PHYSICS FOR BEGINNERS
ABOUT THIS BOOK CONVENTIONS USED IN THIS BOOK WHAT YOU’RE NOT TO READ FOOLISH ASSUMPTIONS HOW THIS BOOK IS ORGANIZED PART I: PUTTING PHYSICS INTO MOTION PART II: MAY THE FORCES OF PHYSICS BE WITH YOU PART III: MANIFESTING THE ENERGY TO WORK PART IV: LAYING DOWN THE LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS PART V: GETTING A CHARGE OUT OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM PART VI: THE PART OF TENS ICONS USED IN THIS BOOK WHERE TO GO FROM HERE WHAT PHYSICS IS ALL ABOUT OBSERVING OBJECTS IN MOTION ABSORBING THE ENERGY AROUND YOU FEELING HOT BUT NOT BOTHERED PLAYING WITH CHARGES AND MAGNETS PREPARING FOR THE WILD, WILD PHYSICS COMING UP DON’T BE SCARED, IT’S ONLY PHYSICS MEASURING THE WORLD AROUND YOU AND MAKING PREDICTIONS DON’T MIX AND MATCH: KEEPING PHYSICAL UNITS STRAIGHT FROM METERS TO INCHES AND BACK AGAIN: CONVERTING BETWEEN UNITS ELIMINATING SOME ZEROS: USING SCIENTIFIC NOTATION CHECKING THE PRECISION OF MEASUREMENTS KNOWING WHICH DIGITS ARE SIGNIFICANT ESTIMATING ACCURACY ARMING YOURSELF WITH BASIC ALGEBRA TACKLING A LITTLE TRIG DISSECTING DISPLACEMENT EXAMINING AXES MEASURING SPEED SPEED SPECIFICS: WHAT IS SPEED, ANYWAY? READING THE SPEEDOMETER: INSTANTANEOUS SPEED STAYING STEADY: UNIFORM SPEED SWERVING BACK AND FORTH: NONUNIFORM MOTION BUSTING OUT THE STOPWATCH: AVERAGE SPEED PITTING AVERAGE SPEED VERSUS UNIFORM MOTION SPEEDING UP (OR DOWN): ACCELERATION DEFINING ACCELERATION DETERMINING THE UNITS OF ACCELERATION POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ACCELERATION AVERAGE AND INSTANTANEOUS ACCELERATION UNIFORM AND NONUNIFORM ACCELERATION RELATING ACCELERATION, TIME, AND DISPLACEMENT NOT-SO-DISTANT RELATIONS EQUATING MORE SPEEDY SCENARIOS LINKING SPEED, ACCELERATION, AND DISPLACEMENT CONQUERING VECTORS ASKING FOR DIRECTIONS: VECTOR BASICS PUTTING DIRECTIONS TOGETHER: ADDING VECTORS TAKING DISTANCE APART: SUBTRACTING VECTORS WAXING NUMERICAL ON VECTORS BREAKING UP VECTORS INTO COMPONENTS FINDING VECTOR COMPONENTS GIVEN MAGNITUDES AND ANGLES FINDING MAGNITUDES AND ANGLES GIVEN VECTOR COMPONENTS UNMASKING THE IDENTITIES OF VECTORS DISPLACEMENT IS A VECTOR VELOCITY IS ANOTHER VECTOR ACCELERATION: YEP, ANOTHER VECTOR SLIDING ALONG ON GRAVITY’S RAINBOW: A VELOCITY EXERCISE FORCING THE ISSUE FOR HIS FIRST TRICK, NEWTON’S FIRST LAW OF MOTION GETTING IT GOING: INERTIA AND MASS MEASURING MASS LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, NEWTON’S SECOND LAW OF MOTION NAMING UNITS OF FORCE GATHERING NET FORCES NEWTON’S GRAND FINALE: THE THIRD LAW OF MOTION TENSION SHOULDN’T CAUSE STIFF NECKS: FRICTION IN NEWTON’S THIRD LAW ANALYZING ANGLES AND FORCE IN NEWTON’S THIRD LAW FINDING EQUILIBRIUM DON’T LET IT GET YOU DOWN: DEALING WITH GRAVITY LEANING VERTICAL: AN INCLINED PLANE FIGURING OUT ANGLES THE EASY WAY PLAYING WITH ACCELERATION GETTING STICKY WITH FRICTION CALCULATING FRICTION AND THE NORMAL