Everything You Need to Know About Physics

by Stebben, Gregg; Orange, Daniel; Boyles, Denis

• ISBN13: 9780671534905
• ISBN10: 0671534904
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-10-01
• Publisher: Pocket Books

Summary

If you think the Laws of Motion are only discussed in the local traffic court, or that E=mc[superscript 2] is the name of a rap group, The Pocket Professor: Physics is just the thing to accelerate your learning curve and give you the vocabulary and core knowledge you need to make sense of the rules that govern our universe. You'll learn why Galileo dropped the ball, follow Planck on his quantum leap, and perceive the relative genius of Einstein. Taking you to the eve of the atom's discovery and explaining the seriousness of gravity, this invaluable volume gives you everything you need to better understand the world according to Newton (that's Sir Isaac, not Big Fig). Book jacket.

Table of Contents

WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN	1	(1)
WHY DOES THE SUN ALWAYS SET IN THE WEST?	2	(1)
WHAT IS PHYSICS?	2	(1)
WHAT IS HARD?	3	(1)
WHAT IF PHYSICS WERE SIMPLE?	4	(3)
YOU GOT A PROBLEM?	7	(4)
Albert Einstein Explains How to Think About Thinking	7	(1)
GALILEO'S SCIENTIFIC METHOD UNVEILED	8	(3)
How Carl Sagan Separated the Scientific Truth from the Bull	10	(1)
HOW TO TALK IN PHYSICS	11	(7)
English-to-Physics Dictionary	12	(6)
PHYSICS ACROSS THREE TIME ZONES	18	(1)
Physics Timeline Explained	18	(1)
Two THOUSAND YEARS OF WRONG THINKING IN PHYSICS	19	(4)
The Way Things Weren't	19	(1)
ARISTARCHUS AND ARISTOTLE	20	(1)
Missing the Boat with Aristotle	21	(1)
PTOLEMY WHAT YOU THINK	21	(2)
ARISTARCHUS GETS VINDICATED AND PTOLEMY GETS A KICK IN THE PBUTT	23	(1)
LET THE CLASSICAL PHYSICS REVOLUTION BEGIN	23	(21)
GALILEO DEVELOPS THE FIRST ASTRONOMICAL TELESCOPE	23	(1)
SCIENCE THROWS DOWN THE GAUNTLET	23	(1)
GALILEO TAKES ON THE CHURCH... AND PUBLIC OPINION	24	(1)
GALILEO TAKES ON ARISTOTLE	24	(1)
"WHAT IF PHYSICS WERE DIFFERENT?"	25	(1)
GALILEO STARTS SMALL	26	(1)
GALILEO'S NEXT PROBLEM...	26	(3)
GALILEO AS SUPERMAN	29	(1)
BUT GALILEO DOESN'T COMPLETE THE CIRCLE	30	(1)
KEPLER IS LOYAL TO THE CHURCH BUT SUPPORTS GALILEO, TOO	31	(1)
DESCARTES ADDS HIS TWO CENTS AND FINALLY GETS AHEAD OF THE HORSE	32	(1)
NEWTON WINS THE GLORY	33	(1)
"SOLAR" SYSTEM? WHAT A CONCEPT!	33	(1)
NEWTON STEALS MORE IDEAS FROM GALILEO	34	(1)
HOW TO THINK LIKE ISAAC NEWTON	34	(1)
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO NEWTON	35	(2)
Phenomenon, Phenomena	35	(2)
GRAVITY... AS YOU'VE NEVER KNOWN HER	37	(4)
The Ultimate Gravity Proof	39	(2)
The Other Ultimate Gravity Proof	41	(1)
The Final Ultimate Gravity Proof	41	(1)
