Essential Physics

Technology connections
Chapter 1 - Science of Physics
Active noise cancellation Design principles for the solar power installation on a house Digital cameras, additive primary colors, and 256³ colors Energy technology and you Hexadecimal RGB colors for web pages How a photovoltaic cell works Intersecting science, technology, engineering and mathematics Optical fibers Physics knowledge needed for flying an aircraft Quantum physics and modern technology Subtractive primary colors (CMYK) Technology What technology means
Chapter 2 - Physical Quantities and Measurement
Estimating beyond the smallest gradation Metric and English systems of measurement Screw threads: English and metric
Chapter 3 - Position and Velocity
Global positioning satellites and devices Laser cutting tool uses (x, y) coordinates on its work stage Maps are a two-dimensional coordinate grid Speedometers read instantaneous speed
Chapter 4 - Acceleration
Parachutes and terminal velocity
Chapter 5 - Forces and Newton’s Laws
Coefficients of sliding friction for various surfaces Compression, extension, and torsion springs Friction and braking systems Loose and stiff springs and a car's suspension Lubrication technology Springs
Chapter 6 - Motion in Two and Three Dimensions
Coordinates for the laser position in a cutting machine Driverless vehicles Laws about autonomous vehicle technology Reading a compass
Chapter 7 - Circular Motion
Designing the trajectory of a spacecraft's flight to Saturn Satellite orbits Satellites, both natural and man-made Three generations of Mars-bound spacecraft Why did old bicycles have such large wheels?
Chapter 8 - Static Equilibrium and Torque
Foot-pound and pound-foot in technology
Chapter 9 - Work and Energy
Batteries and electrical power Breaking distance of a car Energy Star program Energy content of everyday goods Energy flow in clothing manufacture Energy guide labels for appliances Everyday objects that store energy Everyday technology in our age of energy Geothermal power generation Home electricity bills Hydroelectric power from dams Nuclear power from fusion and fission reactions Objects with elastic potential energy Power in everyday technology Power, wattage, and the light bulb Radiant power and the light bulb Solar power from photovoltaic cells Technology and agriculture over the last century Tidal energy Wind power from turbines
Chapter 10 - Conservation of Energy
Anti-lock brakes and the work-energy theorem Brake fade and glazing in automobile brakes Efficiency in technology Energy transformations in an internal combustion (piston) engine Hydroelectric dam
Chapter 11 - Momentum and Collisions
Car Airbags and Impulse Improving football helmets Rocket propulsion in a vacuum Seat belts and airbags
Chapter 12 - Machines
A pulley changes the direction of a force Advantages of wind power Applying torque to the axle to turn a bicycle's wheel Balloon-borne wind turbines Claw hammer as a lever for removing nails Gear ratios for typical road bikes Gears in an automobile transmission How a bicycle works How a crane works Low duty cycle of wind turbines Mechanical advantage of a bicycle Nutcracker as a lever for breaking shells Why bicycles no longer have large front wheels
Chapter 13 - Angular Momentum
How a gyroscope works MEMS vibrating structure gyroscopes in consumer electronics Precession of a gyroscope
Chapter 14 - Harmonic Motion
Engineering tradeoffs between stability and maneuverability Feedback and stability for aircraft Natural frequencies of some everyday objects Resonance in a swing Resonance, energy, and technology
Chapter 15 - Waves
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) X-ray images
Chapter 16 - Sound
Applications of active noise cancellation Audio compression Interpreting a soundtrack Microphones and sound recording Recording and playback of digital sound The musical scale Touch-tone frequency encoding on a phone Wavelength of sound in technology and musical instruments
Chapter 17 - Electricity and Circuits
Circuit breakers in household electrical systems Fuses in household circuits Household and car batteries How an alkaline battery works Semiconductors Using a digital multimeter What a light switch does
Chapter 18 - Electric and Magnetic Fields
Capacitors are devices to store electric charge Cars and lightning strikes Charged parallel plates create a uniform electric field for focusing beam in a CRT Computer cable shielding How a compass works How a laser printer works Magnetic north and compasses Magnets in our daily lives
Chapter 19 - Electromagnetism
Cathode-ray tube (CRT) Components of the electric motor Computer memory uses electromagnetism Determining the cyclotron radius for ions in a mass spectrometer Electric generators Electric motors Electric motors work through magnetic forces Electromagnets Loudspeakers Mass spectrometers use the magnetic force on a moving charged particle Moving-coil microphones Operating a hybrid car Superconductivity and superconducting magnets Transformers Velocity selector in a mass spectrometer
Chapter 20 - Light and Reflection
Diverging and converging mirrors How a pinhole camera works Making a mirror by silvering the backside of glass Reflection off a scanning mirror in a laser printer Spherical mirrors
Chapter 21 - Refraction and Lenses
Binoculars use lenses and prisms to create a magnified, upright image Compound microscope uses multiple lenses to create a magnified image Diopters measure the curvature of correcting lenses Grazing incidence mirrors for x-ray telescopes Laser eye surgery Optical fibers and total internal reflection Radio telescopes Single-lens reflex (SLR) camera uses lenses, pentaprism, and flip mirror Tube lengths and eye relief distances in microscope design
Chapter 22 - Electromagnetic Radiation
Devices that use radio waves and microwaves Diffraction gratings Diffraction limited resolution of telescopes Diffraction through novelty transmission gratings Fiber optics and internal reflection Frequencies for communication and mobile phone technology How amplitude modulated (AM) radio works Medical imaging at x-ray and gamma-ray wavelengths Photons as particles in communications technology Polarizing filters in sunglasses and cameras Silicon in charge-coupled devices (CCDs) use the photoelectric effect Solar energy density on Earth Spectrographs Thermal imaging cameras for home energy audits and infrared goggles Thermal imaging cameras for home energy audits, infrared goggles, and weather satellites
Chapter 23 - Properties of Matter
Calories on food labels Converting units and understanding energy content from food Energy transformations in technology usually produce heat How transistors work and are used in electronics devices
Chapter 24 - Heat Transfer
Color temperature and compact fluorescent bulbs Heat transfer for a solar thermal energy collector Heating systems use convection How vacuum or Thermos® bottles work Thermal conductivity in technology
Chapter 25 - Thermodynamics
How four-stroke engines operate Invention of the internal combustion engine Modern refrigerators use a two-phase cycle Newcomen steam engine Watts's improved steam engine
Chapter 26 - Quantum Physics and the Atom
Pulse oximeter and pulse monitor use infrared technology Spectrograph is an instrument for dispersing light into its wavelengths What makes a Crooke's radiometer spin?
Chapter 27 - Nuclear Physics
Carbon dating Design of a nuclear power plant Detecting radioactivity with a Geiger counter Magnetic resonance imaging Nuclear medicine. Radiotherapy to cancer in humans Positron emission tomography (PET) Radiometric dating Smoke detector and alpha-decay Using lasers to detect gravitational waves