Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Nahin's writing style, as in previous books, is clear, conversational, humorous and chatty... [A]nd the discussions in the book are careful and appropriately rigorous."--MAA Reviews "Fun, accessible physics/math problems along with some humor."--Antonio Cangiano, Math-Blog "[Nahin] knows how to catch the attention of his reader. You will not regret buying any of his books, and I am sure after reading it, you will pick up this one to check again on one of his models and his solution methods."--European Mathematical Society "A superb book... [D]emonstrates clever ways to solve simply physics problems."--Choice
Table of ContentsForeword by T. M. Helliwell ix Preface with Challenge Problems xi 1 How's Your Math? 1 2 The Traffic-Light Dilemma 20 3 Energy from Moving Air 25 4 Dragsters and Space Station Physics 32 5 Merry-Go-Round Physics and the Tides 42 6 Energy from Moving Water 51 7 Vectors and Bad Hair Days 63 8 An Illuminating Problem 67 9 How to Measure Depth with a Stopwatch 74 10 Doing the Preface Problems 79 11 The Physics of Stacking Books 92 12 Communication Satellite Physics 103 13 Walking a Ladder Upright 110 14 Why Is the Sky Dark at Night? 115 15 How Some Things Float (or Don't) 126 16 A Reciprocating Problem 141 17 How to Catch a Baseball (or Not) 146 18 Tossing Balls and Shooting Bullets Uphill 153 19 Rapid Travel in a Great Circle Transit Tube 163 20 Hurtling Your Body through Space 177 21 The Path of a Punt 194 22 Easy Ways to Measure Gravity in Your Garage 200 23 Epilogue Newton's Gravity Calculation Mistake 218 Postscript 227 Acknowledgments