MARILYN, ELVIS, AND ISAAC?	41	(1)
Three Things Isaac Newton and a First Lady Have in Common	42	(1)
NEW STUDY SHOWS IT'S NOT JUST CRIMINALS WHO HATE NEWTON	42	(1)
MAYBE IT'S JUST A SIGN OF THE TIMES	43	(1)
KEEPING THE PLANETS IN LINE	44	(3)
ELLIPTICALLY SPEAKING	44	(1)
DISTANCE (Divided by) TIME = SPEED	45	(1)
A MATTER OF GRAVITY	46	(1)
GRAVITY'S NOT THE ONLY FORCE	47	(2)
Do-It-Yourself Gravity	49	(1)
GREAT STRIDES IN PHYSICS	49	(25)
CLASSICAL MECHANICS	50	(6)
Alternative Energy Source?	51	(1)
An Analogy to Drool Over	52	(4)
ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM	56	(5)
Four Things Ben Franklin Never Knew About Electricity	58	(3)
HEAT	61	(8)
Gas, Liquid, or Solid?	66	(3)
SOUND	69	(3)
Catch a Wave! Eleven Things Your Local Surfer Can Teach You About Physics	70	(2)
LIGHT	72	(2)
...THE END OF CLASSICAL PHYSICS	74	(2)
WHAT'S AN ATOM?	74	(1)
ERNEST RUTHERFORD DISCOVERS THE NUCLEUS	75	(1)
THE BIRTH OF QUANTUM THEORY	76	(50)
And Let's Not Forget the Ether Question	77	(1)
ALBERT EINSTEIN MOUNTS A SIDE ATTACK ON NEWTON AND CLASSICAL PHYSICS	78	(1)
Love Your Underachiever	78	(1)
Or Did Albert Have a Master Plan?	79	(1)
EINSTEIN HAS A GOOD YEAR	79	(1)
Al Has an Even Better Year... While Taking a Road Trip 42 Years After He Died	80	(1)
E=MC^2	80	(1)
How Albert Einstein Tricked the Teacher	81	(1)
"ISN'T THAT SPECIAL?"	81	(1)
"WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT?"	81	(2)
FROM "HOW COME ...?" TO "WHAT IF... ?"	83	(1)
NOW IT'S TIME FOR AN EINSTEIN ANECDOTE	83	(2)
"WHAT DID YOU SEE AND WHEN DID YOU SEE IT?"	85	(2)
Faster than a Speeding Gedanken...	86	(1)
THE BOTTOM LINE ON EINSTEIN'S SPECIAL RELATIVITY	87	(1)
"THIS IS EINSTEIN TO MISSION CONTROL"	87	(3)
SPACE AND TIME	90	(4)
My Time Isn't Your Time	91	(3)
THE EINSTEIN ADDENDUM	94	(1)
Heads or Tails?	94	(1)
"WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT, ALFIE?"	95	(3)
Yikes! Light Bends! Space Is Warped!	96	(2)
"GO STRAIGHT, YOUNG MAN"	98	(1)
WHEW! THAT'S A RELIEF--EVEN EINSTEIN COULD FAIL!	99	(1)
CONTRAST WITH A THEORY CALLED CHAOS	100	(1)
BACK TO THE QUANTUM HIGHWAY	100	(3)
A Technical Physics Term: "Weird"	102	(1)
TEN RANDOM CLUES ABOUT QUANTUM PHYSICS THAT WON'T HELP YOU UNDERSTAND IT AT ALL	103	(23)
But What About Schrodinger's Cat?	113	(1)
And Einstein's Cat...	113	(2)
Your Favorite Physicists Trade Barbs	115	(11)
HOW TO MAKE A STARTLING NEW DISCOVERY IN PHYSICS	126	(9)
How to Succeed in Physics	127	(2)
ARE GREAT PHYSICISTS BORN OR MADE?	129	(1)
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY	130	(1)
HOW TO WIN THE NOBEL PRIZE...	131	(1)
... AND WHAT TO DO AFTER YOU'VE WON IT	132	(2)
BEST-SELLING AUTHORS AS PHYSICISTS	134	(1)
A Few Final Words	135