Physics in Our World
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Some forces, such as the collision that sends a baseball flying away from a bat, are easy to observe; other forces, such as the one that gives a rocket its thrust, are more difficult to perceive. But all objects in motion obey laws, whether the object is a Ferris wheel, a tsunami in the ocean, or a person walking down the street. All objects in motion have energy, and storing up energy and converting it into motion is a common way of getting around. Doing this without using up all the world's energy or polluting the environment is a process in which an understanding of physics is essential. ""Force and Motion"" looks at forces and motions and explores how physics, through simple and general concepts, affects the way people live and how the world around them works. Each chapter in this book focuses on a single aspect of force and motion. But, as readers will learn, each aspect branches out, covering a wide range of phenomena and relating them in ways unimaginable without the science of physics.
An understanding of the science of light has led to ways of correcting faulty vision, and improving vision to study objects that are too small or too distant to be seen by the unaided eye. The performance of instruments such as microscopes, telescopes, and the human eye depends on the principles of optics. But even with recent technological advances, some mysteries remain. The nature of light has puzzled scientists for centuries, and just when they think they have it figured out, light does something completely unpredictable. ""Light and Optics"" explores the science of electromagnetic radiation and its tremendous variety of applications. This enlightening book includes discussions of the optics of image formation, the intense beams produced by lasers, the role of light in biological processes such as photosynthesis and medical procedures such as laser surgery, astronomical observations based on all types of radiation, and applications involving communication, radar, and the transformation of light into electricity.