Physics for Geeks

Surprising Answers to the Planet’s Most Interesting Questions Could a human really fly with wings like a bird’s? Would Superman be able to punch someone into space? Could airplanes save fuel by using iPads instead of paper safety manuals? In Physics for Geeks, Rhett Allain, a physics professor and Wired’s popular Dot Physics blogger, combines pop culture with everyday science for an entertaining explanation of physics. Finding intriguing questions buried in familiar movies and TV shows, video games, viral videos, and news hooks, Physics for Geeks walks readers through the fascinating, easy-to-understand answers from a physics perspective. • Why does a mirror reverse left to right, but not top to bottom? • How many dollar bills would it take to stack them to the moon? • What if everyone on Earth jumped at the same time? • Is Angry Birds using real physics? • Does a heavier truck make a better snow plow? With illustrations, basic equations, and easy-to-read graphs and diagrams, each chapter not only covers the most popular subjects from Allain’s blog, like lightsabers and house-sized ducks, but uses those fun, and at times, mind-boggling questions to teach basic physics concepts. What better way to explain the nature of light than to consider how The Hobbit, Gollum could see in the dark? RHETT ALLAIN is an Associate Professor of Physics at Southeastem Louisiana University and the popular Dot Physics blogger at Wired Science Blogs. He has a knack for explaining things in a way that is both entertaining and educational. He is also the author of the National Geographic book Angry Birds Furious Forces: The Physics at Play in the World’s Most Popular Game and of Just Enough Physics.