W. Thomas Griffith - Physics of Everyday Phenomena

page 1

Tenth Edition

W. Thomas Griffith

Pacific University

Juliet W. Brosing

Pacific University

page 2

THE PHYSICS OF EVERYDAY PHENOMENA

Published by McGraw Hill LLC, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10121. Copyright 2022 by McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC, including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning.

Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 LWI 24 23 22 21

ISBN 978-1-260-59771-4

MHID 1-260-59771-7

Cover Image: wangsong/123RF

All credits appearing on page or at the end of the book are considered to be an extension of the copyright page.

The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a website does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw Hill LLC, and McGraw Hill LLC does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites.

mheducation.com/highered

page III

Brief Contents

page IV

About the Authors

The author, Tom Griffith, and his wife, Sally.

Courtesy of Tom Griffith

Tom Griffith is now Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, having retired after 36 years of teaching physics at Pacific. He still shows up on campus on occasion and might make a rare appearance with his guitar in a physics course. He now spends half of the year in Portland, Oregon, and his winters in Green Valley, Arizona. Over the years he has enjoyed hiking, bicycling, singing, and participating in musical comedies, and he still performs in a jam band in Arizona. During his years at Pacific, he served as Physics Department Chair, Natural Sciences Division Chair, Interim Dean of Enrollment Management, and Director of Institutional Research, among other things, but his primary focus was always teaching physics. He was active in the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and the Northwest Association for College Physics (PNACP). His wife of 42 years, Adelia, died of cancer in 2009. He married his wife Sally, an art photographer, in 2014 and they both enjoy exploring the western United States and more distant places.

Juliet Brosing is now Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, where she taught physics for 30 years. Her research interests included nuclear physics, medical physics, and the application of teaching methods grounded in physics educational research. She has supported the importance of attracting young women into careers in science by helping to plan and run summer camps for seventh- and eighth-grade girls during the past 30 years. In 2012, she was named Oregon Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and CASE (the Council for Advancement and Support of Education). She is the proud owner of three potato guns; parties with students at her house still involve projectiles, lots of noise, and fudge. Even though retired, Dr. Brosing retains contact with her many talented alumni. She now finds time for kayaking, gardening, and, of course, working on this book! Above all, Dr. Brosing is dedicated to helping faculty teach physics with a positive outlook and methods that encourage and benefit students, regardless of their chosen field of study.

Source: NASA/Langley Research Center (NASA-LaRC)

page V

Detailed Contents

page VI

,

,

,

page VII

page VIII

page IX

page X

Preface

T he satisfaction of understanding how rainbows are formed, how ice skaters spin, or why ocean tides roll in and outphenomena that we have all seen or experiencedis one of the best motivators available for building scientific literacy. This book attempts to make that sense of satisfaction accessible to non-science majors. Intended for use in a one-semester or two-quarter course in conceptual physics, this book is written in a narrative style, frequently using questions designed to draw the reader into a dialogue about the ideas of physics. This inclusive style allows the book to be used by anyone interested in exploring the nature of physics and explanations of everyday physical phenomena.

How This Book Is Organized

The organization of chapters is traditional, with some minor variations. The chapter on energy () follows mechanics and leads into the chapters on thermodynamics. The first 17 chapters are designed to introduce students to the major ideas of classical physics and can be covered in a one-semester course with some judicious paring.

The complete 21 chapters could easily support a two-quarter course, and even a two-semester course in which the ideas are treated thoroughly and carefully. Chapters 18 and 19, on atomic and nuclear phenomena, are considered essential by many instructors, even in a one-semester course. If included in such a course, we recommend curtailing coverage in other areas to avoid student overload. Sample syllabi for these different types of courses can be found on the instructors website.

Some instructors would prefer to put on relativity at the end of the mechanics section or just prior to the modern physics material. Relativity has little to do with everyday phenomena, of course, but is included because of the high interest that it generally holds for students. The final chapter (21) introduces a variety of topics in modern physicsincluding particle physics, cosmology, semiconductors, and superconductivitythat could be used to stimulate interest at various points in a course.

One plea to instructors, as well as to students using this book: Dont try to cram too much material into too short a time! We have worked diligently to keep this book to a reasonable length while still covering the core concepts usually found in an introduction to physics. These ideas are most enjoyable when enough time is spent in lively discussion and in consideration of questions, so that a real understanding develops. Trying to cover material too quickly defeats the conceptual learning and leaves students in a dense haze of words and definitions. Less can be more if a good understanding results.

Mathematics in a Conceptual Physics Course