FORCE CONQUERING THE COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION UNDERSTANDING STATIC AND KINETIC FRICTION HANDLING UPHILL FRICTION DETERMINING HOW GRAVITY AFFECTS AIRBORNE OBJECTS GOING UP: MAXIMUM HEIGHT FLOATING ON AIR: HANG TIME GOING DOWN: FACTORING THE TOTAL TIME FIRING AN OBJECT AT AN ANGLE STAYING THE COURSE: UNIFORM CIRCULAR MOTION CHANGING DIRECTION: CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION CONTROLLING VELOCITY WITH CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION FINDING THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION PULLING TOWARD THE CENTER: CENTRIPETAL FORCE NEGOTIATING CURVES AND BANKS: CENTRIPETAL FORCE THROUGH TURNS GETTING ANGULAR: DISPLACEMENT, VELOCITY, AND ACCELERATION DROPPING THE APPLE: NEWTON’S LAW OF GRAVITATION DERIVING THE FORCE OF GRAVITY ON THE EARTH’S SURFACE USING THE LAW OF GRAVITATION TO EXAMINE CIRCULAR ORBITS LOOPING THE LOOP: VERTICAL CIRCULAR MOTION WORK: IT ISN’T WHAT YOU THINK WORKING ON MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS PUSHING YOUR WEIGHT TAKING A DRAG CONSIDERING NEGATIVE WORK GETTING THE PAYOFF: KINETIC ENERGY BREAKING DOWN THE KINETIC ENERGY EQUATION PUTTING THE KINETIC ENERGY EQUATION TO USE CALCULATING KINETIC ENERGY BY USING NET FORCE ENERGY IN THE BANK: POTENTIAL ENERGY WORKING AGAINST GRAVITY CONVERTING POTENTIAL ENERGY INTO KINETIC ENERGY CHOOSE YOUR PATH: CONSERVATIVE VERSUS NONCONSERVATIVE FORCES UP, DOWN, AND ALL AROUND: THE CONSERVATION OF MECHANICAL ENERGY DETERMINING FINAL VELOCITY WITH MECHANICAL ENERGY DETERMINING FINAL HEIGHT WITH MECHANICAL ENERGY POWERING UP: THE RATE OF DOING WORK COMMON UNITS OF POWER ALTERNATE CALCULATIONS OF POWER LOOKING AT THE IMPACT OF IMPULSE GATHERING MOMENTUM THE IMPULSE-MOMENTUM THEOREM: RELATING IMPULSE AND MOMENTUM SHOOTING POOL: FINDING IMPULSE AND MOMENTUM SINGING IN THE RAIN: AN IMPULSIVE ACTIVITY WHEN OBJECTS GO BONK: CONSERVING MOMENTUM MEASURING VELOCITY WITH THE CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM MEASURING FIRING VELOCITY WITH THE CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM WHEN WORLDS (OR CARS) COLLIDE: ELASTIC AND INELASTIC COLLISIONS WHEN OBJECTS BOUNCE: ELASTIC COLLISIONS WHEN OBJECTS DON’T BOUNCE: INELASTIC COLLISIONS COLLIDING ALONG A LINE COLLIDING IN TWO DIMENSIONS GOING FROM LINEAR TO ROTATIONAL MOTION UNDERSTANDING TANGENTIAL MOTION FINDING TANGENTIAL SPEED FINDING TANGENTIAL ACCELERATION FINDING CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION APPLYING VECTORS TO ROTATION CALCULATING ANGULAR VELOCITY FIGURING ANGULAR ACCELERATION TWISTING AND SHOUTING: TORQUE MAPPING OUT THE TORQUE EQUATION UNDERSTANDING LEVER ARMS FIGURING OUT THE TORQUE GENERATED RECOGNIZING THAT TORQUE IS A VECTOR NO WOBBLING ALLOWED: ROTATIONAL EQUILIBRIUM HANGING A FLAG: A ROTATIONAL EQUILIBRIUM PROBLEM LADDER SAFETY: INTRODUCING FRICTION INTO ROTATIONAL EQUILIBRIUM ROLLING UP