Material Science:

u/ninjafizzy · 239 pointsr/funny

All of the books I can see from top to bottom on Amazon:

  1. http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Chemical-Reaction-Engineering-Edition/dp/0130473944 -- used price: $90.98.
  2. http://www.amazon.com/Molecular-Thermodynamics-Donald-McQuarrie/dp/189138905X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407531821&sr=1-1&keywords=molecular+thermodynamics -- used price: $70.00 (paperback is $29.99)
  3. http://www.amazon.com/Physical-Chemistry-Molecular-Donald-McQuarrie/dp/0935702997/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407531925&sr=1-1&keywords=physical+chemistry+a+molecular+approach -- used price: $72.44 (paperback is $42.65)
  4. http://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Physics-Molecules-Solids-Particles/dp/047187373X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407532022&sr=1-1&keywords=quantum+physics+of+atoms+molecules+solids+nuclei+and+particles -- used price: $52.66
  5. http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Chemical-Engineering-Thermodynamics-Mcgraw-Hill/dp/0073104450/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407532094&sr=1-1&keywords=introduction+to+chemical+engineering+thermodynamics -- used price: $129.96 (paperback is $84.38)
  6. http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Chemistry-8th-Eighth-BYMcMurry/dp/B004TSKJVE/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407532227&sr=1-5&keywords=organic+chemistry+mcmurry+8th+edition -- used price: $169.33 (paperback is $79.86)
  7. http://www.amazon.com/Elementary-Differential-Equations-William-Boyce/dp/047003940X/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1407532549&sr=8-7&keywords=Elementary+Differential+Equations+and+Boundary+Value+Problems%2C+9th+Edition+solutions -- used price: $8.00
  8. http://www.amazon.com/Numerical-Methods-Engineers-Sixth-Edition/dp/0073401064/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407532859&sr=8-1&keywords=numerical+methods+for+engineers+6th+edition -- used price: $47.99 (paperback is $22.48)
  9. http://www.amazon.com/Applied-Partial-Differential-Equations-Mathematics/dp/0486419762/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407532927&sr=1-5&keywords=applied+partial+differential+equations -- used price: $8.32 (paperback is $1.96)
  10. http://www.amazon.com/Transport-Phenomena-2nd-Byron-Bird/dp/0471410772/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407533036&sr=1-1&keywords=transport+phenomena+bird+stewart+lightfoot+2nd+edition -- used price: $28.00
  11. http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Engineering-Data-Collection-Analysis/dp/053436957X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407533106&sr=1-2&keywords=data+collection+and+analysis -- used price: $80.00
  12. http://www.amazon.com/Calculus-9th-Dale-Varberg/dp/0131429248/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407533219&sr=1-1&keywords=calculus+varberg+purcell+rigdon+9th+edition+pearson -- used price: $11.97 (paperback is $2.94)
  13. http://www.amazon.com/Elementary-Principles-Chemical-Processes-Integrated/dp/0471720631/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407533286&sr=1-1&keywords=elementary+principles+of+chemical+processes -- used price: $161.72
  14. http://www.amazon.com/Inorganic-Chemistry-4th-Gary-Miessler/dp/0136128661/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407533412&sr=1-1&keywords=inorganic+chemistry+messler -- used price: $75.00
  15. http://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Heat-Transfer-Theodore-Bergman/dp/0470501979/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407533484&sr=1-1&keywords=fundamental+of+heat+and+mass+transfer -- used price: $154.99 (loose leaf is $118.23)
  16. http://www.amazon.com/Biochemistry-Course-John-L-Tymoczko/dp/1429283602/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407533588&sr=1-1&keywords=biochemistry+a+short+course -- used price: $139.00 (loose leaf is $115)
  17. http://www.amazon.com/Separation-Process-Principles-Biochemical-Operations/dp/0470481838 -- used price: $93.50 (international edition is $49.80)
  18. http://www.amazon.com/University-Physics-Modern-13th/dp/0321696867/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407545099&sr=1-1&keywords=university+physics+young+and+freedman -- used price: $83.00

    Books & Speakers | Price (New)
    ---|---
    Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering (4th Edition) | $122.84
    Molecular Thermodynamics | $80.17
    Physical Chemistry: A Molecular Approach | $89.59
    Quantum Physics of Atoms, Molecules, Solids, Nuclei, and Particles | $128.32
    Introduction to Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics (The Mcgraw-Hill Chemical Engineering Series) | $226.58
    Organic Chemistry 8th Edition | $186.00
    Elementary Differential Equations | $217.67
    Numerical Methods for Engineers, Sixth Edition | $200.67
    Applied Partial Differential Equations | $20.46
    Transport Phenomena, 2nd Edition | $85.00
    Basic Engineering Data Collection and Analysis | $239.49
    Calculus (9th Edition) | $146.36
    Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes, 3rd Edition | $206.11
    Inorganic Chemistry (4th Edition) | $100.00
    Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer | $197.11
    Biochemistry: A Short Course, 2nd Edition | $161.45
    Separation Process Principles: Chemical and Biochemical Operations | $156.71
    University Physics with Modern Physics (13th Edition) | $217.58
    Speakers | $50.00

    Most you can get is $1476.86 (selling all of the books (used and hard cover) in person), and if you sell it on Amazon, they take around 15% in fees, so you'll still get $1255.33. But wait...if you sell it to your university's book store, best they can do is $.01.

    Total cost: $2832.11 (including speakers)

    Net loss: -$1355.25 (books only). If sold on Amazon, net loss: -$1576.78 (books only). Speakers look nice; I wouldn't sell them.

