Summary
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.
Specifications
Black-and-white photographs and line illustrations. Index. Appendixes. Glossary. Further reading. Web sites.
About the Author(s)
Kyle Kirkland, Ph.D., received his doctorate in neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania in 1998. He remains active in research and devotes considerable time to explaining mathematics and science to layperson audiences. He has published a number of articles on science, the history of science, and the present and future impact of science on our society. Kirkland is also the coauthor of Optics in Facts On File's Science and Technology in Focus set.