University Physics
University Physics by Young and Freedmanby Young and Freedman
Shares rank 6 of 13 physics textbooks by recommenders
Recommended as a standard introduction to a little bit of everything in physics. The most common caveat is that its modern physics coverage is short.
Recommended as a standard introduction to a little bit of everything in physics. The most common caveat is that its modern physics coverage is short.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Standard text for learning physics
“The standard text to build understanding in physics is University Physics by Sears & Zemansky.”
Comment from 27 Jun 2026 in “Why does kinetic energy increase quadratically, not linearly, with speed? (2011)” “I also second OgsyedIE's suggestion og Young & Freedman.”
Comment from 3 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: Expository/Succinct Books on Modern Physics” Broad coverage of introductory physics
“the best introduction to a little bit of everything”
Comment from 3 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: Expository/Succinct Books on Modern Physics” “Freshman university textbooks have what you need.”
Comment from 3 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: Expository/Succinct Books on Modern Physics”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Modern physics coverage seems short
“I have heard good things about this book but it seems its coverage of Modern Physics might be a bit too short?”
Comment from 3 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: Expository/Succinct Books on Modern Physics”
Other physics textbooks people recommend
The four most recommended other physics textbooks, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Feynman Lectures on Physicsby Feynman, Leighton and Sands | 34 | 3 | 92% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Course of Theoretical Physicsby Landau and Lifshitz | 8 | 1 | 89% | 6 | — | — |
| Computational Physics (2nd Edition)by Giordano and Nakanishi | 7 | 1 | 88% | 1 | — | — |
| General Relativityby Robert Wald | 6 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| University Physicsby Young and FreedmanThis page | 5 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The standard text to build understanding in physics is University Physics by Sears & Zemansky.”
“Pairing it with some other easier text (perhaps Young & Freedman) would cover my bases nicely.”
“Freshman university textbooks have what you need.”
“I also second OgsyedIE's suggestion og Young & Freedman.”
“I have heard good things about this book but it seems its coverage of Modern Physics might be a bit too short?”
“the best introduction to a little bit of everything”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.