Everyday Physics

Ebook

Waves — From Sounds and Light to Tsunamis and Gravitation

This book aims to popularize physics by emphasizing conceptual ideas of physics and their interconnections, while avoiding mathematics entirely. The approach is to explore intriguing topics of daily relevance by asking and discussing questions: thereby the reader can participate in developing answers, which enables a deeper understanding than is achievable with memorization.

The topic of this book — waves — is chosen because we experience waves in many forms every minute of our lives, from sound waves and light waves to quantum waves and brain waves.

The target readership of this book is very broad: all those with a curious mind about nature and with a desire to understand how nature works, especially laymen, youngsters, secondary-school children and their teachers.

Contents:

• Preface

• Waves — Part A: From Musical Instruments and Sounds to Human and Animal Voices:

  • Waves: What and Why
  • Waves on Strings
  • Waves in Air: Sound, Acoustics
  • Waves on Sticks, Plates, Drums and Flags
  • From Waves to Music
  • From Waves to Human and Animal Voices
  • Summary of Part A

• Waves — Part B: From Earthquakes and Tsunamis to Light and the Quantum World:

  • Preview of Part B
  • Sound Waves Inside Water and Rocks: Earthquakes
  • Reflection, Transmission and Refraction of Waves in 1D, 2D and 3D
  • Surface Waves on Liquids: Waves on Water
  • Light and Electromagnetic Radiation
  • Quantum Mechanical Waves: From Atoms to DNA and Electronics
  • Gravitational Waves
  • Other Waves and Afterthoughts

• References and Resources

• Index

• About the Author

Readership: Academics and students of physics and general public with strong interest in physics.
Key Features:

• Popularization of physics, while strictly avoiding mathematics
• Easy, conversational style
• Flexible structure, allowing readers to jump randomly from section to section
• The focus of Part A of the book is "from Musical Instruments to Voices". The focus of Part B is "from Earthquakes and Tsunamis to Light and the Quantum World"
• Many attractive colorful illustrations, including animations (in accompanying tailor-made YouTube videos)
• Derived from a popular and successful university course aimed at students of all disciplines (General Education)