Sometimes you will need to look up words or get some basic information before you are able to fully understand the articles you are reading in scientific journals. Using these encyclopedias and dictionaries can help to get your research started. The final title listed below in this section is only available in PRINT, and may be found in the REFERENCE section on the main floor of Cornell Library.
Subject Portal » Physics » Course Guides »
Physics 2B : FYS: Quantum Theory in Search of Reality (Boccio) (SC)
Electronic Textbook:
Quantum enigma
The library provides electronic access to the Physics 5 textbook via eBrary: Bruce Rosenblum's Physics Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness.
You can read this book online or you can print off limited number of pages at one time. If you plan to PRINT from this or any eBrary titles, you will be restricted to printing only TWENTY pages at a time, and FORTY pages in one session. If you need to print more than forty pages, you will need to close the browser & then open a new window (but copy the URL of the e-Book before you close, so you can paste it into the new browser window).
You can read this book online or you can print off limited number of pages at one time. If you plan to PRINT from this or any eBrary titles, you will be restricted to printing only TWENTY pages at a time, and FORTY pages in one session. If you need to print more than forty pages, you will need to close the browser & then open a new window (but copy the URL of the e-Book before you close, so you can paste it into the new browser window).
Finding Definitions & Background Information:
AccessScience @ McGraw-Hill
Full-text access to 7100+ articles, 115,000 dictionary terms, and hundreds of Research Updates in all areas of science and technology updated daily.
Macmillan encyclopedia of physics
Publisher: New York : Macmillan Reference USA, 1996.
Cornell Reference QC5 .M15 1996 v. 1-4
Finding Journal Articles:
Look for the 
button and click on it to see if you can get online access to the citation's article. If Swarthmore does not have access to the online article, you will be given the option to check Tripod for print access, or it will populate an InterLibrary Loan request form for you.
button and click on it to see if you can get online access to the citation's article. If Swarthmore does not have access to the online article, you will be given the option to check Tripod for print access, or it will populate an InterLibrary Loan request form for you.
ProQuest Research Library
Provider: ProQuest
An interdisciplinary database which has much full-text. Always a good place to start your research. Covers 1971-present.
Google scholar
Google Scholar often digs up good resources that the other databases don't. So it is a good database to use in addition to the others. Use the "Check Tripod" and "Find it @ Swarthmore" links to see if we have access to full text.
Scirus
Searchable database of scientific resources found on the World Wide Web.
Note: You can turn on the FIND IT! button in Scirus by going to SEARCH PREFERENCES. Select ENABLE next to ‘Library Partner Links’, then select Swarthmore College Library from the drop-down menu. Then select the SAVE PREFERENCES button.
Note: You can turn on the FIND IT! button in Scirus by going to SEARCH PREFERENCES. Select ENABLE next to ‘Library Partner Links’, then select Swarthmore College Library from the drop-down menu. Then select the SAVE PREFERENCES button.
Physics today
Holdings:
(Bryn Mawr College) Available from 1948-present.
(Haverford College) Available from 1948-present.
(Swarthmore College) Available from 1948-present.
Publisher: [College Park, Md.] : American Institute of Physics.
Access back to 1985 (soon to be expanded back to 1948) to this popular Physics publication. A good source of ideas for physics topics.
Finding Web Sites - Metasites:
Google Directory: Physics
Intute Physics
The Intute Physics Gateway provides free access to high quality resources on the Internet. Each resource has been evaluated and categorised by subject specialists based at UK universities. Our target audience is students, staff and researchers in higher and further education.
InterLibrary Loan & TriCollege Borrowing:
While Cornell Library has a really good collection, obviously there will be times when we don't actually own something you've located in your research. That is when you'll need to borrow from other libraries and to do this you will need Inter-Library Loan (ILL).
Tri-College ILL - BOOKS: If you want a book from Bryn Mawr or Haverford, simply press the REQUEST button at the top of the Tripod screen. Enter your name & barcode, and select WHERE you want to pick up the book. Delivery takes approximately one day library to library.
Non-TriCollege ILL - BOOKS: For books NOT available in Tripod, try E-Z Borrow and request books directly from nearby Pennsylvania & NJ libraries. Books usually arrive within a few days. If the book is not available via EZ Borrow, try regular InterLibrary Loan. (Use Worldcat to get complete BOOK information).
JOURNAL ARTICLES: For articles in journals not available from the main libraries in TriCo*, use the online ILL form. You must put the COMPLETE JOURNAL TITLE in your request - do not use abbreviations, or your request will most likely be sent back to you. For complete journal titles, check the book behind the Circulation Desk, or go to Journal Abbreviation Sources.
* Journals DO circulate from main libraries, so if you need an article from a non-science library journal, place a hold on the actual journal volume in Tripod and it will be sent via TriCo van!
Citing Resources:
Duke University Citation Guide
For online information on CITING information, check out this online guide. It gives examples of different citation styles (APA, MLA, Chicago & Turabian) for both print & electronic resources.