Superstrings and Other Things: A Guide to PhysicsSuperstrings and Other Things: A Guide to Physics takes readers on a fascinating journey through physics. Written in an accessible style, this comprehensive guide explains the basic concepts of motion, energy, and gravity, through to the latest theories about the structure of matter, the origin of the universe, and the beginning of time. Fully illustrated throughout, the book explores major discoveries and the scientists behind them, from Galileo and Newton, Einstein and Bohr to Feynman and Hawking. Numerous examples of physics in everyday situations are provided and explained in an easy-to-understand way. Intended for the general reader with an inquiring mind, this guide will also be indispensable to students and scientists in other disciplines, and professionals in non-scientific fields who would like to understand the basic concepts of physics. |
Contents
PHYSICS THE FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE | 1 |
learning from our mistakes | 5 |
Physics and other sciences | 7 |
measurement | 11 |
Fundamental units | 13 |
Physics and mathematics | 16 |
Very small numbers | 17 |
Measuring the circumference of the Earth | 18 |
Electric dentists | 273 |
Resistor combinations | 276 |
Electrical energy and power | 278 |
Semiconductors | 279 |
Superconductors | 285 |
ELECTROMAGNETISM | 289 |
The magnetic field | 290 |
Magnetooptical drives | 293 |
THE LAWS OF MECHANICS | 21 |
THE DESCRIPTION OF MOTION | 23 |
Average speed | 25 |
Friction | 27 |
Instantaneous speed | 28 |
Speed and direction | 29 |
Acceleration | 32 |
Uniformly accelerated motion | 33 |
Falling bodies | 35 |
Galileos method | 37 |
The motion of projectiles | 38 |
THE LAWS OF MECHANICS NEWTONS LAWS OF MOTION | 41 |
The ancient idea of motion | 42 |
The birth of modern science | 43 |
Galileos dialog with Aristotle | 45 |
Galileo formulates the Law of Inertia | 46 |
The Leaning Tower of Pisa | 48 |
Law of inertia | 50 |
Car seat belt | 52 |
Law of force | 54 |
Law of action and reaction | 57 |
ENERGY | 60 |
Units of work and energy | 64 |
James Prescott Joule 18181889 | 65 |
The workenergy theorem | 72 |
Conservative and nonconservative forces | 73 |
CONSERVATION OF ENERGY AND MOMENTUM | 76 |
The principle of conservation of energy | 78 |
The energy of mass | 79 |
Efficiency | 80 |
The physicists letters | 81 |
Power | 83 |
Automobile efficiency | 84 |
Impulse and momentum | 86 |
Air bags | 88 |
Conservation of momentum | 89 |
Elastic and inelastic collisions | 92 |
Cannons and rockets | 93 |
ROTATION AND THE UNIVERSAL LAW OF GRAVITATION | 96 |
CDROM drives | 99 |
Torque and angular momentum | 100 |
Twisting cats | 104 |
Centripetal acceleration | 106 |
Satellites | 108 |
Keplers laws of planetary motion | 112 |
Newtons law of universal gravitation | 116 |
Measuring the distance to the Moon | 122 |
Spacecraft and orbital motion | 123 |
The Global Positioning Satellite System | 126 |
THE STRUCTURE OF MATTER | 129 |
ATOMS BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE UNIVERSE | 131 |
First models of the atom | 134 |
Waves and quanta | 139 |
The Bohr model of the atom | 143 |
Molecules | 145 |
Winemaking | 147 |
THE HEART OF THE ATOM THE NUCLEUS | 149 |
Heisenbergs failing grade | 150 |
The composition of the nucleus | 151 |
The glue that keeps the nucleus together | 153 |
Size and shape of the nucleus | 157 |
Nuclear energy levels | 159 |
FLUIDS | 162 |
Density | 163 |
Pressure | 164 |
Buoyancy | 174 |
Surface tension and capillarity | 177 |
Fluids in motion | 182 |
The human cardiovascular system | 184 |
Curve balls | 185 |
THERMODYNAMICS | 191 |
HEAT AND TEMPERATURE | 193 |
Count Rumford | 195 |
Measuring temperature | 197 |
Temperature and heat | 199 |
Thermography | 202 |
Heat capacity | 203 |
Heat of fusion and heat of vaporization | 205 |
Evaporation and boiling | 208 |
Instant ice cream | 211 |
Thermal expansion | 213 |
The unusual expansion of water | 216 |
THE LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS | 219 |
Automobile engines | 222 |
The zeroth law of thermodynamics | 223 |
The first law of thermodynamics | 224 |
The second law of thermodynamics | 227 |
The third law of thermodynamics | 231 |
Entropy that organizes? | 232 |
Entropy and the origin of the Universe | 233 |
Entropy and the arrow of time | 237 |
ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM | 243 |
ELECTRICITY | 245 |
Coulombs law | 248 |
The electric field | 251 |
The fundamental charge | 254 |
Electrostatics on Mars | 256 |
Electric potential | 258 |
