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The Library

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

  • Support Student Success—Make Textbooks Affordable for All!This link opens in a new window The rising cost of textbooks and course materials puts a financial strain on Triton students, making academic success more challenging than ever. Did you know that some students spend over $1,200 a year on textbooks alone? This forces difficult choices between purchasing required materials and meeting basic needs. UC San Diego Library plays a vital … Apr 9, 2025
  • Celebrate Earth Month with Sustainability-Related BooksThis link opens in a new window Celebrate Earth Month by checking out a sustainability-related book or two! Stop by the Meet Spot near Geisel Library’s main entrance during the month of April and browse a selection of sustainability-related titles. The theme for Earth Day 2025 is our power and our planet, with a focus on clean, renewable energy. Apr 7, 2025
  • Last Call for 2025 Art of Science Contest SubmissionsThis link opens in a new window Calling all undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, faculty and project scientists: You have until Sunday, April 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT to submit visually engaging images derived from your research! Read below for more details. Explore the beauty of scientific discovery through the Art of Science contest, where research meets creativity. UC San Diego students, … Apr 4, 2025
  • UC San Diego Welcomes Visiting Scholars From KazakhstanThis link opens in a new window UC San Diego Division of Extension Studies recently hosted a group of visiting scholars from Kazakhstan as part of the Bolashak Leadership Academy for International Professionals. As the first cohort concluded their time in San Diego, they expressed their appreciation by donating books to the Library on Kazakhstan and their respective research areas. On March … Mar 21, 2025
  • Featured E-Resources: March 2025This link opens in a new window The Library would like to showcase some electronic resources in our collection that you may find useful for your studies. They span multiple disciplines and are available to the entire UC San Diego community, either on campus or remotely via the VPN. For questions about these resources, contact us. O’Reilly for Higher Education O’Reilly for Higher Education … Mar 18, 2025
  • Kenward Elmslie’s Enduring Impact on PoetryThis link opens in a new window This story is from the Fall/Winter 2024-25 issue of Explore, UC San Diego Library’s signature publication published for a broad readership of patrons and supporters both on and off campus. The Library has received a $500,000 endowment from the estate of poet, performer and librettist Kenward Elmslie to support the Archive for New Poetry (ANP) … Mar 11, 2025
  • Apply for the 2025 Undergraduate Library Research PrizeThis link opens in a new window This prestigious award recognizes undergraduate students who have demonstrated a strategic and effective use of the Library’s resources in support of their research and presented a research project under faculty mentorship within the past 12 months. The contest is co-sponsored by UC San Diego Library, UC San Diego Alumni and the Undergraduate Research Hub. Eligibility … Mar 1, 2025
  • Featured E-Resources: February 2025This link opens in a new window The Library would like to showcase some electronic resources in our collection that you may find useful for your studies. They span multiple disciplines and are available to the entire UC San Diego community, either on campus or remotely via the VPN. For questions about these resources, contact us. ProQuest Congressional This resource indexes Congressional materials from … Feb 25, 2025
  • Research Data at UC San Diego LibraryThis link opens in a new window Thanks for joining us for Love Data Week! We hope you enjoyed learning more about the data resources available through the Library.  The Research Data Curation program at UC San Diego Library works with UC San Diego researchers to share and preserve their data in the Library’s Digital Collections, a curated repository for sharing and … Feb 14, 2025
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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
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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.