    Edit: Added the two books and the table. /u/The_King_of_Pants gave the price of speakers. ¡Muchas gracias para el oro! Reminder: Never buy your books at the bookstore.

    Edit 2: Here are most of the books on Library Genesis
    Thanks to /u/WhereToGoTomorrow
u/muhal · 34 pointsr/chemistry
u/[deleted] · 12 pointsr/CFD

>I'm not sure what kinds of other heavy scientific computing you've done, but CFD is a very difficult field and takes years to understand.

CFD isn't this difficult.

On one side you have partial differential equations (PDEs) describing fluid flow. On the other side you have numerical methods used to solve those PDEs. Put the two together, implement it in code, and you get a rudimentary CFD simulation. For CS students, who typically already have knowledge of numerical methods, coding one of these basic simulations can be done within a semester's worth of focused effort. Venturing into finer, more complex domains and trying to model more advanced flow phenomenons do indeed require years of study, but a beginner -- a 3rd year CS undergrad of all people -- has no need to deal with that stuff when all they want to accomplish is to get their feet wet with the inner workings of the simplest CFD simulation.

So let's not intimidate the poor kid and not oversell the profession. A lot of people love pretending like this stuff is black magic, presumably because it promotes job security, but it just isn't. There are lots of people doing CFD that come from CS and Applied Math backgrounds instead of Engineering or Physics. They all started somewhere. So can the OP.

-------------------------------------

@ /u/AnotherBrownBike

Khan Academy Physics, Fluid Dynamics lectures are your best friend in this.

I would recommend that you start with getting a decent physical understanding of incompressible (also called divergence-free) advection-diffusion equation. This is a simple PDE that describes how particles (or other quantities like energy) are transferred inside a physical system due to the process of diffusion and advection (aka convection). Solving this equation using a numerical solution method for PDEs (such as finite volume or finite element) will allow you to practice the fundamental underpinnings of a CFD code.

Finite Volume methods are more popular in CFD than finite element methods, because they're mathematically easier for people who have a robust understanding of fluid mechanics. That's not going to be the case for you, because you're not studying fluids academically. I would recommend that you focus on finite element methods instead. These are mathematically more challenging -- using them with fluid PDEs require stabilization terms (like SUPG or GLS) to prevent the solution from oscillating. However, the application of finite element methods to fluid PDEs require essentially no knowledge of the physics behind the PDE. It's pure mathematics, and you as a CS student should be well equipped to handle this.

If you're not familiar with finite element methods for solving PDEs, I would strongly recommend starting with a Python library called FEniCS. This is a brilliant finite element solver that allows you to input the bilinear form of your partial differential equation (Google what "bilinear form" is for finite element methods) in Python and generate a solution. This will allow you to practice the mathematics of finite element methods without getting tangled up in the code implementation of the solution process. Solve the Poisson equation first, and then the advection-diffusion.

Simple solvers you might like working with:

EasyCFD -- Educational program intended to teach the basics of a "black-box" CFD solver.

CFD Python -- A Python program designed with a 12-step lesson plan to solving Navier-Stokes equations.

PyFR -- Another Python-based flow solver. Documentation is a bit sparse, so you need an understanding of how CFD works to use it. But once you have that, PyFR's open-source nature allows you to break apart an actual full CFD solver and look at its components before trying to write your own.

Useful literature you might want to check out from your campus library:

White, Fluid Mechanics and/or Cengel and Cimbala, Fluid Mechanics -- Basically the two beginner level fluid mechanics bibles, depending on who you ask. An overwhelming number of engineers out there have had one or the other as their textbook in school. They're both fantastic. Flip a coin.

Moin, Fundamentals of Engineering Numerical Analysis -- Yet another undergraduate bible, this time on numerical methods commonly used by engineers (of all types). It covers material so crucial in all scientific computing that one of my doctoral qualification examiners specifically requested that I know this book from cover to cover.

Anderson, Computational Fluid Dynamics -- Superb introductory book that covers most everything related to CFD. If you're going to buy anything in this list, buy this one.

Hughes, Finite Element Methods -- The bible on finite element methods. The book focuses on structural applications (which do not require stabilization terms) but the mathematics involved are identical regardless of the physics behind the PDE, so this is still a very useful reference.

Zienkiewicz, Taylor and Nithiarasu, Finite Element Method for Fluid Dynamics -- Great supplement to Hughes' book for anyone using FEM on fluid flow. Covers stabilized methods, starting with easy equations (like advection-diffusion) and scaling up all the way to turbulent flows (which you shouldn't bother with right now).

Anderson, Fundamentals of Aerodynamics -- Just putting this down in case you ever need to specifically learn about aerodynamic applications of fluid flow.

Anderson, Introduction to Flight -- Used nationwide as an introductory aerospace engineering book. I recommend it to everybody outside of the industry who wants to work/study in it. Superfluously covers every aspect of the discipline, from structures to propulsion, from aerodynamics to flight control, from aviation to space.

Panton, Incompressible Flow -- Often used as a graduate level book on theoretical fluid mechanics. Focused mathematical approach. Not an easy read, required some prerequisite knowledge of fluid flow (overview of the fundamentals is very brief), but it's the next logical step up when you're ready to take your fluid work further.

u/BugeyeContinuum · 10 pointsr/askscience

Griffiths > Eisberg > Sakurai > Zee > Peskin

Peres and Ballentine offer a more quantum information oriented approach, read em after Griffiths.

Shankar before Sakurai, after Griffiths.



