Great! This part kind of surprises me though:<p>> <i>However, we want to be clear that this edition is only free to read online, and this posting does not transfer any right to download all or any portion of The Feynman Lectures on Physics for any purpose.</i><p>I know it doesn't actually mean anything in practice, but still, I'm shaking my head in disbelief that there's still people out there clinging to this mentality. Aside from the fact that it's fundamentally technically impossible to read something online without downloading it first.
Wonderful news but particularly sickening for me as I fished out £130 for the hardback volumes last year!<p>Absolutely great books however!<p>I've learned a lot already from those books.<p>Also, the "For the Practical Man" (algebra, geometry, trig, arithemtic) series of books on mathematics that Feynman started his career with. They are hard to get hold of and expensive but the calculus book is wonderful if incredibly dense and written in an early 1900's style!<p>Those, a cheap Casio calculator, a box of pencils and some school exercise books have taught me more than a university degree and years of industry experience.<p>Edit: found a legitimate PDF of "Calculus for the practical man" <a href="http://physsocyork.co.uk/notes/J.%20E.%20Thopmson--Calculus%20for%20the%20practical%20man.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://physsocyork.co.uk/notes/J.%20E.%20Thopmson--Calculus%...</a>
I'd love to buy the PDFs, but they're DRMed and I refuse to rent ebooks.<p>I guess I could buy them and then download the "pirate" versions from somewhere.<p>Instead, I'll stick with my hardcopy edition.
Is this worth reading for someone without a particular need to understand physics in depth? What I mean is if I take the time to read these will I learn anything useful to someone not pursuing a career in physics or related field?
every now and then i go into the library and read a chapter out of my hardcover set of these. my kids do the "geeez dad" thing when i make them sit with me and look at them.<p>classics.. to be sure....<p>edit: i almost feel like these shouldn't be something that gets digitized.....this knowledge and its presentation belongs in a tactile medium...
These books show more than anything else why Feynman is so revered among physicists as a teacher. An introductory course in physics, simple yet demanding, and shot through with Feynman's unique approach and personality.
Just chapter 1 contains answers to many questions that I've had on the back of my mind.. Why does water ice expand when it melts? If water ice is a crystalline structure, how can it vary in temperature (e.g. -5 degrees to -10 degrees).
A very good read.
Project Tuva has a great series of lectures Feynman gave around that time <a href="http://research.microsoft.com/apps/tools/tuva/" rel="nofollow">http://research.microsoft.com/apps/tools/tuva/</a>
It is awesome how while the page is loading you see stuff like this:<p>"Now if we multiply Eq. (41.19) by [math], [math]. We want the time average of [math], so let us take the average of the whole equation, and study the three terms. Now what about [math] times the force?"<p>Soo... am I going to need math skills to understand this stuff?