Storing electrical energy | 260 |
Storing single electrons | 262 |
InkJet printers | 263 |
APPLIED ELECTRICITY | 265 |
Electric current and batteries | 266 |
Ohms Law | 268 |
Electric cars | 269 |
A moving charge in a magnetic field | 296 |
Particle accelerators | 299 |
Magnetism of the earth | 302 |
Avian magnetic navigation | 305 |
Faradays law of induction | 307 |
Motors and generators | 310 |
Maxwells equations | 313 |
Microwave ovens | 315 |
WAVE MOTION | 319 |
The principle of superposition | 323 |
Resonance and chaos | 331 |
Chaos in the brain | 334 |
Water waves | 335 |
Seismic waves | 337 |
SOUND | 340 |
The speed of sound | 341 |
Telephone tones | 342 |
Intensity of sound waves | 344 |
The ear | 345 |
Electronic ear implants | 350 |
Musical instruments | 355 |
The Doppler effect | 360 |
Shockwaves | 363 |
Ultrasound | 365 |
OPTICS | 368 |
Reflection from mirrors | 372 |
Curved mirrors | 374 |
Refraction of light | 378 |
Gradientindex lenses | 387 |
Total internal reflection | 388 |
Optical instruments | 391 |
The human eye | 397 |
Artificial vision | 401 |
THE NATURE OF LIGHT | 403 |
The speed of light | 404 |
The electromagnetic spectrum | 409 |
Color | 411 |
The signature of atoms | 415 |
Youngs experiment | 419 |
Polarization | 423 |
Lasers | 428 |
Compact disc player | 432 |
Holography | 433 |
MODERN PHYSICS | 437 |
THE SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY | 439 |
The MichelsonMorley experiment | 443 |
Einsteins postulates | 447 |
Time dilation | 451 |
Intergalactic travel | 456 |
Simultaneity | 458 |
Length contraction | 460 |
Addition of velocities | 462 |
Emc² | 463 |
THE GENERAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY | 467 |
Warped spacetime continuum | 471 |
The bending of light | 477 |
The perihelion of Mercury | 481 |
The gravitational time dilation | 483 |
Orbiting clocks | 486 |
Spacetime drag | 492 |
THE EARLY ATOMIC THEORY | 494 |
The photoelectric effect | 497 |
The Bohr model of the atom revisited | 501 |
Using photons to detect tumors | 502 |
De Broglies waves | 504 |
Quantum mechanics | 507 |
QUANTUM MECHANICS | 509 |
Wave mechanics | 512 |
Schrödingers inspired guess | 514 |
Heisenbergs uncertainty principle | 515 |
The new physics | 519 |
Knowledge and certainty | 520 |
Electron microscopes | 521 |
Quantum teleportation | 528 |
NUCLEAR PHYSICS | 530 |
Nuclear reactions | 536 |
Fission and fusion | 538 |
Applications of nuclear physics | 544 |
Enrico Fermi 19011954 | 545 |
Proton beams for cancer therapy | 550 |
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES | 551 |
The fundamental forces | 553 |
Exchange forces | 556 |
Pions | 557 |
Hadrons and leptons | 559 |
Conservation laws | 561 |
Strange particles | 563 |
GellManns quark | 566 |
SUPERFORCE EINSTEINS DREAM | 569 |
Global and local symmetries | 571 |
The electroweak unification | 573 |
The color force | 579 |
GUTs the third unification | 582 |
Supersymmetry and superstrings | 583 |
The creation of the universe | 586 |
The first moments of the universe | 589 |
The cosmic background explorer | 592 |
Appendix A POWERS OF TEN | 594 |
Appendix B THE ELEMENTS | 597 |
Appendix C NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS IN PHYSICS | 600 |
Appendix D PHYSICS TIMELINE | 606 |
Glossary | 613 |
Index | 630 |
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Common terms and phrases
acceleration alpha alpha particle Ampère's law angle angular atoms axis ball baryon beam body Bohr called collision color color charge conservation constant decay detect direction discovery distance Earth Einstein electric charge electric current electric field electron emitted entropy equal equation example experiment figure frequency frontiers of physics galaxies Galileo heat Heisenberg hydrogen increase inertia interaction ions Joule kinetic energy km/h km/s laboratory length lens leptons liquid magnetic field mass mathematical measure metal meter mirror molecules momentum motion moving neutrino neutrons Newton nucleons nucleus object observed optical orbit oscillating particle physicist planet position potential energy pressure principle produced protons quantum mechanics quark radiation radioactive rays reference frame refraction region relativity rotation satellite scientists sound space spectrum speed of light star string substance surface symmetry temperature theory tion unit universe vector velocity vibration wavelength zero
References to this book
The Natural Laws of the Universe: Understanding Fundamental Constants Jean-Philippe Uzan,Bénédicte Leclercq No preview available - 2010 |