Physics and Astronomy
Library Help
Questions about finding articles, books, or data? Or about printers, off-campus access, or Google Scholar? Please feel free to email me or make an appointment. My contact information is to the left. Library information is also available 24x7 in the following ways.
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Physics and Astronomy Information Sources
Use these databases to find journal articles. Need more options? See database lists for Physics and Astronomy & Astrophysics.
- arXivHosted by Cornell University, arXiv is a collection of e-prints (electronic preprints) in physics, mathematics, non-linear science, computer science, and quantitative biology.
- Astrophysics Data System (ADS)The NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)is a digital library for astronomy and astrophysics. It also covers other subject areas including electrical engineering, geophysics, physics, and instrumentation. For scanned journals, coverage goes back to Volume 1. For journals not yet scanned, coverage usually goes back to 1975. Sources of data and information include journals, books, conference proceedings, observatory reports and newsletters, some NASA reports, and PhD theses.
- Engineering VillageA comprehensive engineering database that includes: Compendex, GeoBase, INSPEC, and NTIS in one search.
- Web of ScienceWeb of Science contains content from over 12,000 journals worldwide, including over 150,000 conference proceedings. Covers the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities, back to 1900. Also has powerful citation analysis tools.
- Encyclopedia of DistancesIncludes sections on Earth-related and astronomical distances.
- Encyclopedia of Applied and Computational MathematicsIncludes many entries related to various problems within the field of physics.
Catalyst searches all the JHU libraries. If the book you want isn't available you have a few options:
- request using BorrowDirect; you'll receive it within 4-5 business days
- request through Interlibrary Loan
Preprint repositories allow researchers to share articles and reports of their research without going through the journal peer review process.
- INSPIRE: High Energy Physics (HEP)A one-stop information platform for the HEP community, comprising 8 interlinked databases on literature, conferences, institutions, journals, researchers, experiments, jobs and data.
Conference proceedings can be found in a variety of databases.
- ScopusProvides article- and researcher-level metrics, as well as graphs.
Technical reports describe research done in response to a specific need and serve as a report of accountability to the funding agency. Funding agencies are often government agencies, but can also be private organizations as well.
A patent offers a monopoly on an invention for about 20 years depending on the country where the patent was issued. It gives the patent owner exclusive rights to exclude others from making or selling the invention described in the patent. Patents are useful for searching in order to identify new research fronts or licensing opportunities; avoid duplication of research effort. A patent contains valuable diagrams and detailed description that are often unpublished elsewhere.
Data archives are extremely important in astronomy and physics. JHU Data Management Services can assist you with your own data, whether it's crafting a data management plan or finding the best repository.
JoVE Basic & Intermediate Physics Concepts Video Database
JoVE Science Education Database provides videos that graphically teach basic and intermediate concepts in physics.