The instant physicist : [an illustrated guide]
Record details
- ISBN: 9780393078268 (hc.)
- ISBN: 0393078264 (hc.)
-
Physical Description:
print
138 p. : col. ill. ; 21 cm. - Edition: 1st ed.
- Publisher: New York : W.W. Norton, c2011.
Content descriptions
General Note: | Subtitle from cover. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Physics -- Popular works |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Prince Rupert Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Prince Rupert Library | 530 Mull (Text) | 33294001752948 | Adult Non-Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Book News : Book News Reviews
Muller (physics, U. of California-Berkeley) has teamed with artist Manfre to create this entertaining collection of interesting physics lessons. The text measures 5.5x8" and each paragraph-long physics lesson is accompanied by a related comic illustration. Readers interested in learning about the energy output of the sun or how TVs compensate for being unable to display the color white will find the lessons in this book to be both accessible and amusing. No table of contents or index is provided, but readers frustrated by these omissions or those hoping to use this text as a scientific reference should consider other options. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) - Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2010 November #1
Muller distills information from his Physics for Future Presidents (2008) and his university physics course into a lively little book. It's simply laid out: on left-hand pages, there are brief examinations of interesting or little-known facts; on right-hand pages, there are Joey Manfre's humorous illustrations based on those facts. For example, a discussion of the importance of the greenhouse effectâit keeps the planet from freezing overâis accompanied by a cartoon of a man in a parka saying Happy? to a frozen-solid protester, whose sign reads, End the greenhouse effect. Readers will learn a lot from the book: you can outrun a tsunami; plutonium is 1,000 times less toxic than Botox; antimatter isn't science fiction; organically grown foods have more carcinogens than foods sprayed with artificial pesticides. Oh, and Muller reveals the truth behind the world-famous 1947 crash of those mysterious flying disks in Roswell, New Mexico (it's not what you might think). Very entertaining and very informativeâa winning combination. Copyright 2010 Booklist Reviews. - Choice Reviews : Choice Reviews 2011 April
Muller's humorous prose alongside Manfre's adorable illustrations offers an enjoyable approach to learning science. Topics range from contemporary issues like energy production, hybrid cars, and global warming to offbeat issues like the size of the HAL computer featured in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, a computer too large to have functioned. Muller (Univ. of California, Berkeley) uses nonintuitive anecdotes to dissolve held assumptions. For example, organic foods may actually be higher in poisons and carcinogens than foods grown using pesticides because plants without pesticides must develop their own defenses, poisons, and carcinogens to survive predators. Each topic is explained in a few paragraphs. The author suggests examining the illustrations with their captions first, puzzling over them awhile, and then reading the explanatory text. Muller wants to offer "information worth knowing" in a fun, attractive manner, and he wants to demonstrate that many technical issues have a physics connection. A selected bibliography would have been a helpful addition. To delve a little deeper, try Muller's Physics for Future Presidents (CH, Feb'09, 46-3319) or Physics and Technology for Future Presidents (CH, Dec'10, 48-2142). Summing Up: Recommended. General readers. Copyright 2011 American Library Association. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2013 March #1
Cartoons illustrate each of the intriguing nuggets of physics in this little book by physics professor Muller (Physics for Future Presidents), making it entertaining for perusers and trivia hounds. (LJ 9/7/12)
[Page 43]. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews Newsletter
Cartoons illustrate each of the intriguing nuggets of physics in this little book by physics professor Muller (Physics for Future Presidents), making it entertaining for perusers and trivia hounds. (LJ 9/7/12) (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.