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surabhi_brahma's review against another edition
4.0
A few weeks ago I ventured into the deepest recesses of the bookshelves outside my room- hoping to find a book camouflaged in the darkness that I could read. Out of the many I found, one was this very book- Physics for Entertainment by Yakov Perelman. Even though it was old and tattered, I knew this book would be so much fun to carefully peruse.
In Physics for Entertainment, published a long, long time ago, Perelman talks about a myriad of occurrences- phenomenon that are incredibly rare, and daily occurrences that we have learned to ignore. He goes into the mechanics of how things work and why we see/hear/feel/smell/taste things the way we do and is able to peel the layers of instinct that we have developed to show us how fascinating simple things like the act of walking or the act of getting up from a chair can be. And though a lot of the things he talks about are quite complex, his language and explanations are clear, concise and so, so simple- even a complete novice can understand them.
Perelman also analyses some science fiction books- particularly those by Jules Verne and H.G Wells to check up on how well their science and reasoning tracks to whatever is said to have happen to the heroes of these novels. And more often than not, these authors have absolutely nailed their explanations, which is impressive given a lot of these books were written well before a few laws of physics were even discovered!
But this book felt a lot more than just a collection of science facts. It showed me how far we’ve come from where we started and it how much more of an understanding we have gained of the universe and its ways. One glaring example of this that still manages to absolutely blow my mind is related to when the author talks about space travel. You see, this book and a lot of its subsequent editions were published at a time when going to the moon- or even to outer space – was something to only be imagined. So, reading it today (with a bookmark that had a picture of a rocket blasting off into space) and seeing his eerily accurate estimation of the resources we might need, the problems we might have to overcome and the rocket we might have to design to go to space convinced me of two things. One is, of course, how far we have come as the human race and two- if you understand science and physics well enough, you might even be able to predict the future.
Physics for Entertainment also made me really appreciate how timeless the laws of physics are. We are currently as influenced by gravity just as we were then, we use the same principles to walk today as we did when this book was published, and even today, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This book also helped me understand how well such intermingling forces fit together in such a vast and complex system. And how the system would simply fall apart should even one of these forces cease to exist.
I must say, reading about physics while not being burdened to writing an exam afterwards really helped me appreciate its beauty and elegance. And in a world where conspiracy theories and anti-science movements are so rampant, books like these are, in my opinion, essential reading!
In Physics for Entertainment, published a long, long time ago, Perelman talks about a myriad of occurrences- phenomenon that are incredibly rare, and daily occurrences that we have learned to ignore. He goes into the mechanics of how things work and why we see/hear/feel/smell/taste things the way we do and is able to peel the layers of instinct that we have developed to show us how fascinating simple things like the act of walking or the act of getting up from a chair can be. And though a lot of the things he talks about are quite complex, his language and explanations are clear, concise and so, so simple- even a complete novice can understand them.
Perelman also analyses some science fiction books- particularly those by Jules Verne and H.G Wells to check up on how well their science and reasoning tracks to whatever is said to have happen to the heroes of these novels. And more often than not, these authors have absolutely nailed their explanations, which is impressive given a lot of these books were written well before a few laws of physics were even discovered!
But this book felt a lot more than just a collection of science facts. It showed me how far we’ve come from where we started and it how much more of an understanding we have gained of the universe and its ways. One glaring example of this that still manages to absolutely blow my mind is related to when the author talks about space travel. You see, this book and a lot of its subsequent editions were published at a time when going to the moon- or even to outer space – was something to only be imagined. So, reading it today (with a bookmark that had a picture of a rocket blasting off into space) and seeing his eerily accurate estimation of the resources we might need, the problems we might have to overcome and the rocket we might have to design to go to space convinced me of two things. One is, of course, how far we have come as the human race and two- if you understand science and physics well enough, you might even be able to predict the future.
Physics for Entertainment also made me really appreciate how timeless the laws of physics are. We are currently as influenced by gravity just as we were then, we use the same principles to walk today as we did when this book was published, and even today, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This book also helped me understand how well such intermingling forces fit together in such a vast and complex system. And how the system would simply fall apart should even one of these forces cease to exist.
I must say, reading about physics while not being burdened to writing an exam afterwards really helped me appreciate its beauty and elegance. And in a world where conspiracy theories and anti-science movements are so rampant, books like these are, in my opinion, essential reading!
stal1n's review against another edition
5.0
Цю книжку забов'язаний прочитати кожен хлопець.
Адже в ній простою і дуже доступною мовою пояснено основні закони природи.
Читається надзвичайно легко і головне — цікаво!
Особисто для себе я дізнався ось такого нового:
- скільки важить вода, яку витісняє авіаносець
- як правильно треба дивитись на фотографії
- тонна дерева все-таки важча за тонну металу
- сонце може світити і зеленим
- і купу всього іншого :)
Усіляко рекомендую всім цю книжку, хто хоче розуміти суть речей. Це ж так легко.
Адже в ній простою і дуже доступною мовою пояснено основні закони природи.
Читається надзвичайно легко і головне — цікаво!
Особисто для себе я дізнався ось такого нового:
- скільки важить вода, яку витісняє авіаносець
- як правильно треба дивитись на фотографії
- тонна дерева все-таки важча за тонну металу
- сонце може світити і зеленим
- і купу всього іншого :)
Усіляко рекомендую всім цю книжку, хто хоче розуміти суть речей. Це ж так легко.
bibliocyclist's review
3.0
Couldn't we imagine interplanetary travel some 20 to 30 years from now? Then, at last, man will be able to break the invisible fetters that have chained him to this planet from times immemorial and strike out into the infinite reaches of the Universe!
Let me give you another instructive instance to graphically illustrate this sham cooperation between ants.
Suppose elephants were born in eggs. Wouldn't the egg-shell be very thick? I wager that even a cannon ball wouldn't pierce it and that a new firing weapon would have to be invented.
Should you ever chance to fall into a shaft drilled through the earth's centre you would bob endlessly pendulum-like from end to end. It would take you 84 minutes to get from end to end.
An invisible man sees nothing.
Let me give you another instructive instance to graphically illustrate this sham cooperation between ants.
Suppose elephants were born in eggs. Wouldn't the egg-shell be very thick? I wager that even a cannon ball wouldn't pierce it and that a new firing weapon would have to be invented.
Should you ever chance to fall into a shaft drilled through the earth's centre you would bob endlessly pendulum-like from end to end. It would take you 84 minutes to get from end to end.
An invisible man sees nothing.
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