Geek Physics
Surprising Answers to the Planet's Most Interesting Questions
Published on 14. April 2015
Book
Hardback
200 pages
978-1-68162-049-7 (ISBN)
Description
Rhett Allain writes the popular Dot Physics blog for Wired and in this book he takes a longer, smarter look at his most popular topics, from the purely fun (How much bubble wrap would you need to safely jump off a 6th floor building?) to the completely mind-boggling (Why does a mirror reverse left to light, but not top to bottom?).
Allain is a physics professor and he's become very good at finding physics questions buried in the latest movie, video game, viral video or news hook. Each chapter will not only cover interesting subjects like lightsabers and McDonald's drive-thrus, but use those questions to teach readers basic physics concepts. He'll explore questions like: Is Angry Birds using real physics? Does a heavier truck make a better snow plow? What if everyone on earth jumped at the same I time? How many dollar bills would it take to stack them to the moon? Often the way he gets to the answer is more interesting than the answer itself.
More details
Language
English
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
50 Illustrations, color
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
426 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-68162-049-7 (9781681620497)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
04/2015
1st Edition
Trade Paper Press
€17.49
Available for download
Person
Rhett Allain an Associate Professor of Physics at Southeastern Louisiana University and a popular Dot Physics blogger at Wired Science Blogs. He has a knack for explaining things in a way that is both entertaining and useful. He is also the author of the National Geographic book Angry Birds Furious Forces: The Physics at Play in the World's Most Popular Game and of Just Enough Physics. He lives in Louisiana.
Content
How Fast Do Tweet Waves vs. Seismic Waves Travel?
How Much Would R2-D2 Weigh If He Could Fly?
How Realistic Is the Physics in Angry Birds?
Big Space Ships With Even Bigger Thrusters
Jumping Off a Building With Bubble Wrap
Is It Better to Crash Into Another Car, or a Brick Wall?
Can a Human Out-Pull a Truck?
Would the Hulk Break the Road Whenever He Jumped?
Can Humans Fly Like Birds, With Wings?
Can You Fall Faster Than the Speed of Sound?
Big Hail Is Bad
Why Do Astronauts Feel Weightless?
How Can a Broom Balance On Its Brushes?
Can You Cook a Turkey By Dropping It?
How Much Energy Does It Take to Get a Candy Bar in Orbit?
Building and Supplying a Death Star With the ATV
The Long Jump: Gravity and Air
Linear Regression and the Long Jump
Power and Olympic Swimmers
Scoring the Decathlon
Diving and the Moment of Inertia
Could Cyclists Cheat With Hidden Batteries?
What is Arnold Schwarzenegger Made Of?
What Does Pi Have to do With Gravity?
Can Airplanes Save Fuel by Using iPads?
How Many Zombies Could You Drive Through?
How Much Water Would It Take to Move a Car?
Could Adam Savage Have Accidentally Killed Himself in the Swimming Car Myth?
A Scale at the Bottom of a Pool
Spaceships Underwater
How Much Ice Do You Need to Cool Your Beer?
Can Ice Cream Get Cold Enough to be Zero Calories?
The Power Source for a Light Saber
Can You Charge Your Phone by Typing?
Why Do Mirrors Reverse Left and Right, But Not Up and Down?
Can a Building Be a Sun-Death Ray?
Gollum Physics
The Physics of Thor's Hammer
A Banana Powered Generator
How Many Dollar Bills Would it Take to Stack Them to the Moon?
Could You Build a Scale LEGO Model of the Death Star?
Would You Rather Fight a Horse-Sized Duck or 100 Duck-Sized Horses?
NASA Space Games