Back-of-the-Envelope Physics

Back-of-the-Envelope Physics by Clifford Swartz

Physicists use "back-of-the-envelope" estimates to check whether or not an idea could possibly be right. In many cases, the approximate solution is all that is needed. This compilation of 101 examples of back-of-the-envelope calculations celebrates a quantitative approach to solving physics problems. Drawing on a lifetime of physics research and nearly three decades as the editor of The Physics Teacher, Clifford Swartz provides simple, approximate solutions to physics problems that span a broad range of topics. What note do you get when you blow across the top of a Coke bottle? Could you lose weight on a diet of ice cubes? How can a fakir lie on a bed of nails without getting hurt? Does draining water in the northern hemisphere really swirl in a different direction than its counterpart below the equator? In each case, only a few lines of arithmetic and a few natural constants solve a problem to within a few percent. Covering such subjects as astronomy, magnetism, optics, sound, heat, mechanics, waves, and electricity, the book provides a rich source of material for teachers and anyone interested in the physics of everyday life.

This delightfully broad spectrum of 104 familiar situations, each one or two pages long, includes the terminal velocity of falling objects, fatal impacts during car wrecks, timing to find the distance of lightning strikes, investigating the size and power of binoculars, and the height of Earth's atmosphere.. For the well-grounded physics enthusiast. Choice 2004 A physics educator's coffee-table book-a delightful and instructive accessory to an introductory physics course. Physics World Physicists young and old should follow Fermi and Swartz and hone a competency for back-of-the-envelope physics. -- Robert K. Adair Physics Today 2004 An entertaining new book Back-of-the-Envelope Physics by Clifford Swartz nicely provides material to assist students (and teachers!) gain experience in handling real-world physics. -- Colin Keay The Physicist 2004

Clifford Swartz is a professor emeritus of physics at State University of New York, Stony Brook. He was the editor of The Physics Teacher for twenty-nine years and has written numerous physics texts for students from kindergarten to graduate level. He was the recipient in 2007 of the Melba Newell Phillips Award and in 1987 of the Oersted Medal, the most prestigious award of the American Association of Physics Teachers.

SKU	Nicht verfügbar
ISBN 13	9780801872631
ISBN 10	0801872634
Titel	Back-of-the-Envelope Physics
Autor	Clifford Swartz
Buchzustand	Nicht verfügbar
Bindungsart	Paperback
Verlag	Johns Hopkins University Press
Erscheinungsjahr	2003-07-25
Seitenanzahl	176
Preise	Winner of Melba Newell Phillips Award 2007 (United States)
Hinweis auf dem Einband	Die Abbildung des Buches dient nur Illustrationszwecken, die tatsächliche Bindung, das Cover und die Auflage können sich davon unterscheiden.
Hinweis	Nicht verfügbar