Physics & Astronomy Resources

Contents:

Databases and Indexes

 

Reference Resources

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias | Writing and Style Guides | Additional Resources

Finding Books

CLICnet | Library of Congress Classifications for Physics & Astronomy

 

Internet Resources

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias | Subject Guides and Directories | Government Science Sites |
Electronic Science News Magazines | Local Resources

Databases and Indexes

About off-campus access

Use the following databases and indexes to find citations and abstracts to journal and periodical articles on physics related topics. Print indexes are often helpful if you are searching for older periodical articles.

SPECIAL NOTE: Some of the databases listed below indicate whether a journal is owned by the St. Catherine Libraries. For those databases that do not have this feature, use the Periodical Cat (also available from the Libraries' home page) to determine if the Libraries own a specific journal title.

 

Academic Search Premier

The world's largest academic multi-disciplinary database, Academic Search Premier provides full text for more than 4,600 scholarly publications, including full text for more than 3,500 peer-reviewed journals. Coverage spans virtually every area of academic study.

 

ScienceDirect (1996-Present)

Includes a substantial collection of full-text physics journals published by Elsevier and Academic Press. Coverage for most titles begins in 1996 through the present issue. To browse physics journals on ScienceDirect, select "Journals," then change "specific subject" to Physics and Astronomy Journals and change "display" to Subscribed journals.

 

FirstSearch (password required)

Several databases within FirstSearch provide access to journal citations and/or abstracts related to topics in the field of physics. Indications that the full-text of an article is available may not apply for the St. Catherine Library. Try the following databases:

 

ArticleFirst (1990-Present)

ECO(1995-Present)

EventLine(1989-Present)

PapersFirst(1993-Present)

Proceedings(1993-Present)

WilsonSelectPlus(1994-Present)

 

You can also determine the best databases to search based on your individual topic. From the main search screen, enter a subject word or phrase and then select a specific topic area from the provided list. FirstSearch will suggest the best databases to search for information on your topic. Try the following topics: Conferences & Proceedings, Engineering & Technology, or General Science.

Reference Resources

Use reference resources to locate background information on your topic, to identify key articles or books, to find statistics, and to get a sense of potential words or phrases for searching databases and other resources. The following list contains print resources located in the reference area, or at the reference desk, of the CSC St. Paul campus library.

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Chambers nuclear energy and radiation dictionary. Ed. P.M.B. Walker. Edinburgh ; New York : Chambers, 1992.

REF QC791.92 .C35 1992

 

Chapple, Michael. Dictionary of Physics. London ; Chicago : Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1999.

REF QC5 .C427 1999

 

Encyclopaedic dictionary of physics. Ed. J. (James) Thewlis. New York, Pergamon Press [1966- .

REF QC5 .E52 v.1-9, suppl. 1-5

 

Encyclopedia of Physics. Ed. William A. Nierenberg. Reading, Mass. : Addison-Wesley Pub. Co., Advanced Book Program, c1981.

REF QC5 .E545

 

The Astronomy and Astrophysics Encyclopedia. Ed. Stephen P. Maran ; foreword by Carl
Sagan. New York : Van Nostrand Reinhold, c1992.

REF QB14 .A873 1992

 

A Dictionary of physics.

(via Oxford Reference Online)

 

Cambridge Astronomy Dictionary. [editorial consultants, Ian Ridpath and John Woodruff]. Cambridge, [England] ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 1996.

REF QB14 .C34 1996

 

Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Astronomy. Ed. Simon Mitton ; foreword by Sir
Martin Ryle. New York : Crown Publishers, 1977.

REF QB43.2 .C35

 

The Facts on File dictionary of astronomy. Ed. Valerie Illingworth. New York : Facts on File, c1994.

REF QB14 .F3 1994

 

A Dictionary of astronomy

(via Oxford Reference Online)

Writing and Style Guides

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1998.

REF PN147 .G444 1998 (Mpls/REF PN 147 .G444 1998) (Also available at the Reference Desk in the St. Paul campus library)

 

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1994.

REF BF76.7 .P83 1994 (Mpls/REF BF76.7 .P83 1994) (Also available at the Reference Desk in the St. Paul campus library)

 

Scientific style and format : the CBE manual for authors, editors, and publishers. Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1994.

REF T11 .S386 1994 (Available at the Reference Desk in the St. Paul campus library)

 

Turabian, Kate. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.

REF DESK LB2369 .T8 1996

Additional Resources

American Institute of Physics Handbook. Coordinating ed. Dwight E. Gray. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1957.

REF QC61 .A5 1957

 

The Astronomical almanac for the year .... Washington : U.S. G.P.O. ; London : H.M.S.O., c1980- .

CSC Astronomy Lab-Mendel QB8.U6 A77 (year)

 

Bakich, Michael E. The Cambridge Guide to the Constellations. Cambridge ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 1995.

REF QB802 .B35 1995

 

Bois, G. Petit. Tables of Indefinite Integrals. [Unabridged translation] New York, Dover Publications [1961].

(Lower Level) QA 310 B643T

 

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Cleveland, Ohio : CRC Press, c1977- .

REF QD65 .H3

 

Ecnyclopedia of the Solar System. Eds. Paul R. Weissman, Lucy-Ann McFadden, Torrence
V. Johnson. San Diego : Academic Press, c1999.

