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Physics and Astronomy

Reference

Dictionaries, Directories, Handbooks, Encyclopedias, etc. - Reference works are useful when you need to obtain quick facts, define the terms and scope of your search, or get a broad overview of a topic. Best Bets! are marked with aBest Bet!.
Products available to registered McMaster Students/Staff/Faculty Only are marked with a McMaster Use Only.

Handbooks / Data Collection

  • Tables of Physical and Chemical Constants and Some Mathematical Functions (15th ed.)
    • THODE Bookstacks QC 61 .K3 1986
  • Thermophysical Properties of Matter / TPRC Data Series (13 vols.)
    • THODE Reference (lower level) QC 171 .P83

Encyclopedias / Dictionaries

  • Dictionary of Astronomy, 2nd ed. [online - Oxford University Press]
  • Dictionary of Geophysics, Astrophysics, and Astronomy
    • THODE Reference (lower level) QB 14 .D53 2001
  • Dictionary of Named Effects and Laws in Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics
    • THODE Reference (lower level) QC 5 .E56
  • Encyclopedia of Applied Physics (23 vols.)
    • THODE Reference (lower level) QC 5 .E543 1991
  • Encyclopedia of Astronomy, Astrophysics (4 vols.)
  • Encyclopedia of Chemical Physics and Physical Chemistry
    • THODE Reference (lower level) Q 123 .E497 2002
  • Handbuch der Physik = Encyclopedia of Physics (55 vols.)
    • THODE Reference (lower level) Q 5 .H23
  • McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (20 vols.)
    • THODE Reference (lower level) Q 121 .M3 2002
 

 

Articles/Databases

Use article databases to find out which journals, magazines, and newspapers have published articles on your topic. Most useful when recent information is required, or when the topic is too specific to be covered in a book. Best Bets! are marked with aBest Bet!.
Products available to registered McMaster Students/Staff/Faculty Only are marked with a McMaster Use Only.

Primary Physics / Astronomy Databases

  • ARIBIB / Astronomisches Rechnenzentrum Heidelberg
    • Free available online biographical database for astronomical references from ancient times to 2000
  • arXiv.org e-Print archive
    •  Freely available online biographical database for astronomical references from ancient times to 2000
Selected Journals
  • Astrophysics Data System (ADS) / Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) NASA
    • ADS provides access to three freely searchable bibliographic databases for astronomy and astrophysics, physics and geophysics, and arXive e-prints
  • CERN Document Server
    • "Over 800,000 bibliographic records, including 360,000 fulltext documents of interest to people working in particle physics and related areas. Covers preprints, articles, books, journals, photographs, and much more."
  • Inspec
    • Bibliographic database indexing world-wide literature in physics, astronomy/astrophysics, electronics, electrical engineering, computers and computing, materials science
    • 1969 to present
    • Print version available back to 1898 (THODE Indexes & Abstracts (2nd floor) ZQC 1 .S3)
  • Mathematical Physics PrePrint Archive mp_arc
    • "…an electronic archive for research papers in Mathematical Physics and related areas. This service, which is completely free to users, allows one to deposit papers in an electronic format over the web or by e-mail (see instructions and/or a template ), to retrieve them in a variety of different ways…"
  • NASA/IPC Extragalactic Database (NED)  
    • "Data for nearly 300,000 objects linked to 1448 journal articles and catalogs, redshifts for about 215,000 objects, 0.5 million multiwavelength cross-IDs, and nearly 1.7 million photometric measurements have been added to NED since the previous public release."
  • NASA Technical Report Server
    • This site provides access to NASA's current and historical aerospace research literature published in journals, conference proceedings, patents, technical reports, images, technical video, etc. from 1915 to present
  • SIMBAD Astronomical Database
    • "The SIMBAD astronomical database provides basic data, cross-identifications, bibliography and measurements for astronomical objects outside the solar system."
  • SPIRES-HEP
    • High-energy physics literature database of journal articles, preprints, e-prints, conference papers, technical reports and theses; lists citing papers

Secondary Physics / Astronomy Databases

  • BIOSIS (the print version, Biological Abstracts is available in the library back to 1924; the electronic version back to 1995)
  • Compendex (1969 to present)
    • An engineering database covering chemical and related fields
    • THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 151 .G56
  • Gmelin Handbook of Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry. Formula index. Thode Library has no. 1-71
    • THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 151 .G56
  • MathSciNet
    • Mathematical reviews database from 1940 to present
  • Pubmed / Medline (1950s to present)
    • Pubmed covers medical and related areas and is available freely on the internet; it is the public version of Medline which is available at McMaster through Ovid and SciFinder Scholar.
  • Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science) (1976 to present)
    • Covers all sciences and indexes primarily journal literature (no patents, conference proceedings or book chapters are indexed); unique feature is the ability to search for citing publications.
  • SciFinder Web
    • 1907 to present
    • Primary database in chemistry and related areas; includes Medline

 

Websites

The Internet is home to useful web sites on many subjects. Unlike the resources on other tabs, the following resources are selected from the free web. Remember to critically evaluate web resources, since web site content is usually unmonitored and unregulated.
  • AstroWeb: Astronomy on the Web
    • This site is a gateway to astronomy/astrophysics and physics resources on the internet, such as organizations, observatories and telescopes, bibliographical databases, data resources, computer software, etc.
  • Resources in Physics / Physics-Astronomy-Mathematics Division of the Special Libraries Association
  • The Virtual Library: Physics
    • Links to resources in specific aspects of physics (acoustic, nuclear, plasma, laser physics)

Spectra and Spectral Data

  • Absorption Spectra in the Ultraviolet and Visible Region
    • THODE Reference (Lower Level) QC 437.L322
  •  Aldrich Library of Infrared Spectra
    • THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 96 .I5 P67 1981
  • Handbook of Basic Atomic Spectroscopic Data / National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • NIST Atomic Spectra Database
  • NIST Molecular Spectral Databases / National Institute of Standards and Technology
    • The three databases for diatomic, triatomic and hydrocarbon molecules cover microwaves region with limited data for radio frequency region
  • Sadtler Standard, Infrared, Prism Spectra
    • There are 5 indexes (cumulative up to 1980 and supplements from 1981): Spec-Finder, Alphabetical, Chemical Class, Molecular Formula and Numerical, located at the end of the spectra collection.
    • THODE Reference (Lower Level) QC 457 .S3
  • SciFinder Web
    • Includes spectra for some compounds

Patents

Citation and Style Guides

These guides give information on the elements required when citing works and on presenting information clearly and succinctly. Best Bets! are marked with aBest Bet!.
Products available to registered McMaster Students/Staff/Faculty Only are marked with a McMaster Use Only.
  • AIP Style Manual, 4th ed.
    •   THODE Reference (lower level) QC 5.45 .A45 1990
  • Craft of Scientific Writing / Michael Ally; 3rd ed.
    • Gives advice on writing well and provides examples from various disciplines in science and engineering
    • THODE Bookstacks (Lower Level) T 11 .A37 1996
  • Elements of Style / William Strunk and E.B. White
    • Gives advice on composition and correct usage of grammar
    • Also available in print - THODE Bookstacks (Lower Level) PE 1408 .S772
  • How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper / Robert A Day; 5th ed.
  • Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers / the Council of Science Editors
    • Also available in print - THODE Reference (Lower Level) T 11 .S386 2006