In that order. Your best bet though, is to find the appropriate section in the nearest university library, spend a day or two looking at books and choose whatever looks most interesting/accessible. Be warned, it seems that everyone and their cat has a book published on quantum mechanics with funky diagrams on the cover these days. A lot of them are legitimate, but make little to no effort to ensure your understanding or pose creative problems.

u/linehan23 · 10 pointsr/aerospace

/u/another_user_name posted this list a while back. Actual aerospace textbooks are towards the bottom but you'll need a working knowledge of the prereqs first.

Non-core/Pre-reqs:


Mathematics:


Calculus.


1-4) Calculus, Stewart -- This is a very common book and I felt it was ok, but there's mixed opinions about it. Try to get a cheap, used copy.

1-4) Calculus, A New Horizon, Anton -- This is highly valued by many people, but I haven't read it.

1-4) Essential Calculus With Applications, Silverman -- Dover book.

More discussion in this reddit thread.

Linear Algebra


3) Linear Algebra and Its Applications,Lay -- I had this one in school. I think it was decent.

3) Linear Algebra, Shilov -- Dover book.

Differential Equations


4) An Introduction to Ordinary Differential Equations, Coddington -- Dover book, highly reviewed on Amazon.

G) Partial Differential Equations, Evans

G) Partial Differential Equations For Scientists and Engineers, Farlow

More discussion here.

Numerical Analysis


5) Numerical Analysis, Burden and Faires


Chemistry:


  1. General Chemistry, Pauling is a good, low cost choice. I'm not sure what we used in school.

    Physics:


    2-4) Physics, Cutnel -- This was highly recommended, but I've not read it.

    Programming:


    Introductory Programming


    Programming is becoming unavoidable as an engineering skill. I think Python is a strong introductory language that's got a lot of uses in industry.

  2. Learning Python, Lutz

  3. Learn Python the Hard Way, Shaw -- Gaining popularity, also free online.

    Core Curriculum:


    Introduction:


  4. Introduction to Flight, Anderson

    Aerodynamics:


  5. Introduction to Fluid Mechanics, Fox, Pritchard McDonald

  6. Fundamentals of Aerodynamics, Anderson

  7. Theory of Wing Sections, Abbot and von Doenhoff -- Dover book, but very good for what it is.

  8. Aerodynamics for Engineers, Bertin and Cummings -- Didn't use this as the text (used Anderson instead) but it's got more on stuff like Vortex Lattice Methods.

  9. Modern Compressible Flow: With Historical Perspective, Anderson

  10. Computational Fluid Dynamics, Anderson

    Thermodynamics, Heat transfer and Propulsion:


  11. Introduction to Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer, Cengel

  12. Mechanics and Thermodynamics of Propulsion, Hill and Peterson

    Flight Mechanics, Stability and Control


    5+) Flight Stability and Automatic Control, Nelson

    5+)[Performance, Stability, Dynamics, and Control of Airplanes, Second Edition](http://www.amazon.com/Performance-Stability-Dynamics-Airplanes-Education/dp/1563475839/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315534435&sr=8-1, Pamadi) -- I gather this is better than Nelson

  13. Airplane Aerodynamics and Performance, Roskam and Lan

    Engineering Mechanics and Structures:


    3-4) Engineering Mechanics: Statics and Dynamics, Hibbeler

  14. Mechanics of Materials, Hibbeler

  15. Mechanical Vibrations, Rao

  16. Practical Stress Analysis for Design Engineers: Design & Analysis of Aerospace Vehicle Structures, Flabel

    6-8) Analysis and Design of Flight Vehicle Structures, Bruhn -- A good reference, never really used it as a text.

  17. An Introduction to the Finite Element Method, Reddy

    G) Introduction to the Mechanics of a Continuous Medium, Malvern

    G) Fracture Mechanics, Anderson

    G) Mechanics of Composite Materials, Jones

    Electrical Engineering


  18. Electrical Engineering Principles and Applications, Hambley

    Design and Optimization


  19. Fundamentals of Aircraft and Airship Design, Nicolai and Carinchner

  20. Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach, Raymer

  21. Engineering Optimization: Theory and Practice, Rao

    Space Systems


  22. Fundamentals of Astrodynamics and Applications, Vallado

  23. Introduction to Space Dynamics, Thomson -- Dover book

  24. Orbital Mechanics, Prussing and Conway

  25. Fundamentals of Astrodynamics, Bate, Mueller and White

  26. Space Mission Analysis and Design, Wertz and Larson
u/StructurallyUnstable · 9 pointsr/spacex

"Ignition" is a popular one that can get technical in the physics and chemical sections, but has a lot of great historical and technical information.

If you are interested in a structural and comprehensive book on flight vehicles, look into what we engineers call "The Bruhn" or more accurately "Analysis and Design of Flight Vehicle Structures". I could not do my job without this nearly every day!

A good free NASA e-biography, PDF warning, of a vehicle in flight now is "Taming Liquid Hydrogen" which is the history and a lot of technical information about the Centaur upper stage (used on Atlas V even today)

EDIT: A 5-part comprehensive video history of the Atlas ICBM up to the Atlas V can be found here. I uploaded a DVD from a friend that worked on the program for 35 years.

u/raoulduke25 · 8 pointsr/engineering

From an airframe standpoint, the biggest ones would be Bruhn's Analysis and Design of Flight Vehicle Structures. Along those same lines would be the more theoretical text by T. H. G. Megson.

u/pkbowen · 6 pointsr/metallurgy

A good starting point for people without formal training can be Metallurgy for the Non-Metallurgist published by ASM International. Some public libraries even have this book.

