Back-of-the-Envelope Physics

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JHU Press, 30 may 2003 - 155 páginas

The author is the winner of the 2007 Melba Newell Phillips Award given by the American Association of Physics Teachers. Previously, he was awarded their Oersted Medal.

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.

 

Páginas seleccionadas

Índice

Chapter 1 Force and Pressure
1
Chapter 2 Mechanics and Rotation
22
Chapter 3 Sound and Waves
41
Chapter 4 Heat
60
Chapter 5 Optics
71
Chapter 6 Electricity
77
Chapter 7 Earth
100
Chapter 8 Astronomy
118
Chapter 9 Atoms and Molecules
128
Chapter 10 Particles and Quanta
141
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Otras ediciones - Ver todo

Back-of-the-Envelope Physics
Clifford Swartz
Vista previa restringida - 2004
Back-of-the-Envelope Physics
Clifford Swartz
Vista previa restringida - 2003
Back-of-the-Envelope Physics
Clifford Swartz
Vista previa restringida - 2003
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Términos y frases comunes

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Sobre el autor (2003)

Clifford Swartz is a professor emeritus of physics at State University of New York, Stony Brook. He is the former editor of The Physics Teacher 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. He is the author of Back-of-the-Envelope Physics (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003).

Información bibliográfica

TítuloBack-of-the-Envelope Physics
AutorClifford Swartz
Ediciónilustrada
EditorJHU Press, 2003
ISBN0801872626, 9780801872624
N.º de páginas155 páginas
  
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