Steven Holzner - Physics For Dummies, 2 eBook Bundle: Physics I For Dummies & Physics II For Dummies

Physics I For Dummies, 2nd Edition

by Steven Holzner, PhD

Physics I For Dummies, 2nd Edition

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Copyright 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2011926317

ISBN: 978-0-470-90324-7

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

Steven Holzner is an award-winning author of 94 books, which have sold more than 2 million copies and have been translated into 18 languages. He served on the Physics faculty at Cornell University for more than a decade, teaching both Physics 101 and Physics 102. Dr. Holzner received his PhD in physics from Cornell and performed his undergrad work at MIT, where he has also served as a faculty member.

Dedication

To Nancy.

Authors Acknowledgments

Any book such as this one is the work of many people besides the author. Id like to thank my acquisitions editor, Stacy Kennedy, and everyone else who had a hand in the books contents, including Tracy Barr, Danielle Voirol, Joel Bryan, Eric Hedin, and Neil Clark. Thank you, everyone.

Publishers Acknowledgments

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Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development

Editors: Tracy Barr, Danielle Voirol

Acquisitions Editor: Stacy Kennedy

Assistant Editor: David Lutton

Editorial Program Coordinator: Joe Niesen

Technical Editors: Joel Bryan, PhD; Eric Hedin, PhD

Editorial Managers: Jennifer Erhlich, Senior Editorial Manager; Carmen Krikorian, Editorial Supervisor and Reprint Editor

Editorial Assistants: Jennette ElNaggar, Rachelle S. Amick

Cover Photos: iStockphoto.com / Marco Martins

Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Katherine Crocker

Layout and Graphics: Corrie Socolovitch, Christin Swinford, Laura Westhuis

Proofreaders: Laura Albert, Laura Bowman

Indexer: Infodex Indexing Services, Inc.

Special Help

Neil Clark, Krista Fanning

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies

Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies

Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel

Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel

Publishing for Technology Dummies

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User

Composition Services

Debbie Stailey , Director of Composition Services

Introduction

P hysics is what its all about. What whats all about? Everything. Physics is present in every action around you. And because physics is everywhere, it gets into some tricky places, which means it can be hard to follow. Studying physics can be even worse when youre reading some dense textbook thats hard to follow.

For most people who come into contact with physics, textbooks that land with 1,200-page whumps on desks are their only exposure to this amazingly rich and rewarding field. And what follows are weary struggles as the readers try to scale the awesome bulwarks of the massive tomes. Has no brave soul ever wanted to write a book on physics from the readers point of view? One soul is up to the task, and here I come with such a book.

About This Book

Physics I For Dummies, 2nd Edition, is all about physics from your point of view. Ive taught physics to many thousands of students at the university level, and from that experience, I know that most students share one common trait: confusion. As in, Im confused about what I did to deserve such torture.