Physics for the Inquiring Mind is gem of a book written by Eric Rogers. The subtitle of the book reads The methods, nature, and Philosophy of Physical Science. The book was published by Princeton University Press in 1960.
As the subtitle says the book goes into methods and the philosophy of the physical science. Even the things which we suppose were quite natural and simple are questioned in a way that really sets you thinking.
One of the major features of the book is excellent illustrations that are numerous and very well done. The clarity and the way they are drawn to elucidate a concept is just amazing.
Why the other books on physics do not have such meaningful diagrams.
Another major theme that is emphasized is the laboratory work and actual`hands on' activities that Rogers literally urges us to do.
Also rhetoric at times is employed to make the point clear. Consider this excerpt from page 343-344; one of my favorites from the book:
Demons
Problem 1 in Chapter 7 asked, ``How do you know that it is friction that brings a rolling ball to a stop and not demons? Suppose you answer this, while a neighbor, Faustus, argues for demons. The discussion might run like this:
YOU: I don't believe in demons.
FAUSTUS: I do.
Y: Anyway I don't see how demons can make friction.
F: They just stand in front of things and push to stop them from moving.
Y: I can't see any demons even on the roughest table.
F: They are too small, also transparent.
Y: But there is more friction on the rough surfaces.
F: More demons.
Y: Oil helps.
F: Oil drowns demons.
Y: If I polish the table, there is less friction and the ball rolls farther.
F: You are wiping demons off; there are fewer to push.
Y: A heavier ball experiences more friction.
F: More demons push it, and it crushes their bones more.
Y: If I put a rough brick on the table I can push against friction with more and more force, up to a limit, and the block stays still, with friction just balancing my push.
F: Of course demons push just hard enough to stop you moving the brick; but there is a limit to their strength beyond which they collapse.
Y: But when I push had enough and get the brick moving there is a friction that drags the brick as it moves along.
F: Yes, once they have collapsed the demons are crushed by the brick. It is their crackling bones that oppose sliding.
Y: I cannot feel them.
F: Rub your finger along the table.
Y: Friction follows definite laws. For example, experiment shows that a brick sliding along the table is dragged by friction with a force independent of velocity.
F: Of course, the same number of demons to crush however fast you run over them.
Y: If I slide a brick along the table again and again, friction is the same each time. Demons would be crushed in the first trip.
F: Yes, but they multiply incredibly fast.
Y: There are other laws of friction: for example, the drag is proportional to the pressure holding the surfaces together.
F: The demons live in the pores of the surface: more pressure makes more of them to rush out to push and be crushed. Demons act in just the right way to push and drag with the forces you find in your experiments.
How was this for you?
After reading this I have seen demons in many more hidden places...
The book is divided into five parts:
Part One: Matter, Motion, Force
Part Two: Astronomy: A History of Theory
Part Three: Molecules and Energy
Part Four: Electricity and Magnetism
Part Five: Atomic and Nuclear Physics
With brief interludes between parts.
The section two on astronomy is just amazing. I mean you really do get a feel of things, the way theory got its ground in this section...
About Eric Rogers
``Eric Rogers was a great physics educator, with a worldwide reputation for the passion, profoundity and quirkiness for his thinking.''
Taken from the back cover of the book Wonder and Delight - Essays in Science Education. This book is in the honor of the life and work of Eric Rogers [1902-1990].
``Eric Rogers' own voice speaks throughout the book. The various contributions are introduced with short quotations form his writings. They are certainly powerfully evocative for those who knew him, and will convey better than any part of the book the essential nature of the man to those who did not.''
Eric Rogers was the driving fore behind the Nuffield Program in Physics.
Now which exists in
http://www.nuffieldcurriculumcentre.org/
and more
http://www.practicalphysics.org/
Personally I came to know about the book while reading Newtonian Mechanics by A. P. French [more about this another good book sometime later]. In this book the author quotes from Rogers when solar system is talked about.
I have heard about how happy and delighted he was at the Doon School where he had visited in the 80's from C. K Dikshit one of the senior teachers there who had implemented Rogers' approach.
One of the reviews of the book can be seen at :
Physics for the Inquiring Mind
- Eric M. Rogers, Author and
- Francis L. Friedman, Reviewer
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