If you provide a little more information about your background, we can point you in a more precise direction.

u/jrwst36 · 6 pointsr/Physics

Any will do. Callister is good (and apparently cheap if you buy it used).

When materials crack (that's a clean break between atoms), we call that fracture. Whether a material fractures at the grain boundaries or through the grain is a whole field unto its self called fracture mechanics. There are many things we can do to materials that either promote breaking along grain boundaries or through the grains.

Generally speaking, ceramics break as a fracture and metals don't. That's my ceramics are brittle and metals bend (ductile).

Again generally speaking plastics don't have grains. We call this amorphous. They are composed of long hydrocarbon chains. You can think of a bowl of spaghetti. The spaghetti is stuck together with weak interatomic bonds. Like spaghetti that's gone cold and doesn't have oil on it. Under special cases these chains can align, and polymer scientist would say that they form grains. But it's not quite the same as with metals and ceramics.

Wood is a complicated biological system composed of cells and cell walls. It is amorphous (again, we can define this as no long range ordering of the atoms). I can't really speak to much about wood, but I can say it doesn't have grains.

Again, for material to reattach itself the way it was, it must have no plastic deformation, and the surface must stay clean (i.e. in a vacuum). Of course you could never completely take two surfaces apart and put them back together, because even if it was a clean break, you would have to align the surface properly... down to the atomic level.

u/BAHHROO · 6 pointsr/metallurgy

Metallurgy For The Non-Metallurgist is a good and informative book. It teaches a lot about the history of metallurgy as well. You can probably find a free pdf or cheaper used copy somewhere else though.

u/hooktonfonix08 · 6 pointsr/VirginiaTech

Recently graduated so my advice might be out of date.
It can be kind of risky to get books early in case there is some kind of switch or if the professor prefers another text. This being said, the standard nature of certain class curricula makes it a pretty sure bet on what book they will use.

For as along as I know Statics and Dynamics use the latest edition of Meriam and Kraige. I dont know how frequently those editions are renewed but the material itself doesnt really change.

I don't know what text deforms uses but try to find what last springs classes used (likely they all used the same book) and look for the most recent edition in case it was updated recently.

ENGE 1216 I don't remember having a text.

Never used a book for E Theory and that will depend on your instructor.

Wasn't an ME so I can't help with thermo-fluids

Materials Engineering will almost without a doubt use Callister. http://www.amazon.com/Materials-Science-Engineering-William-Callister/dp/1118324579/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404986941&sr=1-1&keywords=Callister+materials

Hope that helps!

u/1namu · 5 pointsr/FluidMechanics

Fluid Mechanics 4th Edition by Kundu (A good graduate level text. The practice problems are really great and challenging. The 5th edition has better practice problems, but the layout and content of the 4th is better IMO.)

Elementary Fluid Dynamics by Achenson (Good graduate level text with mathematical rigor.)

Fluid Mechanics by Granger (A good undergraduate level text.)

An Introduction to Fluid Dynamics by Batchelor (This one is much more advanced than the rest.)

u/volpes · 5 pointsr/aerospace

For structures design, the #1 referenced book is undoubtedly Analysis and Design of Flight Vehicle Structures by Bruhn.

http://www.amazon.com/Analysis-Design-Flight-Vehicle-Structures/dp/0961523409/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372022080&sr=8-1&keywords=bruhn

I don't have a copy though, and I had no idea it was that expensive. Anyone know a reasonably priced way to get it?

u/thepastry · 4 pointsr/Physics

I just want to point out one thing that everyone seems to be glossing over: when people say that you'll need to review classical mechanics, they aren't talking only about Newtonian Mechanics. The standard treatment of Quantum Mechanics draws heavily from an alternative formulation of classical mechanics known as Hamiltonian Mechanics that I'm willing to bet you didn't cover in your physics education. This field is a bit of a beast in its own right (one of those that can pretty much get as complicated/mathematically taxing as you let it) and it certainly isn't necessary to become an expert in order to understand quantum mechanics. I'm at a bit of a loss to recommend a good textbook for an introduction to this subject, though. I used Taylor in my first course on the subject, but I don't really like that book. Goldstein is a wonderful book and widely considered to be the bible of classical mechanics, but can be a bit of a struggle.

Also, your math education may stand you in better stead than you think. Quantum mechanics done (IMHO) right is a very algebraic beast with all the nasty integrals saved for the end. You're certainly better off than someone with a background only in calculus. If you know calculus in 3 dimensions along with linear algebra, I'd say find a place to get a feel for Hamiltonian mechanics and dive right in to Griffiths or Shankar. (I've never read Shankar, so I can't speak to its quality directly, but I've heard only good things. Griffiths is quite understandable, though, and not at all terse.) If you find that you want a bit more detail on some of the topics in math that are glossed over in those treatments (like properties of Hilbert Space) I'd recommend asking r/math for a recommendation for a functional analysis textbook. (Warning:functional analysis is a bit of a mindfuck. I'd recommend taking these results on faith unless you're really curious.) You might also look into Eisberg and Resnick if you want a more historical/experimentally motivated treatment.

All in all, I think its doable. It is my firm belief that anyone can understand quantum mechanics (at least to the extent that anyone understands quantum mechanics) provided they put in the effort. It will be a fair amount of effort though. Above all, DO THE PROBLEMS! You can't actually learn physics without applying it. Also, you should be warned that no matter how deep you delve into the subject, there's always farther to go. That's the wonderful thing about physics: you can never know it all. There just comes a point where the questions you ask are current research questions.

