Physics Around Us

The following sections are included:

• Foreword

• Contents

• Introduction

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• Atoms

• Earth and the Solar System
  • Parallax
  • Galaxies

• The Expanding Universe, and the Big Bang
  • Search for extraterrestrial life

• A Rough Table of Sizes

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• The Kinematics of One-Dimensional Motion

• Proportions

• Acceleration

• Kinematics of Two- and Three-Dimensional Motion. Vectors

• Relative Motion

The following sections are included:

• Galileo's Observations vs. Aristotelian Ideas on Motion

• Projectile Motion

• Range of a Projectile

The following sections are included:

• Newton's Laws
  • The First Law
  • The Second Law
  • The Third Law

• Frames of Reference

• Friction
  • Air resistance. Terminal velocity

The following sections are included:

• The Quest for Perpetual Motion

• Mechanical Work

• Potential Energy

• Kinetic Energy
  • Non-constant forces

• Power

• Conservation of Energy
  • Experimental tests of the law of conservation of energy; Other forms of energy
  • “Energy conservation” is not conservation of energy

• Simple Machines

The following sections are included:

• Impulse

• Momentum
  • Collisions
  • Balloons, squids, and rockets

• Center of Mass

• Energy and Collisions
  • Collisions in 2-dimensions

The following sections are included:

• Circular Motion, Centripetal Acceleration

• Rotational Motion of Solid Objects

• Vector Multiplications

• Torque

• Moment of Inertia

• Angular Momentum

• Rotational Kinetic Energy

• Center of Gravity

• Equilibrium Conditions

• Rolling Motion

The following sections are included:

• Earth-centered and Sun-centered Theories

• Copernicus and Heliocentrism

• Brahe and Kepler

• Newton and Universal Gravitation

• Tides and Phases of the Moon

• Satellites

• Gravitational Potential Energy

• Dark Energy

• Antigravity

The following sections are included:

• Oscillatory Motion — Elastic Spring

• Harmonic Motion of a Pendulum

• Waves

• Standing Waves

• The Doppler Effect for Sound — Echoes

• Beats

The following sections are included:

• Heat is a Form of Energy

• The First Law of Thermodynamics

• Temperature

• Heat Capacity
  • Food energy

• Phase Changes

• Heat Flow
  • Heat conduction
  • Heat convection
  • Heat radiation

• Entropy and Reversibility. The Second Law of Thermodynamics

• Heat Engines and Thermodynamic Efficiency

The following sections are included:

• Gases
  • Perfect gases

• Liquid State
  • Hydrostatics

• Buoyancy

• Flowing Liquids
  • Bernoulli’s principle

The following sections are included:

• Amber, Amusements, and the Beginnings of Serious Study

• Lightning is an Electrical Discharge

• Coulomb Force

• Insulators and Conductors
  • How does rubbing cause electrification?

• Electric Fields

• Induced Polarization

• Electric Potential

• Special Cases
  • Field between parallel plates
  • Field from a pointed conductor
  • Capacitance

• Field Ionization

• Some Applications of Electrostatics

The following sections are included:

• Power Sources
  • Household power
  • Batteries

• Electrical Current and Resistance
  • A microscopic description of an electric current

• Electrical Power

• Lamps, Circuit Breakers, Switches

• Series and Parallel Connections

• Semiconductors, Transistors and Computer Chips

The following sections are included:

• Beginnings of the Study of Magnetism

• The Earth is a Magnet

• Basic Magnetism
  • Magnetic materials
  • Magnetic domains and atomic magnetism
  • Magnetic recording

• Magnetic circuits

• Electromagnetism

• Forces and Torques on Currents
  • Electric meters and motors

• Force on a Charged Particle

• Earth's Magnetism

The following sections are included:

• Michael Faraday

• Generating Electricity from Motion
  • Lenz's law and Eddy currents
  • Electrical power generators

• Transformers

• Battle over Electric Power

The following sections are included:

• Electromagnetic Waves

• Light

• Refraction

• Color

• The Eye and Color

• Doppler Effect

The following sections are included:

• Reflection from a Mirror

• Lenses

• Light Polarization

The following sections are included:

• Interference Phenomena

• Diffraction Gratings

• Diffraction from a Single Slit or Obstacle

• Some Other Interference Phenomena

The following sections are included:

• Blackbody Radiation

• The Discovery of the Electron

• The Electric Charge of the Electron

• The Photoelectric Effect

• Compton Scattering

The following sections are included:

• The Hydrogen Atom

• The Structure of Atoms

The following sections are included:

• Matter Waves

• Electron Waves — Diffraction

• The Uncertainty Principle

• Introduction to Quantum Mechanics

The following sections are included:

• Relative Motion

• Special Relativity

• The Relativity of Time

• The Contraction of Lengths

• The Addition of Velocities, Momentum, Energy

• Introduction to General Relativity — The Principle of Equivalence

The following sections are included:

• The Nucleus

• Energetics of Nuclear Reactions

• Fission and Fusion

• Particle Physics

• Cosmology

The following sections are included:

• Index of Famous Scientists

• Subject Index