Back-of-the-envelope physics

Author:Clifford E. Swartz

Summary:Annotation 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

eBook, English, 2003

Edition:View all formats and editions

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2003

Series:

Back-of-the-envelope

Genre:Trivia and miscellanea

Physical Description:1 online resource (xvii, 155 pages) : illustrations

ISBN:

9780801881640, 9780801872624, 9780801872631, 0801881641, 0801872626, 0801872634