Good Luck!

u/Kavanaugh · 4 pointsr/IWantToLearn

As unorthodox as it may seem, you can learn a lot from places where people discuss "hypothetical" criminal activities. Totse spinoff boards (see totse2, zoklet, rorta) have forums/archives for this purpose. Though take everything you learn there with a grain of salt, since most people on these are living in a fantasy world. You'd be surprised, however, how many problems have really simple solutions. Though while the methods would be very different at the level of international espionage, you learn that a lot of solutions can be found by combining critical thinking with common sense.

EDIT: You may also want to try and get a hold of a copy of Locks, Safes, and Security (Could be outdated, since the past 10 years have been good for science) it's over a thousand pages and it's an incredibly in depth reference for security systems and the like. I had some other good references somewhere but I can't seem to remember/find them. If I do I'll be sure to put them here.

u/daniels190 · 4 pointsr/chemistry

I am a big fan of this book and recommend it to students.

https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Reasonable-Organic-Reaction-Mechanisms/dp/0387954686

u/SaltySteamie · 3 pointsr/blackdesertonline

It was ONLY metric in chemistry and physics because that's what is used even in American academia and research

Then we started to use imperial along with metric in engineering because American engineers use mostly imperial

The text used by my statics class: https://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Mechanics-Russell-C-Hibbeler/dp/0133918920 uses a mix

u/klystron · 3 pointsr/chemicalreactiongifs

The appearance of car windows through polarised sunglasses is due to the toughening process during manufacture, in which the hot glass is cooled by jets of air. This causes the outside surface to be in a state of compression and the inner surface to be in tension.

Strains in glass can be seen with polarised light, and using polarised sunglasses shows up the pattern of air jets used in the toughening process.

Source: The New Science of Strong Materials JE Gordon, 1968 (Footnote in Chapter 5.)

u/mindheavy · 3 pointsr/AskEngineers

Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer by Incropera is pretty much the standard text on the subject by my understanding.

I used Hibbeler for Mechanics of Materials, but Beer is also a popular choice.

Hibbeler for dynamics as well.

Larson has a pretty good calculus book, will take you from derivatives up through multivariable.

A good resource if you feel like digging deeper is the physics forums - science and math textbook forum.

u/CleverlyNamedTeam · 3 pointsr/engineering

Bruhn, Niu, Roark and Niu (again) are the bibles for aerospace structures. Bruhn is always ridiculously expensive but it's hard to beat. Not sure why they won't put another edition out, everyone uses it.

Best way to learn FEA is by doing. Taking a class to understand the theory is very helpful (in my opinion). Gives the user a deeper insight into how the model is working - especially how the nodal DOFs of each type element work. Making models in "one button push" FE packages like Solidworks or ProMechanica is only so helpful. Building the models by hand or creating your own programs is the best way to develop an understanding.

If you are motivated, here is a good class with all the chapters and notes online.

u/postdarwin · 3 pointsr/Freethought

If you're intrigued by this idea, I can recommend The Clock of the Long Now.

u/ruat_caelum · 3 pointsr/AskElectronics

The Clock of the Long Now (Link is amazon.) Covers some of these questions about how do we deal with engineering aspects that needs centuries or millennium. The short comings we run into and how we think about things.

As you're subject was a discussion on science fiction. Check out /r/TheExpanse/ Another set of books (now tv show) Asimov's Foundation series or I, robot series. Even the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy touches this idea with Spoilers The earth and all the living things upon it being a 10 billion year old program whose output is a single human being.

Asimov touches on this in the foundation series where no prediction or computer program can be correct over such a long life span, a set of humans in a "cult or church" type environment constantly make changes and minor adjustments to the program over the course of hundreds or thousands of years.

Happy reading.

u/chemcloakedschemer · 3 pointsr/chemistry

The Art of Writing Reasonable Organic Reaction Mechanisms by Grossman.

Organic Chemistry: An Intermediate Text by Hoffman is also good as a text between what you learned in undergrad and things you might expect to see in grad school.

u/FastGunner · 3 pointsr/socialskills

Youtube videos, and this book

u/axz055 · 3 pointsr/EngineeringStudents

Callister's book is the standard in MSE programs I've seen. I thought it was pretty good.

http://www.amazon.com/Materials-Science-Engineering-An-Introduction/dp/1118324579/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

u/spthirtythree · 3 pointsr/AskEngineers

If it really matters, you probably need to simulate it with CFD. If it kinda matters, you should read up on fluid dynamic drag and drag reduction. If it doesn't matter much, look at pictures of wheel spats and other aircraft fairings and copy the basic shape.

Material choice is irrelevant to drag, as long as the surface is smooth.

u/TheLeaderIsGood · 3 pointsr/AskReddit
u/Elliott2 · 3 pointsr/MechanicalEngineering
u/Bilbo_Fraggins · 2 pointsr/Christianity

FWIW, last time I took political compass quiz I was left libertarian, the exact opposite of all the presidential candidates. I think from their questions they plot me libertarian mostly on anti-war grounds. ;-)

Also, maybe I'm more leftist then I think. ;-)

Though I lean somewhat libertarian, personally I think the US libertarian party is much worse than the major parties on protecting positive liberties and rights. If I had to align with a party, it would be the Greens.

They take both positive rights and liberties seriously and are future focused, something sorely lacking in our society.

Stewart Brand's Clock of the Long Now and Whole Earth Dicipline have highly influenced my thinking.

