How Things Work: The Physics of Everyday Life
by Louis A. Bloomfield
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Book Summary Information
Author: Louis A. BloomfieldEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-10-07
ISBN: 047146886X
Number of pages: 576
Publisher: Wiley
Accessories:
- The Flying Circus of Physics With Answers
- A Review of Undergraduate Physics
- The Flying Circus of Physics
Book Reviews of How Things Work: The Physics of Everyday Life
Book Review: Great book on a number of different levels
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a professor of engineering, and decided to use this book as the primary textbook to give a basic idea, for humanities and liberal arts students, of what engineers do. What a great decision! The first part of the book sweeps neatly through basic physics, which is also, as it turns out, basic engineering. Statics, dynamics, friction, thermo--it's all there, neatly encapsulated in a way that humanities students can easily understand what's going on. The text then moves on to the types of things that really float my boat as an engineer--how refrigerators, car engines, and microwave ovens work. Even though I've been involved in engineering for years, and am a licensed professional engineer, I still learned interesting and helpful new ways of thinking about devices and how things work from this book. Moreover, I think this book helps give non-science and non-engineering students the kind of broad-ranging education they *should* be receiving in a university level. Engineering students, after all, have to study at least a modicum of subjects that relate to world history, English, psychology, and so forth. But humanities students can graduate from college without even having the faintest idea about the workings of the technology that can make their lives so healthy, pleasant and liveable. Call me biased or part of the great NASCAR unwashed, but I think it's just as important for a student to be aware of the essentials of how their refrigerator and car work as it is for them to understand the nuances of Shakespeare. Understanding of the fundamentals of technology also leads to students having a better understanding of the tradeoffs involved in good stewardship of the environment.
Dr. Bloomfield has an extensive list of thoroughly researched demonstrations available through his website. I use some of these demonstrations almost every class day, and students really like them. (I couple the demonstrations with active learning exercises and cooperative learning activities, which helps keep them awake and motivated. I also combine use of Bloomfield's book with readings from Henry Petroski's "Success through Failure, and with short film clips from the National Association of Manufacturers.)
In a study I am working on, I've found that universities that use this text as the backbone of physics courses for non-scientists and non-engineers generally seem to have huge enrollments. That speaks of the giant educational need this book seems to fill.
Summary of How Things Work: The Physics of Everyday Life
This book is an unconventional introduction to physics and science that starts with whole objects and looks inside them to see what makes them work. It's written for students who seek a connection between science and the world in which they live. How Things Work brings science to the reader rather than the reverse. Like the course in which it developed, this book has always been for nonscientists and is written with their interests in mind. Nonetheless, it has attracted students from the sciences, engineering, architecture, and other technical fields who wish to put scientific concepts into context.This book is written in English and organized in a case-study fashion. It conveys an understanding and appreciation for physics by finding physics concepts and principles within the familiar objects of everyday experience. Because its structure is defined by real-life examples, this book necessarily discusses concepts as they're needed and then revisits them later on when they reappear in other objects.
Lou Bloomfield is a highly dedicated teacher and one of the most popular professors at University of Virginia, and was the recipient of the 1998 State of Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award. Lou has given talks all over the country on teaching physics through everyday objects. He has extreme attention to detail and knowledge of technical physics. He is very tech savvy and has been able to provide many of the photos and illustrations for the text himself.
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