By Paul J Nahin
Princeton
In this book, popular-science writer Paul Nahin presents a collection of everyday situations in which the application of simple physical principles and a bit of mathematics can make us understand how things work. His aim is to take these scientific disciplines closer to the layperson and, at the same time, show them the wonder lying behind many aspects of reality that are often taken for granted.
The problems presented and explained are very diverse, ranging from how to extract more energy from renewable sources, how best to catch a baseball, to how to measure gravity in one’s garage and why the sky is dark at night. These topics are treated in an informal and entertaining way, but without waiving the maths. In fact, as the author himself highlights, he is interested in keeping the discussions simple, but not so simple that they are simply wrong. The whole point of the book is actually to show how physics and some calculus can explain many of the things that we commonly encounter.
Engaging and humorous, this text will appeal to non-experts with some background in maths and physics. It is suited to students at any level beyond the last years of high school, as well as to practicing scientists who might discover alternative, clever ways to solve (and explain) everyday physics problems.