NEWTON’S SECOND LAW INTO ANGULAR MOTION CONVERTING TANGENTIAL ACCELERATION TO ANGULAR ACCELERATION FACTORING IN THE MOMENT OF INERTIA EXAMINING MOMENTS OF INERTIA CD PLAYERS AND TORQUE: AN INERTIA EXAMPLE ANGULAR ACCELERATION AND TORQUE: ANOTHER INERTIA EXAMPLE WRAPPING YOUR HEAD AROUND ROTATIONAL WORK AND KINETIC ENERGY DOING SOME ROTATIONAL WORK TRACKING DOWN ROTATIONAL KINETIC ENERGY MEASURING ROTATIONAL KINETIC ENERGY ON A RAMP CAN’T STOP THIS: ANGULAR MOMENTUM REVIEWING THE CONSERVATION OF ANGULAR MOMENTUM SATELLITE ORBITS: A CONSERVATION OF ANGULAR MOMENTUM EXAMPLE HOOKING UP WITH HOOKE’S LAW KEEPING SPRINGS STRETCHY DEDUCING THAT HOOKE’S LAW IS A RESTORING FORCE MOVING WITH SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION EXAMINING BASIC HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION DIVING DEEPER INTO SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION FINDING THE ANGULAR FREQUENCY OF A MASS ON A SPRING FACTORING ENERGY INTO SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION SWINGING WITH PENDULUMS GETTING INTO HOT WATER WHEN THE THERMOMETER SAYS FAHRENHEIT WHEN THE THERMOMETER SAYS CELSIUS WHEN THE THERMOMETER SAYS KELVIN THE HEAT IS ON: LINEAR EXPANSION DECONSTRUCTING LINEAR EXPANSION WORKIN’ ON THE RAILROAD: A LINEAR EXPANSION EXAMPLE THE HEAT CONTINUES ON: VOLUME EXPANSION GOING WITH THE FLOW (OF HEAT) CHANGING PHASES: WHEN TEMPERATURES DON’T CHANGE BREAKING THE ICE WITH PHASE CHANGES UNDERSTANDING LATENT HEAT BOILING WATER: CONVECTION TOO HOT TO HANDLE: CONDUCTION EXAMINING THE PROPERTIES THAT AFFECT CONDUCTION TO FIND THE CONDUCTION EQUATION APPLYING THE HEAT-TRANSFERRED-BY-CONDUCTION EQUATION EMITTING AND ABSORBING LIGHT: RADIATION YOU CAN’T SEE RADIATION, BUT IT’S THERE RADIATION AND BLACKBODIES CRUNCHING AVOGADRO’S NUMBER FORGING THE IDEAL GAS LAW GAS PRESSURE: AN IDEAL GAS LAW EXAMPLE BOYLE’S LAW AND CHARLES’ LAW: ALTERNATIVE EXPRESSIONS OF THE IDEAL GAS LAW TRACKING IDEAL GAS MOLECULES PREDICTING AIR MOLECULE SPEED CALCULATING KINETIC ENERGY IN AN IDEAL GAS GAINING THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM: THE ZEROTH LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS CONSERVING HEAT AND ENERGY: THE FIRST LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS CALCULATING CONSERVATION EXAMINING ISOBARIC, ISOCHORIC, ISOTHERMAL, AND ADIABATIC PROCESSES, OH MY! FIGURING OUT SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITIES WHEN HEAT FLOWS: THE SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS PUTTING HEAT TO WORK: HEAT ENGINES EVALUATING HEAT’S WORK: HEAT ENGINE EFFICIENCY CARNOT SAYS YOU CAN’T HAVE IT ALL GOING COLD: THE THIRD (AND ABSOLUTE LAST) LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS PLUS AND MINUS: ELECTRON AND PROTON CHARGES PUSH AND PULL: ELECTRIC FORCES CHARGING IT TO COULOMB’S LAW BRINGING OBJECTS TOGETHER CALCULATING THE SPEED OF ELECTRONS LOOKING AT FORCES BETWEEN