Fun puzzles that use physics to explore the wonders of everyday life
Physics can explain many of the things that we commonly encounter. It can tell us why the night is dark, what causes the tides, and even how best to catch a baseball. With In Praise of Simple Physics, popular math and science writer Paul Nahin presents a plethora of situations that explore the science and math behind the wonders of everyday life. Roaming through a diverse range of puzzles, he illustrates how physics shows us ways to wring more energy from renewable sources, to measure the gravity in our car garages, to figure out which of three light switches in the basement controls the light bulb in the attic, and much, much more.
How fast can you travel from London to Paris? How do scientists calculate the energy of an atomic bomb explosion? How do you kick a football so it stays in the air and goes a long way downfield? Nahin begins with simpler problems and progresses to more challenging questions, and his entertaining, accessible, and scientifically and mathematically informed explanations are all punctuated by his trademark humor. Readers are presumed to have some background in beginning differential and integral calculus. Whether you simply have a personal interest in physics' influence in the world or you're an engineering and science student who wants to gain more physics know-how, this book has an intriguing scenario for you.
In Praise of Simple Physics proves that if we look carefully at the world around us, physics has answers for the most astonishing day-to-day occurrences.
A collection of stimulating probability puzzles from best-selling math writer Paul Nahin
What are the chances of a game-show contestant finding a chicken in a box? Is the Hanukkah dreidel a fair game? Will you be alive ten years from now? These are some of the one-of-a-kind probability puzzles that popular math writer Paul Nahin offers in this informative book. Nahin brings probability to life with colorful historical anecdotes and a unique puzzle-solving approach that illustrates many of the techniques mathematicians and scientists use to grapple with probability. He looks at classic puzzles--from Galileo's dice-tossing problem to a disarming dice puzzle that would have astonished even Newton--and presents a dozen challenge problems and twenty-five probability puzzlers. With wit and insight, Nahin demonstrates why seemingly simple probability problems can stump even the experts.
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