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Physics and Astronomy

This is a subject guide for research in physics.

Physics & Astronomy at Macalester

Students and faculty in the Department of Physics and Astronomy conduct state-of-the-art research. Original research is included in the degree requirements for students pursuing a major in this department.

New and Interesting Books in Physics & Astronomy

Worlds Without End

The science of finding habitable planets beyond our solar system and the prospects for establishing human civilization away from our ever-less-habitable planetary home.

Cosmology's Century

Cosmology's Century is the story of how generations of scientists built on theories and many new measurements to arrive at a well-tested physical theory of the structure and evolution of our expanding universe.

Dispatches from Planet 3

The galaxy, the multiverse, and the history of astronomy are explored in this engaging compilation of cosmological "tales" by multiple award-winning science writer Marcia Bartusiak. 

Quantum Reality

Jim Baggott provides a quick but comprehensive introduction to quantum mechanics for the general reader, and explains what makes this theory so very different from the rest.

The Age of Innocence

This history of nuclear physics sets the innovations and breakthroughs in the field in the period between the two World Wars within the contexts of the lives and personalities of the physicists who made them.

The Spinning Magnet

The magnetic North Pole will eventually trade places with the South Pole. Award-winning science journalist Alanna Mitchell tells in The Spinning Magnet the fascinating history of one of the four fundamental physical forces in the universe, electro-magnetism.

The Future Earth

Leading climate change advocate and weather-related journalist Eric Holthaus offers a radical vision of our future, specifically how to reverse the short- and long-term effects of climate change over the next three decades.

Thunder and Lightning

Lauren Redniss tells the story of weather and humankind through the ages. This wide-ranging work roams from the driest desert on earth to a frigid island in the Arctic, from the Biblical flood to the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

Voyageur Skies

This book chronicles spring, summer, fall, and winter in Voyageurs National Park through Don Breneman's stunning photographs, while University of Minnesota meteorologist/climatologist Dr. Mark Seeley explains the effects of weather and climate on the shaping of the park's pristine landscape.