The Flying Circus of Physics
by Jearl Walker
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jearl WalkerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-06-30
ISBN: 0471762733
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Wiley
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Book Reviews of The Flying Circus of Physics
Book Review: Congratulations Amazon for Taking My Suggestion
Summary: 5 Stars
For about a year, I've restrained myself from buying this book, since the reviews and description did not reflect the 2007 (once set at 2006) edition. About a month ago, I suggested they do something about it. I may have even written to Walker. At last, the description is up to date. However, a week ago I just decided to buy the book and write a mini-review. I'm just going to say a few words though.
It's a much larger format width/height wise. The answers are placed after the question and they are generally much longer responses than the first edition, which I thought were a bit too brief. These are completely new topics. The references are gone, but I do believe they are on his web site--in spades. There's quite a bit of supplemental info there. To find it his site just Google to "Jearl Walker" flying circus.
I suspect another difference in the book is the questions seem to have gotten further away from common basic physics. For example, in his first book he poses the question why does the cardboard stay in place when you turn over a glass of water with a cardboard over its mouth? Of course, there are many deeper questions in edition one. Nevertheless, his questions are interesting in the second edition. He's punctuated the book with some fun "short stories" like fire-walking. The book strikes me something like the approach of Mad about Physics, which also pulls examples from (a) physics journal in the manner of Walker's first edition. I don't quite see the "conceptual" tone as in Paul Hewitt's book Conceptual Physics, or in Epstein's Thinking Physics. Just different ways of thinking about physics.
Summary of The Flying Circus of Physics
Witness astounding feats of physicsHurry! Hurry! Come one, come all. Meet a man who can pull two railroad passenger cars with his teeth and a real-life human cannon ball. Come face to face with a dead rattlesnake that still bites. And unlock the secrets to the magician's bodiless head.
Welcome to Jearl Walker's Flying Circus of Physics, 2nd Edition, where death-defying stunts, high-flying acrobatics, strange curiosities, and mind-bending illusions are all part of everyday life. You don't need a ticket; you only need to look to the world around you to uncover these fascinating feats of physics.
Completely updated and expanded, this Second Edition of Jearl Walker's best-selling book features more than 700 thoroughly intriguing questions about relevant, fun, and completely real physical phenomena. Detailed explanations and references to outside sources guide your way through the problems.
You'll discover answers to such questions as:
* Can you start a fire with ice?
* Why does the sky turn green just before a tornado?
* Why do wintergreen LifeSavers glow in the dark when you bite them?
* If you are falling in an elevator, should you try to jump up at the last second or lay flat against the floor?
* How do electric eels produce their electric field?
* Why is wet sand darker than dry sand?
* What causes an oasis mirage?
* Why do stars twinkle?
* Could you drive a car on a ceiling?
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