Mad About Physics: Braintwisters, Paradoxes, and Curiosities

Rating:
Summary: Acclaim from a British physics journal
Review: As a physicist I was impressed
by a review of MAD ABOUT PHYSICS which
came out in the July 2001 issue of PHYSICS WORLD,
a British physics monthly. The review was written
by Peter Ford, a member of the physics department
at the University of Bath, and referred to MAD ABOUT
PHYSICS as a "fascinating new book."

Rating:
Summary: Great Book for Physics Enthusiasts!
Review: I bought this book after reading the previous reviews, and it was exactly the book I had imagined. The more you read, the more you want to know about the world and how things work in our world. Physics is amazingly applied throughout our lives knowingly and unknowingly. The curiosities just keep going. After finishing it, you can correct your friends on misconcepted ideas or explain to them the theories behind an event.

This paperback has 397 questions/puzzles, each with an answer in the back. Questions range from simple ones like what is the difference between gas and vapor, to more complex ones like the architecture of a rollercoaster. Although someone earlier had recommended this book for children, I would say that most of the braintwisters require some fundamental understanding of physics that a highschool student would have an easier time with. But again it is certainly a great choice and a must-have if you are one of those physics maniacs like me.

Rating:
Summary: Acclaim from a British physics journal
Review: It's been over 20 years since I've had any physics, but I still enjoyed the riddles and questions in this book -- sure, some were over my head, but I still could understand lots of the explanations. Plus, the examples are practical enough to make you the star of your next party: is it better (which will make it COOL faster) to let black coffee cool first and then put in cold milk or to put cold milk in and let it cool? Coffee drinkers will be happy to know that black coffee cools faster than white so wait a few minutes before pouring your cold milk in if you want it to cool quickly. If you like these kinds of brainteasers, you'll love this book. An appropriate gift for students and pondering adults alike. The authors also provide interesting quotes in the margins that make for good reading as well. Some of the explanations are a bit too brief if you really want to understand the physics behind it, but the authors provide the reader with enough information to dig deeper. Fun!

Rating:
Summary: fun for experts and novices alike
Review: It's been over 20 years since I've had any physics, but I still enjoyed the riddles and questions in this book -- sure, some were over my head, but I still could understand lots of the explanations. Plus, the examples are practical enough to make you the star of your next party: is it better (which will make it COOL faster) to let black coffee cool first and then put in cold milk or to put cold milk in and let it cool? Coffee drinkers will be happy to know that black coffee cools faster than white so wait a few minutes before pouring your cold milk in if you want it to cool quickly. If you like these kinds of brainteasers, you'll love this book. An appropriate gift for students and pondering adults alike. The authors also provide interesting quotes in the margins that make for good reading as well. Some of the explanations are a bit too brief if you really want to understand the physics behind it, but the authors provide the reader with enough information to dig deeper. Fun!

Rating:
Summary: Great Grandchild Gift!
Review: On a friend's recommendation, I bought this book for a grandchild. I now have three copies, which will go to three families of grandchildren, ages preschool to junior high.

The book's format of numbered questions or "puzzles", with answers in the back of the book, presents ideas that parents can use to guide young children into "thinking scientifically," Older children on their own can return again and again to the book to understand why things function as they do. This is great fodder for parents to help their school-age children plan science projects, at various levels.

The outside margin of each page has thought-provoking quotations from the famous and the not-so-famous as well as humorous observations. This is truly a book to which one will return again and again.