In This Guide:

Why background?

Background sources (encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, etc.) provide well established summary and factual information. Useful for:

A Computational Knowledge Search Engine. Click here for more about Wolfram Alpha.

Optipedia
Optipedia creates an open-access resource for trusted optics and photonics information using popular SPIE books.
Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences
An ideal resource for academia and industry in the fields of atmospheric, ocean, and environmental sciences. It is written at a level that allows undergraduate students to understand the material, while providing active researchers with the latest information in the field.
Knovel Handbooks
Dozens of engineering, science and technology handbooks are available through the Knovel database. See tutorials at right.
Knovel Critical Tables, 2nd ed.
Contains interactive, searchable tables of physical, solvent and thermodynamic properties; several tables feature an Equation Plotter to plot thermodynamic properties as a function of temperature
Particle Detector Briefbook
Call Number: Reference QC787.C6 B64 1998

Authors describe, in encyclopedic format, the physics, the application, and the analysis of data from these detectors. Ample reference is made to the published literature.

Astronomical Glossary from NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database
Developed and maintained by the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database, covering most astronomical terms including particle physics and some statistics with short descriptions.
Cambridge Illustrated Dictionary of Astronomy by Jacqueline Mitton
Publication Date: 2007
A Dictionary of Physics by Richard Rennie; Jonathan Law (Editors)
Call Number: QC5 .C56 2019

Publication Date: 2019

Check MARQCAT for availability.
Eric Weisstein's World of Physics
Short definitions and explanations; includes facts, images, diagrams. Also a section for Astronomy
Facts on File Dictionary of Atomic and Nuclear Physics
Call Number: QC772 .F33 2003

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Covers areas such as atomic theory, the structure of matter, spectroscopy, quantum theory, nuclear physics, particle physics, and cosmology. Black and white drawings accompany the text.
Fiber optics illustrated dictionary
Call Number: TK5103.592.F52 P47 2003

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Includes fundamental physics, basic technical information, information for communications and other professionals using fiber optic components. Includes hundreds of photographs, charts, and diagrams that clarify the more complex ideas and put simpler ideas into their applications context.