If you don't know who Stewart Brand is, he is one of the most influential people of the last century in both environmentalism and technology, and is a deep pragmatist worth taking seriously, unlike many in the movement he helped start.

u/GibletJuice · 2 pointsr/AskPhysics

See if you can find this in a bookshop or library, it is a more readable, introductory level text:

Have a look at reviews here (ignore the silly price):
http://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Physics-Molecules-Solids-Particles/dp/047187373X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373928683&sr=1-1

This seemed to be cheapest available copy here:
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=10592106949

I haven't read Feynman's books, so can't can't comment on that.

u/J-Nug · 2 pointsr/EngineeringStudents

I am doing my master's in fluids and have had a few different books. I think my favorite was Granger's book and as a bonus it's really cheap!

http://www.amazon.com/Fluid-Mechanics-Dover-Books-Physics/dp/0486683567

u/Araraguy · 2 pointsr/askphilosophy

Again, the domains of physics themselves describe it. I can't give you years of physics edcuation on a reddit post. Do you have multivariable calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra? If so, then you can read the descriptions. And here's what you asked for:

https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Field-Theory-Nutshell-nutshell/dp/0691140340

http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-3527406018,subjectCd-PH20.html

https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Physics-Molecules-Solids-Particles/dp/047187373X

Those three intros will give you a decent (though not complete) description of what matter is.

u/zendoguy · 2 pointsr/AskReddit

The gold standard of books on the subject is this one-

http://www.amazon.com/Locks-Safes-Security-International-Reference/dp/0398070792/ref=sr_1_1/105-3769004-8970845?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186337821&sr=1-1

The author has also been known to visit DefCon. You might travel there to learn a bit from him. He taught a 12 year old how to pick a Medeco, one of the most secure locks in the world, in minutes.

u/dangersandwich · 2 pointsr/AskEngineers

Many universities including the one I went to use Hibbeler for statics and Meriam-Kraige for general dynamics (or some combination of these authors). I wouldn't worry about getting the absolute latest edition of these books — anything published later than ~2005 should be about the same.

It also looks like Hibbeler authored a combined statics-dynamics text to cover both topics, but I've never used it.

u/phaseoptics · 2 pointsr/AskScienceDiscussion

Introductory Statistical Mechanics 2nd Edition, Roger Bowley


Whatever you are told to purchase by your instructor, buy this too.



u/ReconTiger · 2 pointsr/AskEngineers

I would suggest you read your textbook, if you do not have one pertaining to materials, I would suggest Callister's Mat Sci & Engr: An Intro. Also if you are struggling this early in the semester, you may want to consider visiting the professor during office hours...

u/isentr0pic · 2 pointsr/Physics

By chemist, do you mean undergraduate or postgraduate? What year of study are they in? It'd be difficult to study statistical mechanics from scratch; make sure the following prerequisites are in order:

  • Mathematical methods including multivariable calculus, vector calculus, differential equations and introductory (but still rigorous) probability theory. Combinatorial methods can and will help, too.
  • Classical mechanics, including analytical mechanics. A lot of important results in statistical mechanics correspond directly to what you find in classical mechanics.
  • Exposure to thermodynamics is essential. As a chemist, your friend will almost definitely have this.
  • Quantum mechanics, the ideas of which are highly important for quantum statistical mechanics. Of course, if your friend would rather stick to classical statistical mechanics, this doesn't have to be deeply studied. I'd imagine that being a chemist, your friend has seen some quantum mechanics before anyhow.

    For an introductory level book, I quite enjoyed Bowley and Sanchez. They go through relevant ideas in probability already and the appendix covers up some of the mathematical prerequisites. Further down the line, Huang is an excellent book: it is significantly more advanced than the previous, but the contents is both broad and detailed (I still refer to it for topics like the 2D Ising model). At the same time, you could also consider Volume 5 of the famous Course of Theoretical Physics by Landau and Lifshitz. The Course is famously hardcore, but it imparts mastery like nothing else.
u/fenderfreak98 · 2 pointsr/Physics

Have you tried the Feynman lectures?. Give them a look since they're free. It's on the lighter side for maths but does sacrifice completeness. Unfortunately, your going to have to learn some form of linear algebra and possibly multi along the way.

Without linear/multi the best progress you can make is getting a wishy-washy feel for things, which from experience really doesn't satisfy. You'r best resources will by far be wikipedia and youtube. They definitely contain the most thought through explanations of intro level material and present the math appropriately.

If you really want a book, Eisberg's Quantum Physics of Atoms, Molecules, Solids, Nuclei, and Particles is a push but really great for intro level stuff.

u/starcraftre · 2 pointsr/engineering
u/UnknownHinson2 · 2 pointsr/EngineeringStudents

I personally did not care for the Philpot book. I found the Hibbeler Mechanics of Materials book to be far superior. However, I had to purchase the online version of the textbook for my class and I found the animations for that text to be very helpful.

When it comes to the Machine Design course I really liked Machine Elements in Mechanical Design by Mott, and Shigley's Mechanical Engineering Design. Machine Design by Norton was my required text for my Machine Design course and the rest of the class, including myself, found that text to be very difficult to follow. It felt like, at least in the fourth edition, the author released a new edition without thoroughly checking his examples. Therefor, about 9 weeks into the course the professor decided to switch textbooks and assigned yet another text for the class. Having fallen for that trap already, I did a quick amazon search and bought the highest rated machinery design textbook; which was the textbook by Mott.

Also, keep in mind that you don't have to spend $100 for a textbook that is not required for the class. Do as I did and purchase either an international edition or better yet and old edition for which you can easily obtain a solutions manual.

It should go without saying that there are many avenues for purchasing textbooks online. I used to frequent Abebooks, but Amazon has since bought it and I have found that their prices have began to increase. Your best bet is to use a site like Bigwords because a site like that searches many textbook websites for all of the textbooks you want, then picks the best price including things like shipping and coupon offers.

