This book is suitable for a first year, non-calculus physics course. It covers mechanics, fluids, gravitation, thermal physics, electricity and magnetism, and modern physics, including atoms, an introduction to quantum mechanics, special relativity, and nuclear and particle physics. Trigonometric functions and vectors are introduced as needed.

How Things Work provides an accessible introduction to physics for the non-science student. Like the previous editions it employs everyday objects, with which students are familiar, in case studies to explain the most essential physics concepts of day-to-day life. Lou Bloomfield takes seemingly highly complex devices and strips away the complexity to show how at their heart are simple physics ideas. Once these concepts are understood, they can be used to understand the behavior of many devices encountered in everyday life. The sixth edition uses the power of WileyPLUS Learning Space with Orion to give students the opportunity to actively practice the physics concepts presented in this edition. This text is an unbound, three hole punched version. Access to WileyPLUS sold separately.

Can you really lose weight by consuming nothing but ice cream and beer? How does the latest blockbuster movie get squeezed onto a disk, and how do they make the pictures seem 3D? How much does a selfie weigh? What's the science behind forensic investigations, body scans, and the dating of ancient artefacts? The Physics Behind... takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the scientific principles that that make the modern world work. Could there be life on Mars? Why is north really south? How do self-driving cars find their way around? These and many more topics are explored by starting with the basic science that makes them tick - examining the physics behind them. Packed with detailed original artwork and infographics, The Physics Behind... is perfect for anyone who has ever been curious about the science of life. Including: - The physics behind modern life: Wi-Fi, Facial recognition, touchscreens, microwave ovens, the ice cream and beer diet, taking a selfie, Flash memory, a bag of sugar, catching the train, calendars and clocks - The physics behind entertainment: optical discs, lasers, white water, executive toys, the electric guitar, music, 3D movies - The physics behind analysis: medical imaging, looking at little things, spectroscopy, crime scene investigation, tricorder, microfluidics, radiocarbon dating, proving the Earth is round - The physics behind space: rocket science, space weather, Planet Nine, space telescopes, is there anybody out there? life on Earth, life on Mars - The physics behind big science: what's the matter?, time travel, bomb or meltdown?, the Large Hadron Collider, the Human Genome Project, the Standard Model, gravity, everything - The physics behind the weird universe: strings, rings and other things, N-dimensional space, the hypercube, antimatter, the dark universe, quantum weirdness, quantum biology, time crystals and Majorana - The physics behind the environment: weather forecasts, climate change, renewable energy, migration, peacock feathers, sunburn, rainbows, spider silk - The physics behind transportation: autonomous autos, Hyperloop, Maglev, satellite navigation, motor sport, going rreeaallllyy fast, stealth - The physics behind everything else: curve balls, the Mpemba Effect, why north is really south, perpetual motion and the heat death of the universe, and the physics behind this book.

Physics professor, bestselling author, and dynamic storyteller James Kakalios reveals the mind-bending science behind the seemingly basic things that keep our daily lives running, from our smart phones and digital “clouds” to x-ray machines and hybrid vehicles. Most of us are clueless when it comes to the physics that makes our modern world so convenient. What’s the simple science behind motion sensors, touch screens, and toasters? How do we glide through tolls using an E-Z Pass, or find our way to new places using GPS? In The Physics of Everyday Things, James Kakalios takes us on an amazing journey into the subatomic marvels that underlie so much of what we use and take for granted. Breaking down the world of things into a single day, Kakalios engages our curiosity about how our refrigerators keep food cool, how a plane manages to remain airborne, and how our wrist fitness monitors keep track of our steps. Each explanation is coupled with a story revealing the interplay of the astonishing invisible forces that surround us. Through this “narrative physics,” The Physics of Everyday Things demonstrates that—far from the abstractions conjured by terms like the Higgs Boson, black holes, and gravity waves—sophisticated science is also quite practical. With his signature clarity and inventiveness, Kakalios ignites our imaginations and enthralls us with the principles that make up our lives.

