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Physics & Astronomy

Basic guide to resources in physics and astronomy

Main Article Databases

Find journal articles on your topic.  In some databases you'll find conference papers as well.

Use Get it at UC to locate the full text of articles, if the Library licenses it.  Or find the print copy in the Library collections.

tips iconYou must be logged into the VPN with 2-Step Secured - allthruucsd if working from off-campus or use the UCSD Protected WiFi (not guest) to access the information for any database with a blue lock icon. blue locked padlock

Need help?  Email me via the Ask a Librarian form

Books, Textbooks and Journals

Find books, textbooks and journals on your topic in the UCSD Libraries' catalog, UC Library Search.

Include "textbook" as a keyword to find textbooks. Use Find Journal to search for journal titles.  Use Get it at UC if you have a specific journal article citation.  Locate books outside of UCSD to request (fastest if a book is held at another UC) or with Circuit (SD area). 
Circuit is really useful - books arrive in about a week.  Since the current UCSD Library policy since 2020 is to stop recalls of UCSD Library books (except for Course Reserves), you might have to wait months to a year before you get notified that your hold on a UCSD Library book is available.

Library News for engineering, math & physical science

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  • New Popular Science Books – Summer 2023This link opens in a new window A lot of new arrivals for our popular science reading collection, including The exceptions : Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the fight for women in science, Vitamin C : a 500-year scientific biography from scurvy to pseudoscience, and A history of the world through body parts : the stories behind the organs, appendages, digits, and the … Jun 12, 2023
  • New Encyclopedias: Chemistry, Electronic Materials, and MedicineThis link opens in a new window The UC San Diego Library recently purchased these Elsevier major reference works: Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry, 3rd edition covers fundamental principles, recent discoveries, and significant applications of elements and their compounds, focusing on main group chemistry, biological inorganic chemistry, solid state and materials chemistry, catalysis, and new developments in electrochemistry and photochemistry, as well as NMR … Jun 6, 2023
  • New Popular Science Books for the Winter BreakThis link opens in a new window Looking for some reading over the coming winter break? Check out the latest titles added to our Popular Science Collection (Geisel 2 West Wing). The books on the guide all have links back to UC Library Search, so you can make sure it’s on the shelf if you want to check it out. Dec 2, 2022

Google?

Google can give you a start on your research, but using Google Scholar is smarter.  You'll search only academic resources, and if you set your Scholar Preferences to "University of California, San Diego - Get it at UC" you'll be able to use Get it at UC link resolver to get to article PDFs when you're off campus as long as you have VPN switched on with 2-Step Secured - allthruucsd.