Six easy pieces : essentials of physics, explained by its most brilliant teacher

Learn from a Nobel Peace Prize winner in this entertaining and educational guide to physics, written for the enjoyment of curious beginners and aspiring scientists alike. It was Richard Feynman's outrageous and scintillating method of teaching that earned him legendary status among students and professors of physics. From 1961 to 1963, Feynman delivered a series of lectures at the California Institute of Technology that revolutionized the teaching of physics around the world. Six Easy Pieces , taken from these famous Lectures on Physics, represent the most accessible material from the series. In these classic lessons, Feynman introduces the general reader to the following topics: atoms, basic physics, energy, gravitation, quantum mechanics, and the relationship of physics to other topics. With his dazzling and inimitable wit, Feynman presents each discussion with a minimum of jargon. Filled with wonderful examples and clever illustrations, Six Easy Pieces is the ideal introduction to the fundamentals of physics by one of the most admired and accessible physicists of modern times. "If one book was all that could be passed on to the next generation of scientists it would undoubtedly have to be Six Easy Pieces. "- John Gribbin, New Scientist "Richard P. Feynman (1918-1988) was widely recognized as the most creative physicist of the post-World War II period. His career was extraordinarily expansive. From his contributions to the development of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos during World War II to his work in quantum electrodynamics, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1965, Feynman was celebrated for his brilliant and irreverent approach to physics." "It was Feynman's outrageous and scintillating method of teaching that earned him legendary status among students and professors of physics. From 1961 to 1963, Feynman, at the California Institute of Technology, delivered a series of lectures that revolutionized the teaching of physics around the world. Six Easy Pieces, taken from these famous Lectures on Physics, represents the most accessible material from this series. In these six chapters, Feynman introduces the general reader to the following topics: atoms, basic physics, the relationship of physics to other topics, energy, gravitation, and quantum force. With his dazzling and inimitable wit, Feynman presents each discussion without equations or technical jargon." "Readers will remember how - using ice water and rubber - Feynman demonstrated with stunning simplicity to a nationally televised audience the physics of the 1986 Challenger disaster. It is precisely this ability - the clear and direct illustration of complex theories - that made Richard Feynman one of the most distinguished educators in the world. Filled with wonderful examples and clever illustrations, Six Easy Pieces is the ideal introduction to the fundamentals of physics by one of the most admired and accessible scientists of our time."--Jacket Learn how to think like a physicist from a Nobel laureate and "one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century" ( New York Review of Books ) with these six classic and beloved lessons It was Richard Feynman's outrageous and scintillating method of teaching that earned him legendary status among students and professors of physics. From 1961 to 1963, Feynman delivered a series of lectures at the California Institute of Technology that revolutionized the teaching of physics around the world. Six Easy Pieces , taken from these famous Lectures on Physics, represent the most accessible material from the series. In these classic lessons, Feynman introduces the general reader to the following topics: atoms, basic physics, energy, gravitation, quantum mechanics, and the relationship of physics to other topics. With his dazzling and inimitable wit, Feynman presents each discussion with a minimum of jargon. Filled with wonderful examples and clever illustrations, Six Easy Pieces is the ideal introduction to the fundamentals of physics by one of the most admired and accessible physicists of modern times. "If one book was all that could be passed on to the next generation of scientists it would undoubtedly have to be Six Easy Pieces. "- John Gribbin, New Scientist Also by Richard P. Feynman Title Page PUBLISHER’S NOTE Introduction SPECIAL PREFACE FEYNMAN’S PREFACE 1 - ATOMS IN MOTION Introduction Matter is made of atoms Atomic processes Chemical reactions 2 - BASIC PHYSICS Introduction 3 - THE RELATION OF PHYSICS TO OTHER SCIENCES Introduction Chemistry Biology Astronomy Geology Psychology How did it get that way? 4 - CONSERVATION OF ENERGY What is energy? Gravitational potential energy Kinetic energy Other forms or energy 5 - THE THEORY OF GRAVITATION Planetary motions Kepler’s laws Development of dynamics Newton’s law of gravitation Universal gravitation Cavendish’s experiment What is gravity? Gravity and relativity 6 - QUANTUM BEHAVIOR Atomic mechanics An experiment with bullets An experiment with waves An experiment with electrons The interference of electron waves Watching the electrons First principles of quantum mechanics The uncertainty principle INDEX Copyright Page "It was Feynman's outrageous and scintillating method of teaching that earned him legendary status among students and professors of physics. From 1961 to 1963, Feynman delivered a series of lectures at the California Institute of Technology that revolutionized the teaching of physics around the world. 'Six Not-So-Easy Pieces', taken from these famous 'Lectures on Physics' represent some the most stimulating material from the series. In these classic lessons, Feynman introduces the general reader to the following topics: atoms, basic physics, energy, gravitation, quantum mechanics, and the relationship of physics to other topics..."--P. [4] of cover. "It was Feynman's outrageous and scintillating method of teaching that earned him legendary status among students and professors of physics. From 1961 to 1963, Feynman delivered a series of lectures at the California Institute of Technology that revolutionized the teaching of physics around the world. 'Six Not-So-Easy Pieces', taken from these famous 'Lectures on Physics' represent some the most stimulating material from the series. In these classic lessons, Feynman introduces the general reader to the following topics: atoms, basic physics, energy, gravitation, quantum mechanics, and the relationship of physics to other topics ..."--Page 4 of cover Presents six of the easiest chapters from the Nobel Prize winner's celebrated text Lectures in Physics, originally published in 1963, which comprised the lectures he prepared for undergraduate students at Caltech in the early 1960s. Addressing key topics in largely qualitative terms without formal mathematics, the six selections discuss atoms in motion, basic physics, the relation of physics to other sciences, conservation of energy, the theory of gravitation, and quantum behavior