Mad About Physics: Braintwisters, Paradoxes, and Curiosities (Paperback)

~ (Author), Franklin Potter (Author) "THERMAL ENERGY IS AN INTEGRAL COMPONENT of our environment, but we tend to forget its severe limitations on our activities..." (more)
Key Phrases: Physics Teacher, New York, Scientific American (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This entertaining book is sure to appeal to anyone with an interest in what makes the world work the way it does. The question-and-answer format makes for easy comprehension, and the authors' explanations of even the most complicated phenomena are always clear and precise. Readers for whom the term science book conjures up memories of school textbooks will be pleasantly surprised by this volume's readability. Although some of the 397 questions discuss complex subjects, others address such seemingly mundane issues as why the little plastic "drinking bird" toy keeps on drinking and why, if you pay close attention, you can see more meteors near morning than in the middle of the night. And many of the answers are downright stunning, at least for general readers: a pound of feathers, for instance, really does weigh more than a pound of iron. The book's balance between the simple and the complex means it should appeal to all readers, no matter what their degree of expertise. A good choice for anyone who enjoyed David Feldman's popular Imponderable series. David Pitt
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Product Description

Why is there eight times more ice in Antarctica than in the Arctic? Why can you warm your hands by blowing gently, and cool your hands by blowing hard? Why would a pitcher scuff a baseball?Which weighs more–a pound of feathers or a pound of iron? Let science experts Christopher Jargodzki and Franklin Potter guide you through the curiosities of physics and you’ll find the answers to these and hundreds of other quirky conundrums. You’ll discover why sounds carry well over water (especially in the summer), how a mouse can be levitated in a magnetic field, why backspin is so important when shooting a basketball, and whether women are indeed as strong as men.

With nearly 400 questions and answers on everything from race cars to jumping fleas to vanishing elephants, Mad about Physics presents a comprehensive collection of braintwisters and paradoxes that will challenge and entertain even the brainiest of science lovers. Whether you’re a physicist by trade or just want to give your brain a power workout, this collection of intriguing and unusual physics challenges will send you on a highly entertaining ride that reveals the relevance of physics in our everyday lives.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (November 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471569615
• ISBN-13: 978-0471569619
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #86,138 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fun for experts and novices alike, December 25, 2001

By	M. H. Bayliss "book queen" - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

It's been over 20 years since I've had any physics, but I still enjoyed the riddles and questions in this book -- sure, some were over my head, but I still could understand lots of the explanations. Plus, the examples are practical enough to make you the star of your next party: is it better (which will make it COOL faster) to let black coffee cool first and then put in cold milk or to put cold milk in and let it cool? Coffee drinkers will be happy to know that black coffee cools faster than white so wait a few minutes before pouring your cold milk in if you want it to cool quickly. If you like these kinds of brainteasers, you'll love this book. An appropriate gift for students and pondering adults alike. The authors also provide interesting quotes in the margins that make for good reading as well. Some of the explanations are a bit too brief if you really want to understand the physics behind it, but the authors provide the reader with enough information to dig deeper. Fun!

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Grandchild Gift!, March 27, 2001

By	Paula Presley (Kirksville, Missouri) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

On a friend's recommendation, I bought this book for a grandchild. I now have three copies, which will go to three families of grandchildren, ages preschool to junior high.

The book's format of numbered questions or "puzzles", with answers in the back of the book, presents ideas that parents can use to guide young children into "thinking scientifically," Older children on their own can return again and again to the book to understand why things function as they do. This is great fodder for parents to help their school-age children plan science projects, at various levels.

The outside margin of each page has thought-provoking quotations from the famous and the not-so-famous as well as humorous observations. This is truly a book to which one will return again and again.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for Physics Enthusiasts!, September 6, 2001

By	"soreloser" (Singapore) - See all my reviews

I bought this book after reading the previous reviews, and it was exactly the book I had imagined. The more you read, the more you want to know about the world and how things work in our world. Physics is amazingly applied throughout our lives knowingly and unknowingly. The curiosities just keep going. After finishing it, you can correct your friends on misconcepted ideas or explain to them the theories behind an event.

This paperback has 397 questions/puzzles, each with an answer in the back. Questions range from simple ones like what is the difference between gas and vapor, to more complex ones like the architecture of a rollercoaster. Although someone earlier had recommended this book for children, I would say that most of the braintwisters require some fundamental understanding of physics that a highschool student would have an easier time with. But again it is certainly a great choice and a must-have if you are one of those physics maniacs like me.