A comprehensive quick reference to basic topics and equations in physics This compendium of physics covers the key equations and fundamental principles that are taught in graduate programs. It offers a succinct yet systematic treatment of all areas of physics, including mathematical physics, solid state, particle physics, statistical mechanics, and optics. In one complete, self-contained volume, author Charles P. Poole, Jr. provides both review material for students preparing for PhD qualifying examinations and a quick reference for physicists who need to brush up on basic topics or delve into areas outside their expertise. Poole devotes two chapters to regularly needed information such as trigonometric and vector identities and special functions. The remaining chapters incorporate less frequently summoned concepts, including Lagrangians, parity, dispersion relations, chaos, free energies, statistical mechanical ensembles, elementary particle classification, and so forth. An indispensable resource for graduate students and physicists in industry and academia, The Physics Handbook: * Puts key information at the reader"s fingertips * Incorporates essential material previously scattered through many different texts * Features 150 illustrations * Addresses theoretical as well as practical issues * Includes an extensive bibliography pointing to more thorough texts for individual subject areas