The Kaleidoscope of Physics

Ebook

From Soap Bubbles to Quantum Technologies

Why do rivers meander? How do you make a glass sing? What laws govern the shape of drops and bubbles? What happens when we cook a roast? All of these questions, and many more, are answered in this book.

A true invitation to wonder about aspects of our daily lives, this book investigates the physics that underlies these observations. The authors relate this to the most recent advances in the discipline, and even provide an introduction to the mysteries of quantum mechanics and superconductivity, while detailing the countless resulting applications, from MRI to quantum cryptography.

In each chapter, the reader will discover the innumerable facets of a kaleidoscope of phenomena where ground-breaking results, rewarded by Nobel Prizes, are presented side by side with seemingly insignificant experiments.

Contents:

• Open-Air Physics:

  • Rivers, Meanders and Lakes
  • Artificial and Natural Waveguides
  • The Colours of the Sea and the Sky
  • Foucault's Pendulum and the Coriolis Force
  • The Ebb and Flow of the Tides
  • Bubbles and Droplets
  • The Climate: Why Summers Become Hotter?
  • Footprints in the Sand
  • From Crystal Snowflakes to Vitreous Glass

• Everyday Physics:

  • A Conversation on a Train Ride
  • The Stradivari Legacy
  • Singing and Silent Glasses
  • Energy: Obedient Maid or Oppressive Mistress?
  • Nunc est Bibendum

• The Sapiens Cooker:

  • Waiting for a Cup of Tea
  • When Physics Invades the Kitchen
  • Ab Ovo
  • The Secrets of Baking Pizza
  • Noodles, Spaghetti and Physics
  • The Physics of Good (and Bad) Coffee
  • Science, Cooking and Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream

• The Strange Quantum World:

  • Uncertainty, the Real Base of Quantum Physics
  • Physics, Geometry and Beauty
  • Perpetual Motion in Superconductors
  • Applications of Superconductors
  • Snowballs and Bubbles in Liquid Helium
  • MRI Looks Inside Us
  • Semiconductors and Nanophysics

Readership: Students in high school, college and university. General readership interested in physics. Courses of general physics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, history of physics, condensed matter physics, nanophysics, low temperature physics, molecular culinary.
Key Features:

• This book talks about physics and its role in the world around us
• In 2014, the publishing house Belin published "Le Kaleidoscope de la Physique", which was awarded the main prize for the best popular science book of the year in French — the international Roberval prize, a year after its publication. Its Russian language version, published in 2020, was recognized among the best scientific popular books and awarded the Diploma of Russian Academy of Sciences