The freely downloadable volume presents electricity, magnetism and optics. It introduces fields and Maxwell's description of their motion, shows how animals, from sharks to people, make use of them in their senses and brains, and explains modern optical technologies.
Download volume III : LIGHT, CHARGES AND
BRAINS (38 MB)
The working of the eye, the infrared pits of snakes, the many types of rainbows, the various types of mirages, the working of a needle compass, the appearance of lightning, the working of computers and mobile phones, and the making of X-ray images are all shown to be effects of electricity and magnetism. The meaning of Maxwell's equations is made as clear as possible, with as little math as possible.
The volume also explains how nature builds brains and what people can do with them. How do we form physical concepts? What can we observe? How much of the future can we predict?
The text guarantees to be interesting and surprising on every page: it includes many embedded colour films and a large number of colour photographs, riddles, tables, internet links and curiosities. Enjoy!
| Download volume
III |
LIGHT, CHARGES AND BRAINS | |
| 1 | Liquid electricity, invisible fields and maximum speed | 14 |
| 2 | The description of electromagnetic field evolution | 69 |
| 3 | What is light? | 88 |
| 4 | Images and the eye - optics | 122 |
| 5 | Electromagnetic effects | 168 |
| 6 | Summary and limits of classical electrodynamics | 192 |
| 7 | The story of the brain | 198 |
| 8 | Thought and language | 217 |
| 9 | Concepts, lies and patterns of nature | 238 |
| 10 | Classical physics in a nutshell | 279 |
| Appendix A | Units, measurements and constants | 286 |
Read the volume online on scribd, without downloading it, by clicking here.
Get a paper edition, in black an white, delivered
to your home via lulu.com,
by clicking here.
Enjoy the reading!