Physics I For Dummies

Steven Holzner (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

416 Seiten

2016 | 2nd edition
For Dummies (Verlag)
978-1-119-29359-0 (ISBN)

Infos

The fun and easy way to get up to speed on the basic concepts of physics

For high school and undergraduate students alike, physics classes are recommended or required courses for a wide variety of majors, and continue to be a challenging and often confusing course.

Physics I For Dummies tracks specifically to an introductory course and, keeping with the traditionally easy-to-follow Dummies style, teaches you the basic principles and formulas in a clear and concise manner, proving that you don't have to be Einstein to understand physics!



Explains the basic principles in a simple, clear, and entertaining fashion
New edition includes updated examples and explanations, as well as the newest discoveries in the field
Contains the newest teaching techniques

If just thinking about the laws of physics makes your head spin, this hands-on, friendly guide gets you out of the black hole and sheds light on this often-intimidating subject.

Autor

Steven Holzner, PhD, was a contributing editor at PC Magazine and was on the faculty of both MIT and Cornell University. He wrote Physics II For Dummies, Physics Essentials For Dummies, and Quantum Physics For Dummies.

Inhalt

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Conventions Used in This Book 2

What You’re Not to Read 2

Foolish Assumptions 2

How This Book Is Organized 3

Part 1: Putting Physics into Motion 3

Part 2: May the Forces of Physics Be with You 3

Part 3: Manifesting the Energy to Work 3

Part 4: Laying Down the Laws of Thermodynamics 3

Part 5: The Part of Tens 4

Icons Used in This Book 4

Where to Go from Here 4

Part 1: Putting Physics Into Motion 5

Chapter 1: Using Physics to Understand Your World 7

What Physics Is All About 8

Observing the world 8

Making predictions 9

Reaping the rewards 9

Observing Objects in Motion 10

Measuring speed, direction, velocity, and acceleration 10

Round and round: Rotational motion 11

Springs and pendulums: Simple harmonic motion 11

When Push Comes to Shove: Forces 12

Absorbing the energy around you 13

That’s heavy: Pressures in fluids 13

Feeling Hot but Not Bothered: Thermodynamics 14

Chapter 2: Reviewing Physics Measurement and Math Fundamentals 15

Measuring the World around You and Making Predictions 15

Using systems of measurement 16

From meters to inches and back again: Converting between units 17

Eliminating Some Zeros: Using Scientific Notation 19

Checking the Accuracy and Precision of Measurements 21

Knowing which digits are significant 21

Estimating accuracy 23

Arming Yourself with Basic Algebra 23

Tackling a Little Trig 24

Interpreting Equations as Real-World Ideas 25

Chapter 3: Exploring the Need for Speed 27

Going the Distance with Displacement 28

Understanding displacement and position 28

Examining axes 29

Speed Specifics: What Is Speed, Anyway? 32

Reading the speedometer: Instantaneous speed 32

Staying steady: Uniform speed 33

Shifting speeds: Non uniform motion 33

Busting out the stopwatch: Average speed 33

Speeding Up (Or Down): Acceleration 36

Defining acceleration 36

Determining the units of acceleration 36

Looking at positive and negative acceleration 37

Examining average and instantaneous acceleration 40

Taking off: Putting the acceleration formula into practice 41

Understanding uniform and non uniform acceleration 42

Relating Acceleration, Time, and Displacement 42

Not-so-distant relations: Deriving the formula 43

Calculating acceleration and distance 44

Linking Velocity, Acceleration, and Displacement 47

Finding acceleration 48

Solving for displacement 49

Finding final velocity 49

Chapter 4: Following Directions: Motion in Two Dimensions 51

Visualizing Vectors 52

Asking for directions: Vector basics 52

Looking at vector addition from start to finish 53

Going head-to-head with vector subtraction 54

Putting Vectors on the Grid 55

Adding vectors by adding coordinates 55

Changing the length: Multiplying a vector by a number 57

A Little Trig: Breaking Up Vectors into Components 57

Finding vector components 58

Reassembling a vector from its components 60

Featuring Displacement, Velocity, and Acceleration in 2-D 63

Displacement: Going the distance in two dimensions 64

Velocity: Speeding in a new direction 67

Acceleration: Getting a new angle on changes in velocity 68

Accelerating Downward: Motion under the Influence of Gravity 70

The golf-ball-off-the-cliff exercise 70

The how-far-can-you-kick-the-ball exercise 74

Part 2: May The Forces Of Physics Be With You 77

Chapter 5: When Push Comes to Shove: Force 79

Newton’s First Law: Resisting with Inertia 80

Resisting change: Inertia and mass 81

Measuring mass 82

Newton’s Second Law: Relating Force, Mass, and Acceleration 82