MULTIPLE CHARGES INFLUENCE AT A DISTANCE: ELECTRIC FIELDS COMING FROM ALL DIRECTIONS: ELECTRIC FIELDS FROM POINT CHARGES CHARGING NICE AND STEADY: ELECTRIC FIELDS IN PARALLEL PLATE CAPACITORS ELECTRIC POTENTIAL: CRANKING UP THE VOLTAGE CALCULATING ELECTRIC POTENTIAL ENERGY REALIZING THE POTENTIAL IN VOLTAGE DISCOVERING THAT ELECTRIC POTENTIAL IS CONSERVED FINDING THE ELECTRIC POTENTIAL OF POINT CHARGES GETTING FULLY CHARGED WITH CAPACITANCE ELECTRONS ON THE MARCH: CURRENT DEFINING CURRENT CALCULATING THE CURRENT IN BATTERIES GIVING YOU SOME RESISTANCE: OHM’S LAW DETERMINING CURRENT FLOW EXAMINING RESISTIVITY POWERING UP: WATTAGE FLOWING FROM ONE TO THE OTHER: SERIES CIRCUITS SPLITTING THE CURRENT: PARALLEL CIRCUITS LOOPING TOGETHER ELECTRICITY WITH KIRCHOFF’S RULES IMPLEMENTING THE LOOP RULE USING MULTIPLE-LOOP CIRCUITS CONQUERING CAPACITORS IN PARALLEL AND SERIES CIRCUITS CAPACITORS IN PARALLEL CIRCUITS CAPACITORS IN SERIES CIRCUITS PUTTING TOGETHER RESISTORS AND CAPACITORS: RC CIRCUITS FINDING THE SOURCE OF ATTRACTION FORCING A MOVING CHARGE FIGURING THE QUANTITATIVE SIZE OF MAGNETIC FORCES MOVING IN ORBITS: CHARGED PARTICLES IN MAGNETIC FIELDS MAGNETIC FIELDS DO NO WORK BUT THEY STILL AFFECT MOVING CHARGED PARTICLES PUSHING AND PULLING CURRENTS FORCES ON CURRENTS TORQUES ON CURRENTS IDENTIFYING THE MAGNETIC FIELD FROM A WIRE CENTERING ON CURRENT LOOPS ACHIEVING A UNIFORM MAGNETIC FIELD WITH SOLENOIDS INDUCING EMF (ELECTROMAGNETIC FREQUENCY) MOVING A CONDUCTOR IN A MAGNETIC FIELD TO CAUSE VOLTAGE INDUCING VOLTAGE OVER A CERTAIN AREA FACTORING IN THE FLUX WITH FARADAY’S LAW GETTING THE SIGNS RIGHT WITH LENZ’S LAW FIGURING OUT INDUCTANCE EXAMINING ALTERNATING CURRENT CIRCUITS PICTURING ALTERNATING VOLTAGE UNEARTHING ROOT MEAN SQUARE CURRENT AND VOLTAGE LEADING WITH CAPACITORS LAGGING WITH INDUCTORS HANDLING THE TRIPLE THREAT: RCL CIRCUITS ALL ABOUT MIRRORS (SRORRIM TUOBA LLA) WHEN LIGHT GETS BENDY REFRACTING LIGHT WITH SNELL’S LAW EXAMINING WATER AT APPARENT DEPTHS ALL MIRRORS AND NO SMOKE EXPANDING WITH CONCAVE MIRRORS CONTRACTING WITH CONVEX MIRRORS SEEING CLEARLY WITH LENSES EXPANDING WITH CONVERGING LENSES CONTRACTING WITH DIVERGING LENSES NATURE DOESN’T PLAY FAVORITES THE SPEED OF LIGHT IS CONSTANT, NO MATTER HOW FAST YOU GO TIME DILATES AT HIGH SPEEDS SPACE TRAVEL AGES YOU LESS LENGTH CONTRACTS AT HIGH SPEEDS E = MC2: THE EQUIVALENCE OF MATTER AND ENERGY MATTER PLUS ANTIMATTER EQUALS BOOM THE SUN IS RADIATING AWAY MASS THE SPEED OF LIGHT IS THE ULTIMATE SPEED NEWTON IS STILL RIGHT YOU CAN MEASURE A SMALLEST DISTANCE THERE MIGHT BE A SMALLEST TIME HEISENBERG SAYS YOU CAN’T BE CERTAIN BLACK HOLES DON’T LET LIGHT OUT GRAVITY CURVES SPACE MATTER AND ANTIMATTER DESTROY EACH OTHER SUPERNOVAS ARE THE MOST POWERFUL EXPLOSIONS THE UNIVERSE STARTS WITH THE BIG BANG AND ENDS WITH THE GNAB GIB MICROWAVE OVENS ARE HOT PHYSICS PHYSICISTS MAY NOT HAVE PHYSICAL ABSOLUTE MEASURES