REF QB501 .E53 1999

 

Tables of Physical and Chemical Constants. New York, Wiley [1966].

REF QC61 .K3 1966

 

Smithsonian Physical Tables. Washington : Smithsonian Institution, 1954.

REF QC61 .S65 1954

Zombeck, Martin V. Handbook of Space Astronomy and Astrophysics. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire] ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1990.

REF QB136 .Z65 1990

 

Finding Books

CLICnet

Use the CLICnet library catalog to locate books on your topic. CLICnet is the shared online library catalog for the College of St. Catherine Library as well as Augsburg, Bethel, Concordia, Hamline, Macalester, Northwestern, and St. Thomas.

Additional Hints and Suggestions for Finding Books:

• Use the Library of Congress Subject Headings volumes at the Reference Desk to find words and phrases to use while subject searching.
• See the online guides available for CLICnet. Printed guides are also available at the Reference Desk.
• Check the library catalogs for other institutions to find books related to your topic.

You may want to browse the shelves for print resources in physics just to see the range of books owned by the College of St. Catherine Library. Reference books are located on the main floor in the Reference Room. The circulating collection is located in the lower level of the library. Books are shelved in Library of Congress call number order. Physics books can be found in the QC call number area, and astronomy books in the QB area (see below).

Library of Congress Classifications for Physics

Library of Congress Classifications for Astronomy

Library of Congress Classifications for Fields Related to Physics & Astronomy

Internet Resources

The following section contains selected Internet sites related to the field of physics. For additional information, please see our Internet Search Engines page as well as our Hints for Using Search Engines page.

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Eric Weisstein's World of Physics

http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/

Although there are a limited number of entries in this encyclopedia, those available are usually fairly detailed and many have useful equations included. The site is maintained by the author responsible for most of the entries, a Ph.D. astronomer who now works at Wolfram Research, Inc., as a Technical Internet Encyclopedia Developer. Additional entries have been submitted by members of the science community on the internet.

 

The Guide to the Universe: Astronomy Dictionary

http://users.skynet.be/sky03361/dictionary/dictionary.html

For some of the most commonly used terms in astronomy and astrophysics, this ~350 entry online dictionary is a good place to start for basic, short definitions.

 

 

Subject Guides and Directories

The Argus Clearinghouse

http://www.clearinghouse.net/

The Argus Clearinghouse provides access to topical guides which identify, describe, and evaluate Internet-based information resources. Select the Science and Mathematics Category - the Physics or Astronomy Subcategory - then select Keywords based on your area of interest.

 

AstroWeb

http://www.stsci.edu/science/net-resources.html
A directory of Web pages relating to astronomy and astrophysics, including many research sites. To search, click on "Searchable Version," which is under the introductory "AstroWeb: Astronomical Internet Resources" heading and before the "What's New" heading. Maintained by STScI (the Space Telescope Science Institute).

 

Education Index

http://www.educationindex.com/education_resources.html
The Education Index lists quality education-related sites on the Web. Sites are listed in two ways; the first is by subject which is the URL provided here (check out Physics and Astronomy). We recommend browsing through the subjects - partly, it's just loads of fun to check out the "Web Weasel" participating in the various disciplines. The second listing is by life-stage, so if you want to find something good for teaching middle-schoolers about physics, you can look there. Education Index is authored and maintained by Hobsons, an international college and career publisher.

 

Subject Guides, University of Tennessee Libraries

http://www.lib.utk.edu/refs/physics/
These subject guides are designed for the academic community at UT, but many of the sources are valuable for anyone. Please note that the databases and electronic journals listed are not necessarily available through St. Kate's. However, the other resources listed should be accessible. An Astronomy guide is available at /physics/astro.html.

 

Virtual Library: Physics

http://vlib.org/Physics.html
A gateway to important sites in physics including acoustics, astronomy & astrophysics, nuclear physics, optics, and beam physics & accelerator technology.

 

 

Government Science Sites

 

Catalog of U.S. Government Science and Technology Web Site Resources

http://www.scitechresources.gov/
Maintained by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce and the National Technical Information Service, this site lists science-related web sites of government agencies. It is incomplete and sites are always being added, but there are a substantial number of sites already available. See the Astronomy & Space and Math, Physics & Chemistry sections under "Browse by topic."

 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

http://www.nasa.gov/
Everything you ever wanted to know about NASA projects, history, research opportunities, and more. The site includes photos from current and past missions and the Astronomy Picture of the Day (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html).

 

National Science Foundation

http://www.nsf.gov/
The National Science Foundation, or NSF, is an independent U.S. government agency responsible for promoting science and engineering through programs supporting research and education projects. See the program area of Math, Physical Sciences.

 

 

Electronic Science News Magazines

New Scientist

http://www.newscientist.com/
A weekly magazine offering information about science news and career resources.

 

ScienceDaily Magazine

http://www.sciencedaily.com/
An online magazine and Web portal devoted to science, technology, and medicine. Articles are selected from news releases submitted by leading universities and other research organizations around the world.

 

Scientific American

http://www.sciam.com/
Includes selected full-text articles from the print version of this magazine. Tracks the breaking science news stories and provides readers with links to related sites.

Local Resources

The Physics Parlour

http://www.stkate.edu/physics/
The site designed and maintained by the Physics Department here at St. Kate's.