Relating the formula to the real world 83

Naming units of force 84

Vector addition: Gathering net forces 84

Newton’s Third Law: Looking at Equal and Opposite Forces 90

Seeing Newton’s third law in action 90

Pulling hard enough to overcome friction 91

Pulleys: Supporting double the force 92

Analyzing angles and force in Newton’s third law 94

Finding equilibrium 96

Chapter 6: Getting Down with Gravity, Inclined Planes, and Friction 99

Acceleration Due to Gravity: One of Life’s Little Constants 100

Finding a New Angle on Gravity with Inclined Planes 100

Finding the force of gravity along a ramp 101

Figuring the speed along a ramp 103

Getting Sticky with Friction 103

Calculating friction and the normal force 104

Conquering the coefficient of friction 105

On the move: Understanding static and kinetic friction 106

A not-so-slippery slope: Handling uphill and downhill friction 108

Let’s Get Fired Up! Sending Objects Airborne 113

Shooting an object straight up 113

Projectile motion: Firing an object at an angle 115

Chapter 7: Circling around Rotational Motion and Orbits 117

Centripetal Acceleration: Changing Direction to Move in a Circle 118

Keeping a constant speed with uniform circular motion 118

Finding the magnitude of the centripetal acceleration 120

Seeking the Center: Centripetal Force 121

Looking at the force you need 121

Seeing how the mass, velocity, and radius affect centripetal force 122

Negotiating flat curves and banked turns 123

Getting Angular with Displacement, Velocity, and Acceleration 126

Measuring angles in radians 126

Relating linear and angular motion 127

Letting Gravity Supply Centripetal Force 129

Using Newton’s law of universal gravitation 129

Deriving the force of gravity on the Earth’s surface 130

Using the law of gravitation to examine circular orbits 131

Looping the Loop: Vertical Circular Motion 135

Chapter 8: Go with the Flow: Looking at Pressure in Fluids 139

Mass Density: Getting Some Inside Information 140

Calculating density 140

Comparing densities with specific gravity 141

Applying Pressure 142

Looking at units of pressure 142

Connecting pressure to changes in depth 143

Hydraulic machines: Passing on pressure with Pascal’s principle 147

Buoyancy: Float Your Boat with Archimedes’s Principle 149

Fluid Dynamics: Going with Fluids in Motion 152

Characterizing the type of flow 152

Picturing flow with streamlines 154

Getting Up to Speed on Flow and Pressure 155

The equation of continuity: Relating pipe size and flow rates 155

Bernoulli’s equation: Relating speed and pressure 158

Pipes and pressure: Putting it all together 160

Part 3: Manifesting The Energy To Work 163

Chapter 9: Getting Some Work Out of Physics 165

Looking for Work 165

Working on measurement systems 166

Pushing your weight: Applying force in the direction of movement 166

Using a tow rope: Applying force at an angle 168

Negative work: Applying force opposite the direction of motion 170

Making a Move: Kinetic Energy 171

The work-energy theorem: Turning work into kinetic energy 171

Using the kinetic energy equation 173

Calculating changes in kinetic energy by using net force 174

Energy in the Bank: Potential Energy 176

To new heights: Gaining potential energy by working against gravity 177

Achieving your potential: Converting potential energy into kinetic energy 178

Choose Your Path: Conservative versus Non conservative Forces 179

Keeping the Energy Up: The Conservation of Mechanical Energy 180

Shifting between kinetic and potential energy 180

The mechanical-energy balance: Finding velocity and height 183

Powering Up: The Rate of Doing Work 184

Using common units of power 185

Doing alternate calculations of power 186

Chapter 10: Putting Objects in Motion: Momentum and Impulse 189

Looking at the Impact of Impulse 189

Gathering Momentum 191

The Impulse-Momentum Theorem: Relating Impulse and Momentum 192

Shooting pool: Finding force from impulse and momentum 193

Singing in the rain: An impulsive activity 195

When Objects Go Bonk: Conserving Momentum 196

Deriving the conservation formula 196

Finding velocity with the conservation of momentum 198

Finding firing velocity with the conservation of momentum 199

When Worlds (Or Cars) Collide: Elastic and Inelastic Collisions 201

Determining whether a collision is elastic 202

Colliding elastically along a line 203

Colliding elastically in two dimensions 205

Chapter 11: Winding Up with Angular Kinetics 209

Going from Linear to Rotational Motion 210

Understanding Tangential Motion 211

Finding tangential velocity 211

Finding tangential acceleration 213

Finding centripetal acceleration 214

Applying Vectors to Rotation 216

Calculating angular velocity 216

Figuring angular acceleration 217

Doing the Twist: Torque 219

Mapping out the torque equation 221

Understanding lever arms 223