Best of luck.

u/G19Gen3 · 2 pointsr/lockpicking

Locks, Safes and Security: An International Police Reference (2 volume set) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0398070792/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_eXW-zb5BDJHVY


Don’t steal things.

u/Thermodynamicist · 2 pointsr/technology

The problem is generally going to be the microstructure of the cell rather than the Chemistry itself. At really small scales (ie nano and sub-nano) you can almost always reverse the Chemistry by reversing the flow of electricity.

If you wanted a really crude tl;dr for battery technology development, it would be, microstructure is annoying; going to a nano scale takes microstructure out of the equation, and this can get you much closer to the performance implied by simple chemistry.

This also applies to making really strong materials; if there weren't microstructural defects messing everything up, you'd be able to directly relate material properties to chemical bond energies. If you do sums on that basis then you end up with very impressive performance. So carbon nano-tubes aren't so much massively strong, as not massively weakened by microstructural defects. See for example the excellent works of J.E. Gordon.

u/mitchandre · 2 pointsr/chemistry

The Art of Writing Reasonable Organic Reaction Mechanisms is a must read for any synthetic in the field.

u/brujahbattalion · 2 pointsr/Blacksmith

Here's a great book I like to recommend:

http://www.amazon.com/Metallurgy-Non-Metallurgist-Second-05306G-International/dp/1615038213

I'm sure there are cheaper places to find the book and you should check if maybe your library has it. It's kinda geared towards technical people who are non-metallurgists.

u/darksim905 · 2 pointsr/lockpicking
u/tdashrom · 2 pointsr/Clemson

Trust me, use this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Mechanics-Statics-Dynamics-14th/dp/0133915425

The pdf versions and worked out solutions to all the problems are floating around the internet in pdf form somewhere. This book saved me and was a WAY better resource than anything they used in class

u/MrScorpio · 2 pointsr/aerospace

I work for a major aircraft OEM, and in regards to aircraft structures, Bruhn's Analysis and Design of Flight Vehicle Structures is considered by almost every single one of my peers as the Bible of aerostructures. It's almost 40 years old, but it's still extremely relevant.

u/heymister · 2 pointsr/books

A few reddit favorites: House of Leaves

Neuromancer

Slaughterhouse Five

1984

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Ishmael

Cryptonomicon

The Monster at the End of This Book (and that's no a joke, it was so important to me as a child, because of what it did with the story that I read it to my own son)

and a few not on that list: The Clock of the Long Now (by Stewart Brand)

Hot House (by Pete Early)

Underworld ( by Don Delillo)

Disgrace (by J.M. Coetzee)

The Eden Express (by Mark Vonnegut)

And one book I recently picked up (because I liked the author's first novel) really blew me away: The Unnamed (by Joshua Ferris).

u/rodentdp · 1 pointr/books

The Clock of the Long Now, by Stewart Brand. A short, open-ended discussion about history, technology, information, time.

u/thisisafarmer · 1 pointr/civilengineering
u/__your__name__here__ · 1 pointr/chemistry

I think I used this textbook when I took my first polymer course:
https://www.amazon.com/Polymer-Chemistry-Introduction-Malcolm-Stevens/dp/0195124448/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1478092564&sr=8-2&keywords=polymer+chemistry

I used Odian in grad school but found myself going back to the Stevens book every once in a while for more clarification.

u/redly · 1 pointr/engineering

I'm a mechanical, but I found J.E. Gordon's

https://www.amazon.ca/New-Science-Strong-Materials-Gordon/dp/0140135979/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=why+you+don%27t+fall+through+the+floor&qid=1554554032&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull

and

https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=structures+or+why+things+don%27t+fall+down&crid=2RE2JL3NBE3K6&sprefix=why+things+don%2Caps%2C191&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_14

both entertaining and eye-opening. Gordon was in on the beginning of fracture mechanics, but snuck away from classes to soak in an art gallery. I particularly remember that wood is a great material for panels (if it didn't exist we would have to invent it) that on a weight basis sinew is nearly the best material for energy storage, and that amphorae were the Greek equivalent of the Coke can, and they are beautiful because the Greeks were incapable of creating anything ugly. Seeing a can in the street reminds me that we are not only capable, but nearly revel in our ability.

The really eye-opening one for me were his comments on masonry structures, particularly scaling. If you build a model of a cathedral, and it stands up, it can be built to any scale until you reach the compressive strength of the rock, which is kilometres high. That means that the cathedral that took 400 years to build had its foundations laid by people who knew that their granchildren's granchildren would not see it completed.

We don't build like that anymore.

Neither book is nuts and bolts, light on math, and more directed to sharpening your eye than beefing up your calculations.

I'm sure all the materials science is out of date, but I doubt that much of it is wrong.


u/mancible · 1 pointr/MDMA

3rd step would not be concerted. Although I understand lack of proton transfers for simplicity's sake, and you mention that there are several potential inaccuracies... but the general idea is there. Much applaud, better living through mechanisms.

u/Ozz123 · 1 pointr/PoliticalHumor

Doubt that I would ever go back but who knows what the future holds.

The main phase of the bachelor covers both (in-)organic (everything from orbitals to polymers to reaction mechanisms) and physical chemistry (reaction kinetics etc). After which you can chose your specialization. Since I suck at memorizing things I went the physical/analytical route which is identifying components (both quantitative and qualitative) in mixtures (solid/liquid/gas mixtures) and the theory behind them. My minor consisted of a crapton of math (had to take additional courses which weren't covered in my 'official main phase') and basically this whole book.

