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Lewis Carroll Epstein
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Thinking Physics: Understandable Practical Reality Paperback – January 1, 2002

by Lewis Carroll Epstein (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 159 ratings
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Lewis Carroll Epstein explains deep ideas in physics in an easy-to-understand way. Thinking Physics is a perfect beginner’s guide to an amazingly wide range of physics-related questions. The book targets topics that science teachers and students spend time wondering about, like wing lift. Epstein elucidates the familiar but misunderstood — such as how tides work — along with more obscure but fascinating phenomena like the “Bernoulli sub” and the “artificial aurora” created by hydrogen bombs. Broken into many short sections and peppered with Epstein’s own playful hand-drawn illustrations, the book does not simply give the right answer: It also goes into the answers that seem right but are wrong and shows why they are wrong — a rarity in science books. Thinking Physics is a rigorously correct, lighthearted, and cleverly designed Q and A book for physicists of all ages.
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  1. Reading age
    7 - 9 years
  2. Print length
    582 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    2 - 3
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1 x 8.75 inches
  6. Publisher
    Insight Press, San Francisco, CA
  7. Publication date
    January 1, 2002
  8. ISBN-10
    9780935218084
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0935218084
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0935218084
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Insight Press, San Francisco, CA; 3rd edition (January 1, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 582 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780935218084
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0935218084
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 7 - 9 years
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 2 - 3
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.6 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1 x 8.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 159 ratings

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Lewis Carroll Epstein

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
159 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers praise the book's physics content, particularly its Q&A format and how it helps build analytical skills. Moreover, the book is easy to understand, with one customer noting it requires very little math. Additionally, customers appreciate that it's suitable for all ages, featuring thoughtful practical questions, and includes nice sketches. Customers also find the book entertaining.

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36 customers mention "Physics content"36 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the physics content of the book, particularly its Q&A format and how it leads to great concepts teaching. One customer notes that it helps build analytical skills, while another mentions it is suitable for both engineers and English majors.

"Really nice book" Read more

"...during my college engineering curriculum, for they focus on teaching the material to the reader, as opposed to masking it in the equations of a..." Read more

"...anyone to think through everyday problems and gain experience in thinking without doing calculations or sitting through endless ball-rolling-down-..." Read more

"...This is one of those texts that teaches you how to think; in this case like a physicist. We see that what so often seems simple and obvious is not...." Read more

13 customers mention "Ease of understanding"12 positive1 negative

Customers find the book easy to understand, with one customer noting it requires very little math and uses bite-sized lessons grouped under various headings.

"An excellent low-math book that covers many everyday concepts in physics, allows anyone to think through everyday problems and gain experience in..." Read more

"...Very little math required...." Read more

"...That aside, the physics part of the book is fantastic and is beautifully reasoned and specifically designed to make complicated concepts easy to..." Read more

"...The font is nice and big and the drawings are a plus I try to get my students to sketch their questions before they attempt them so this is lovely...." Read more

9 customers mention "Age range"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book suitable for all ages, appreciating its thoughtful and practical questions. One customer notes it is particularly good for junior and high school students, while another mentions it can be used with younger children with parental guidance.

"...Many kids have sensible questions about why e.g. a bike stays up or who you really wouldn't want to run into on a football field, and the answers to..." Read more

"...The time flew. I can't recommend it enough. Truly profound." Read more

"...Unbelievable how this book can be used from 4th grade to high school/college and be appropriate for all...." Read more

"...This book poses thoughtful practical questions, gives you several possible answers and then, on the following page, provides the correct answer and..." Read more

3 customers mention "Drawing quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the nice sketches in the book, with one noting its unique presentation.

"...With a presentation both unique and entertaining, Lewis Carroll Epstein's Thinking Physics has certainly claimed a rightful seat at the roundtable..." Read more

"...want to run into on a football field, and the answers to them, and nice sketches too." Read more

"...The font is nice and big and the drawings are a plus I try to get my students to sketch their questions before they attempt them so this is lovely...." Read more

3 customers mention "Humor"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book entertaining.

"...With a presentation both unique and entertaining, Lewis Carroll Epstein's Thinking Physics has certainly claimed a rightful seat at the roundtable..." Read more

"...The answer keys are highly intelligible as well as entertaining...." Read more

"Explanation are not clear and concise but it's funny and can get some knowledge across" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Steve Warfel
    5.0 out of 5 stars Nice book
    Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Really nice book
    Helpful
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  • Beej
    5.0 out of 5 stars Should be forced on every high school student
    Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    Every so often I pick up a book that I wish I read 10 years ago. Feynman's Lectures on Physics and Van Hess's Thermodynamics are among these, as well as Polya's How To Solve It for those more mathematically inclined. These would have certainly saved me from much confusion during my college engineering curriculum, for they focus on teaching the material to the reader, as opposed to masking it in the equations of a textbook. Some lucky folks have the ability to glance at equations and immediately grasp their meaning; for the other 99.99% of us, an intuitive explanation replete with real-world analogies helps to bring the meaning to life.

