LibGuides: Physics: Background Sources

Background Information

After you've chosen a topic to research, you will need to search for information that will introduce you to the topic. Background sources provide you with:

Access Science

AccessScience This link opens in a new window
A searchable version of the latest McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology Online.
Research updates from the McGraw-Hill Yearbooks, the latest Science News headlines, scientist biographies, illustrations and bibliographies. 110,000+ definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms.

Examples of Reference Sources

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
Call Number: E-book
In addition to offering the full text of the print edition in searchable pdf format, this web version presents the major tables of numerical data in the form of interactive tables that can be sorted, filtered, and combined in various ways. Substances in these tables can be retrieved by searching on name, formula, CAS Registry Number, or chemical structure, and such a search can be combined with a request for a desired property.
A Dictionary of Physics
Call Number: E-book
Contains over 3,800 entries covering all commonly encountered physics terms and concepts, as well as terms from the related fields of astronomy, astrophysics, and physical chemistry.
Encyclopedia of Physics
Call Number: QC 5 .E545 2005 Reference (Kelowna)
Over 500 articles by experts -- among them several Nobel laureates and numerous other scientific award winners -- offer a comprehensive and topical account of physics and the physical world.