A fascinating and accessible guide to chemistry and physics using the everyday objects around us.

By explaining the physics behind ordinary objects, this book unravels the mysteries of how things work. Using familiar examples from everyday life and modern technology, this book explains the seemingly inexplicable phenomena we encounter all around us. As it examines everything from roller coasters to radio, musical instruments to makeup, and knuckleballs to nuclear weapons, How Everything Works provides the answers to such questions as why the sky is blue, why metal is a problem in microwave ovens, and why some clothes require dry cleaning. With fascinating and fun real-life examples that provide the answers to scores of questions, How Everything Works is nothing short of a user's manual to our everyday world.

“Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it.” Since Niels Bohr said this many years ago, quantum mechanics has only been getting more shocking. We now realize that it’s not really telling us that “weird” things happen out of sight, on the tiniest level, in the atomic world: rather, everything is quantum. But if quantum mechanics is correct, what seems obvious and right in our everyday world is built on foundations that don’t seem obvious or right at all—or even possible. An exhilarating tour of the contemporary quantum landscape, Beyond Weird is a book about what quantum physics really means—and what it doesn’t. Science writer Philip Ball offers an up-to-date, accessible account of the quest to come to grips with the most fundamental theory of physical reality, and to explain how its counterintuitive principles underpin the world we experience. Over the past decade it has become clear that quantum physics is less a theory about particles and waves, uncertainty and fuzziness, than a theory about information and knowledge—about what can be known, and how we can know it. Discoveries and experiments over the past few decades have called into question the meanings and limits of space and time, cause and effect, and, ultimately, of knowledge itself. The quantum world Ball shows us isn’t a different world. It is our world, and if anything deserves to be called “weird,” it’s us.

Have you ever looked at a car and wondered how it worked? Maybe an airplane piqued your curiosity, or the arches of a particular building, or maybe a piece of technology that you handle daily, such as your phone? Objects, history, places, processes... all fall under the umbrella of "thing." Learn about how these things developed over time and how they impacted the course of human development. From ancient chariots of war, to the telegraph, to the technologies of the future, learn about the mechanics of the world around us. With full color cross sections, this new and revised version of How Things Work updates readers on questions of the ever-evolving world around us. More than 100 "things" are dissected so that one can examine the inner workings from milk production to touch screens. The book is broken categorically into ten sections (Ancient Civilizations, Architecture, Communication, Energy, Everyday Technology, Food Industry, Machines of War, Science, Space Exploration, Transportation), readers are given a complete education on the mechanics of the world around them. Each chapter has eleven subjects that are dissected through diagrams and cross sections with cut away images to show what is really under the surface of each item and process. A thematic index at the end allows one to easily locate all items of interest. The world is a complex and confusing place. How Things Work does it's best to bring down the confusion a little bit.

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.

In this thought-provoking follow-up to his acclaimed StarTalk book, uber astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson tackles the world's most important philosophical questions about the universe with wit, wisdom, and cutting-edge science. For science geeks, space and physics nerds, and all who want to understand their place in the universe, this enlightening new book from Neil deGrasse Tyson offers a unique take on the mysteries and curiosities of the cosmos, building on rich material from his beloved StarTalk podcast. In these illuminating pages, illustrated with dazzling photos and revealing graphics, Tyson and co-author James Trefil, a renowned physicist and science popularizer, take on the big questions that humanity has been posing for millennia--How did life begin? What is our place in the universe? Are we alone?--and provide answers based on the most current data, observations, and theories. Populated with paradigm-shifting discoveries that help explain the building blocks of astrophysics, this relatable and entertaining book will engage and inspire readers of all ages, bring sophisticated concepts within reach, and offer a window into the complexities of the cosmos. or all who loved National Geographic's StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos: Possible Worlds, and Space Atlas, this new book will take them on more journeys into the wonders of the universe and beyond.