Figuring out the torque generated 223

Recognizing that torque is a vector 225

Spinning at Constant Velocity: Rotational Equilibrium 225

Determining how much weight Hercules can lift 226

Hanging a flag: A rotational equilibrium problem 229

Ladder safety: Introducing friction into rotational equilibrium 231

Chapter 12: Round and Round with Rotational Dynamics 235

Rolling Up Newton’s Second Law into Angular Motion 235

Switching force to torque 236

Converting tangential acceleration to angular acceleration 237

Factoring in the moment of inertia 237

Moments of Inertia: Looking into Mass Distribution 238

DVD players and torque: A spinning-disk inertia example 240

Angular acceleration and torque: A pulley inertia example 242

Wrapping Your Head around Rotational Work and Kinetic Energy 244

Putting a new spin on work 245

Moving along with rotational kinetic energy 246

Let’s roll! Finding rotational kinetic energy on a ramp 247

Can’t Stop This: Angular Momentum 249

Conserving angular momentum 250

Satellite orbits: A conservation-of-angular-momentum example 250

Chapter 13: Springs ’n’ Things: Simple Harmonic Motion 253

Bouncing Back with Hooke’s Law 253

Stretching and compressing springs 254

Pushing or pulling back: The spring’s restoring force 254

Getting Around to Simple Harmonic Motion 256

Around equilibrium: Examining horizontal and vertical springs 256

Catching the wave: A sine of simple harmonic motion 258

Finding the angular frequency of a mass on a spring 264

Factoring Energy into Simple Harmonic Motion 267

Swinging with Pendulums 268

Part 4: Laying Down The Laws Of Thermodynamics 271

Chapter 14: Turning Up the Heat with Thermodynamics 273

Measuring Temperature 274

Fahrenheit and Celsius: Working in degrees 274

Zeroing in on the Kelvin scale 275

The Heat Is On: Thermal Expansion 276

Linear expansion: Getting longer 276

Volume expansion: Taking up more space 279

Heat: Going with the Flow (Of Thermal Energy) 281

Getting specific with temperature changes 282

Just a new phase: Adding heat without changing temperature 284

Chapter 15: Here, Take My Coat: How Heat Is Transferred 289

Convection: Letting the Heat Flow 289

Hot fluid rises: Putting fluid in motion with natural convection 290

Controlling the flow with forced convection 291

Too Hot to Handle: Getting in Touch with Conduction 292

Finding the conduction equation 293

Considering conductors and insulators 297

Radiation: Riding the (Electromagnetic) Wave 298

Mutual radiation: Giving and receiving heat 299

Blackbodies: Absorbing and reflecting radiation 300

Chapter 16: In the Best of All Possible Worlds: The Ideal Gas Law 305

Digging into Molecules and Moles with Avogadro’s Number 305

Relating Pressure, Volume, and Temperature with the Ideal Gas Law 307

Forging the ideal gas law 307

Working with standard temperature and pressure 309

A breathing problem: Checking your oxygen 310

Boyle’s and Charles’s laws: Alternative expressions of the ideal gas law 311

Tracking Ideal Gas Molecules with the Kinetic Energy Formula 313

Predicting air molecule speed 314

Calculating kinetic energy in an ideal gas 314

Chapter 17: Heat and Work: The Laws of Thermodynamics 317

Thermal Equilibrium: Getting Temperature with the Zeroth Law 318

Conserving Energy: The First Law of Thermodynamics 318

Calculating with conservation of energy 319

Staying constant: Isobaric, isochoric, isothermal, and adiabatic processes 322

Flowing from Hot to Cold: The Second Law of Thermodynamics 337

Heat engines: Putting heat to work 337

Limiting efficiency: Carnot says you can’t have it all 340

Going against the flow with heat pumps 343

Going Cold: The Third (And Absolute Last) Law of Thermodynamics 346

Part 5: The Part Of Tens 347

Chapter 18: Ten Physics Heroes 349

Galileo Galilei 349

Robert Hooke 350

Sir Isaac Newton 350

Benjamin Franklin 351

Charles-Augustin de Coulomb 352

Amedeo Avogadro 352

Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot 353

James Prescott Joule 353

William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) 353

Albert Einstein 354

Chapter 19: Ten Wild Physics Theories 355

You Can Measure a Smallest Distance 355

There May Be a Smallest Time 356

Heisenberg Says You Can’t Be Certain 356

Black Holes Don’t Let Light Out 357

Gravity Curves Space 357

Matter and Antimatter Destroy Each Other 358

Supernovas Are the Most Powerful Explosions 359

The Universe Starts with the Big Bang and Ends with the Gnab Gib 359

Microwave Ovens Are Hot Physics 360

Is the Universe Made to Measure? 361

Glossary 363

Index 367

Produkt-Details

• Erscheinungsdatum: 11.07.2016
• Sprache: englisch
• Maße: 188 x 234 mm
• Gewicht: 522 g
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Physik / Astronomie
• ISBN-10: 1-119-29359-6 / 1119293596
• ISBN-13: 978-1-119-29359-0 / 9781119293590
• Zustand: Neuware