physics

Mad About Physics

Mad About Physics is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mad About Physics rather than just read about it. In short: Mad about Physics: Brainteasers, Paradoxes, and Curiosities is a book revolving around physics puzzles first released in 2001 and published by Wiley. It covers mechanics, electricity, magnetism and optics, as well as the physics of sports, space exploration and astronomy.

Key takeaways

Mad About Physics belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mad About Physics to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mad About Physics from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mad about Physics: Brainteasers, Paradoxes, and Curiosities is a book revolving around physics puzzles first released in 2001 and published by Wiley. It covers mechanics, electricity, magnetism and optics, as well as the physics of sports, space exploration and astronomy. It has been translated into seven languages, including German, Greek, Japanese and Chinese. The book is in its 10th reprinting as of 2013.

Content The book contains around 400 questions, along with many marginalia, jokes, anecdotes, and scientific facts. It also contains some quotations from Albert Einstein and the cartoon character Bugs Bunny congruent to the theme of the book.

Reception and Reviews Peter Ford, a physicist at the University of Bath in the UK, called Mad about Physics "an interesting new book." He wrote that "many of its problems will be useful for teachers, both at senior level in schools and at universities, for discussion with students in small groups. Such tutorials should be used to encourage students to start talking about physics and 'thinking like a physicist.'" Carol Ryback wrote, "Here's a quick fix for those brain-teasing inquiries that stick in your mind like an old song. While not limited to astronomy-related trivia, 'Mad about Physics"—like a top-40 countdown on the radio – has an allure that makes you want more."

Awards In 2002, Mad about Physics was selected by the New York Public Library as "one of the best" titles of the year 2001 in the teen books and media category.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mad About Physics

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mad About Physics claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mad About Physics before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mad About Physics ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mad About Physics

In research: Mad About Physics appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mad About Physics in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mad About Physics is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2001 non-fiction books, Astronomy books, Popular physics books, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mad About Physics outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Mad About Physics in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mad About Physics means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mad About Physics out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mad About Physics in simple terms?

Why does Mad About Physics matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mad About Physics?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mad About Physics.