    With a presentation both unique and entertaining, Lewis Carroll Epstein's Thinking Physics has certainly claimed a rightful seat at the roundtable of wonderful didactic books. Every page poses a question that challenges the reader on his view of the physical world, and nearly every answer tears down the fallacies of his intuition. Socrates would have been proud of the format, with each new question expanding on concepts developed in earlier answers. One of the 1-star reviews mentioned a lack of organization. This criticism completely misses the point. It is NOT a textbook, so "obviously" it will lack some of the rigorous development of concepts and precise organization that you would expect in a physics text. It IS a popular physics book with lots of cartoony pictures that a kid in elementary school could both enjoy and understand. At the same time, the insights will help build anyone's physics intuition, regardless of age. I read this book when I was 30. I have since started going through problems in Kleppner and Kolenkow and some other more advanced texts, and I really think this book helped.
    63 people found this helpful
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  • Epsilon Delta
    4.0 out of 5 stars some part of it can have some revision
    Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2008
    Verified Purchase
    I read part of this book in a bookstore and in the author's other book Relativity Visualized.

    There is a quiz about Magnet Car: in the picture, a guy dangles a fishing pole with fishing string tied to a big magnet, and he is standing inside an iron cart. the magnet is very close to outside body of the iron kart. The question is: will the cart move. (warning: answer is mentioned here next...)

    The answer on the book is: no it won't, because there is no work done from zero work input. And that there is no perpetual machine and Newton's Third Law says action equal reaction but in opposite direction, and they cancel out, etc.

    Now, I can tell you that is not the case, because it is a fishing pole and fishing string, the magnet will get attracted to the cart's body, get pulled over a bit, while the cart is also pulled over a bit (less than how much the magnet has moved if we assume the cart is heavier than the big magnet). Why? Because the magnet experiences a force pulling it towards the cart, and what is there to stop it from moving? The fishing string? Sorry, if it were a metal crane or something rigid, that is really the case: the magnet wants to move, but pushes the crane that is bolted to the cart, and the cart wants to move towards the magnet, but the crane is pushing it exactly the other way with the same force, just opposite direction, so the 2 forces cancel out and the magnet and the cart won't move. Note, however, that now it is not something rigid like a crane but is a fishing pole and fishing string. If the magnetic force is strong enough, the magnet will get attracted and sway towards the cart, and the cart will be moved a little bit too. But the overall center of mass of the whole system (what is called the physical body) remain unchanged. Also imagine if it is a crane, but it is a weak crane made of paper cones. If the magnetic force is strong enough, the paper crane will also bend and have a similar scenario as the fishing pole and string. I hope the description can be more accurate.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • AS
    5.0 out of 5 stars A fine addition to any science library
    Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2008
    Verified Purchase
    An excellent low-math book that covers many everyday concepts in physics, allows anyone to think through everyday problems and gain experience in thinking without doing calculations or sitting through endless ball-rolling-down-ramp labs. It shows ways that physicists and scientifically literate people think about physics problems in general terms. I've seen it on many shelves- grad students, postdocs and professors, teaching or not, since my undergrad days 25 years ago , alongside Art of Electronics, Jackson, Halliday/Resnik , and a book of integrals. Fine for junior- and high school students, and even younger with parental guidance. Many kids have sensible questions about why e.g. a bike stays up or who you really wouldn't want to run into on a football field, and the answers to them, and nice sketches too.
    5 people found this helpful
    Helpful
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  • pete steinberg
    5.0 out of 5 stars How to think vs. what to think.
    Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Just a wonderful book for engineers and English majors alike. This is one of those texts that teaches you how to think; in this case like a physicist. We see that what so often seems simple and obvious is not. It looks at problems conceptually and makes us reduce a problem to the bare bones. Very little math required. the concepts of work, force, energy, velocity, acceleration, weight, mass, inertia, impulse, momentum and time are explored in a lucid and playful manner using ordinary language. My girlfriend and I discussed a problem for five hours as we drove to San Francisco. The time flew. I can't recommend it enough. Truly profound.
    4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • gabriele
    5.0 out of 5 stars Prima Zustand
    Reviewed in Germany on February 8, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Prima Zustand, lediglich ein wenig vergraut. Wurde bestimmt vom Vorgänger wenig benutzt, das kann ich von dem Beschenkten jedoch nicht behaupten. Viele Beispiele, da bekommt man Spaß an der Physik. Danke
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  • Bala ganesh akasapu
    5.0 out of 5 stars quality of the book is awesome and i love the book it explains all the ...
    Reviewed in India on April 21, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    quality of the book is awesome and i love the book it explains all the real life examples its like a sci fi novel for physics lovers like me Thankyou amazon to let me dream big and read all the books i love and i hope more such foreign books available for india
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  • odlan
    5.0 out of 5 stars LIvro de questões de física geral.
    Reviewed in Brazil on June 19, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Recebi hoje dia 19/06/2024. Livro de capa comum, com boa impressão tipográfica e bastante ilustrado com desenhos à mão.
    Report
  • Nat
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book
    Reviewed in Italy on November 14, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    The book is simply wonderful.
    I do not ever read nothing as this.
    All physics teacher would read it.
    If you want understand physics, you must study "Thinking Physics".
    Thank to Epstein.
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  • Farhad Ganiyev
    5.0 out of 5 stars A great book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 2, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    First learned about this book in Harry Potter and principles of rationality. Only recently it appeared on Amazon at a reasonable price. Thanks to this shop.
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