Have to admit that I've forgotten most it by now though :p

u/flowrination · 1 pointr/chemistry

If you're interested in learning a bit more about mechanisms specifically, which can be very relevant to understanding protein functions in a biological setting, a favorite of mine is "The Art of Writing Reasonable Organic Reaction Mechanisms" (https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Reasonable-Organic-Reaction-Mechanisms/dp/1441930167, http://jpkc.huanghuai.edu.cn/include/htmleditor/uploadfile/20130309151535265001.pdf) It has straightforward explanations of the basics in understanding many of the core concepts relevant to mechanisms and is a popular read for undergrads and grads alike. Each chapter has exercises at the end and the answer key is free online (http://www.springer.com/us/book/9780387954684).

u/ofDAeast · 1 pointr/EngineeringStudents

I don't know if it's possible to learn everything materials science. It is such a broad discipline. Think about every physical thing that exists then imagine learning about current and developing processes to make that material perform better. Getting a general understanding of the main principles is your best bet. Heres a textbook I recommend reading.

https://www.amazon.com/Science-Engineering-Materials-Donald-Askeland/dp/1305077105

u/Engagedeye · 1 pointr/Welding

This is what I am using right now in my metallurgy class. I would wait a bit though if you want to buy it since it's a college book. http://www.amazon.com/Metallurgy-Fundamentals-Daniel-A-Brandt/dp/1605250791

u/moozilla · 1 pointr/IWantToLearn

Someone in /r/chemistry recommended this book and I've found it to be a huge help: The Art of Writing Reasonable Reaction Mechanisms. (You can find a PDF online if you look.)

u/KnowsAboutMath · 1 pointr/math

Fluid Mechanics by Granger is fairly elementary.

u/studentthinker · 1 pointr/atheism

A good wikipedia page on the square-cube law to start digging for various sources. It's such a solid part of maths and materials that most papers on it are probably filled with 'thou art' and so forth.

Again a wikipedia page, this time on fracture mechanics and, specifically the 'griffiths crack length'. This stuff was worked out after WW1 boats started splitting in half unexpectedly due to square portholes and access hatches rather than ones with rounded edges. This subject is so demonstrated we cover it in first-year engineering at uni.

A great pair of books on the subject that are both very informative AND fun to read rather than just dry academia are Structures; or why things don't fall down and The new science of strong materials; or why we don't fall through the flaw. I know those links are for amazon but hopefully you can find a copy in a library or something.

u/snipatomic · 1 pointr/AskScienceDiscussion

The Feynman lectures are really good, and they will take you from basic physics to quantum mechanics.

Get yourself a good groundwork in physics before you worry about flashy things like relativity. The ability to spout out fancy words about fancy-sounding fields really means nothing if you don't actually understand what you are talking about.

Now, this said, once you are ready to dive into quantum mechanics, I'd personally recommend Griffiths.

As a chemical engineer specialized in electron microscopy, I am partial to solid-state physics and physics at the atomic scale, so if you are interested in such small things, I would recommend Callister as an introductory book (it is basically the bible of materials science, and is an excellent beginner book and reference) and Kasap as a very readable book on solid-state physics.

With any such books, unless you are using the book for a class and it is required that you have a particular version, don't worry about getting the newest edition. An older edition will generally save you a lot of money if you purchase a hard copy. That said, it is easy enough to find most of them digitally if you are so inclined.

u/xtuntx · 1 pointr/textbooks

>The Science and Engineering of Materials 7th edition

https://www.amazon.com/Science-Engineering-Materials-Donald-Askeland/dp/1305077105

u/watchmyfront · 1 pointr/physicsbooks

You can get an eTextbook version from Pearson at http://www.mypearsonstore.com/bookstore/mechnics-of-materials-coursesmart-etextbook-0133254690 , or a physical copy either from Pearson or Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Mechanics-Materials-Edition-Russell-Hibbeler/dp/0133254429). If you want a free copy, check your library.

u/adalonus · 1 pointr/chemistry

You won't need linear algebra at all for anything the P. Chem series.

Quantum Mechanics, Thermodynamics, and Statistical Mechanics will all require knowledge of Multivariable Calculus. You don't need to be a master at calculus, but you will need to understand key concepts and how to apply them.

Edit: I also used Engel & Reid. I hated the book. I thought it was very confusing and poorly written. I'm currently reading a book for [Quantum Physics] (http://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Physics-Molecules-Solids-Particles/dp/047187373X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342751051&sr=8-1&keywords=quantum+physics+of+atoms.+molecules.+solids.+nuclei.+and+particles) and it has helped my view with quantum mechanics immensely. It's from 1985 and I picked it up for $10, but the price seemed to have skyrocketed to $40 used.

u/danesgod · 1 pointr/chemistry

I'm an organic chemist, not polymer, but i read:
http://www.amazon.com/Polymer-Chemistry-Introduction-Malcolm-Stevens/dp/0195124448
and learned quite a lot. Probably not as in depth as Anslyn is to Phys. Org., but its good

u/dreamnstarwars · 1 pointr/Physics

So I haven't used his other books but I really enjoyed his QM book in small pieces. It's extremely condensed so I found I got the most out of it when I sat there and worked all the math out between the equations and making sure I understood each step before I went on to the next, which often involved Wikipedia as well. This was different than books like Shankar or Eisberg and Resnick which I often felt I could just sit there and read.

I've heard that most physics people absolutely love going back to Griffiths because he makes very elegant arguments very well. But it's sometimes pretty difficult for a new student to catch everything the first time if you aren't seriously taking your time with it. I think I did get a lot out of seriously working through it though.