Mad about Physics

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.Warum können Sie um die Ecke hören, aber nicht schauen? Sie haben sich diese Frage auch schon gestellt? In dieser unterhaltsamen Kuriositätensammlung finden Sie Antworten auf viele derart drängende Probleme des Alltags. Ob Rennauto, Springfloh oder verschwindender Elefant, hier werden paradox erscheinende physikalische Zusammenhänge aufgeklärt, die nicht nur Wissenschaftlern Kopfzerbrechen bereiten. Hübsch gestaltet mit Abbildungen, Karikaturen und Anekdötchen - hervorragend auch als Geschenk geeignet! (12/00)

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xiii

To the Reader xv

Chapter 1 Temperature Risin’ 1

Chapter 2 Color My World 1 3

Chapter 3 Splish! Splash! 25

Chapter 4 Fly like an Eagle 4 1

Chapter 5 Good Vibrations 53

Chapter 6 Opposites Attract 65

Chapter 7 Bodies in Motion 79

Chapter 8 Stairway to Heaven 101

Chapter 9 Life in the Fast Lane 1 1 1

Chapter 10 Born to Run 121

Chapter 1 1 Third Stone from the Sun 131

Chapter 12 Across the Universe 143

Answers

Temperature Risin’ 155

Color My World 166

Splish! Splash! 1 7 5

Fly like an Eagle 185

Good Vibrations 194

Opposites Attract 209

Bodies in Motion 219

Stairway to Heaven 239

Life in the Fast Lane 247

Born to Run 255

Third Stone from the Sun 269

Across the Universe 283

Index 298

CHRISTOPHER P. JARGODZKI, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Physics at Central Missouri State University and the author of two previous books of science braintwisters. He was born in Warsaw, Poland, and received his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in theoretical physics from the University of California. FRANKLIN POTTER, Ph.D., is an Associate Specialist in Physics at the University of California at Irvine and conducts research in elementary particle physics and cosmology. He received his B.S. degree from Cal Tech and Ph.D. in physics from Texas Tech University.

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.