James B. Seaborn

Understanding the Universe

An Introduction to Physics and Astrophysics

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

This text is intended for undergraduate nonscience majors, satisfying a general education requirement or seeking an elective in natural science. It is a text on physics, but with an emphasis on topics and applications in astronomy; the perspective is thus different from most undergraduate astronomy courses: rather than discussing what one knows about the heavens (and including, where needed, a brief discussion of the necessary physics), this text develops the principles of physics (as one needs them to understand the behavior of matter on Earth) and uses these to illuminate what we see in the heavens. The fundamental principles governing the behavior of matter and energy are thus used to study the solar system, the structure and evolution of stars, and the early universe. The first part of the book develops Newtonian mechanics with an aim of understanding celestial mechanics. Chapters on electromagnetism and elementary quantum theory lay the foundation of the modern theory of thestructure of matter and the role of radiation in the constitution of stars. Kinetic theory and nuclear physics provide the basis for a discussion of stellar structure and evolution. And an examination of red shifts andother observational data provide a basis for discussions of cosmology and cosmogony.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Springer / Springer New York / Springer, Berlin
• Artikelnr. des Verlages: 978-0-387-98295-3
• 1998
• Seitenzahl: 320
• Erscheinungstermin: 12. Dezember 1997
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 241mm x 160mm x 23mm
• Gewicht: 582g
• ISBN-13: 9780387982953
• ISBN-10: 0387982957
• Artikelnr.: 07281244

Inhaltsangabe

1. Watchers of the Heavens.- 1.1. Celestial Motions.- 1.2. Early Astronomy.- 1.3. The Copernican Revolution.- Exercises.- 2. The Stuff Moves Around.- 2.1. Fundamental Properties.- 2.2. Derived Quantities.- 2.3. Scalars and Vectors 21 Exercises.- 3. Eyes on the Skies.- 3.1. Wave Phenomena.- 3.2. Reflection and Refraction of Light.- 3.3. The Doppler Effect.- Exercises.- 4. Newton Puts It All Together.- 4.1. Newton's Laws of Motion.- 4.2. Linear Momentum.- 4.3. Weight.- Exercises.- 5. Running the Machine.- 5.1. Mechanical Work.- 5.2. Energy.- 5.3. Collisions.- 5.4. Power.- Exercises.- 6. Off the Straight and Narrow.- 6.1. Uniform Circular Motion.- 6.2. Centripetal Force.- Exercises.- 7. The Gravity of It All.- 7.1. Early Speculations.- 7.2. Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation.- 7.3. Measurement of the Force Constant.- 7.4. Escape Velocity.- 7.5. Planetary Atmospheres.- Exercises.- 8. Round and Round She Goes.- 8.1. Orbital Motion.- 8.2. Artificial Satellites in Earth Orbit.- Exercises.- 9. As the World Turns.- 9.1. Mechanical Equilibrium.- 9.2. The Origin of the Solar System.- Exercises.- 10. Let There Be Light!.- 10.1. Electricity.- 10.2. Magnetism.- 10.3. Induced Electric Currents.- 10.4. Electromagnetic Radiation and Light.- 10.5. The Earth's Magnetic Field.- 10.6. Electric Potential Energy.- Exercises.- 11. What's the Matter?.- 11.1. Thomson's Model of the Atom.- 11.2. The Discovery of Radioactivity.- 11.3. The Geiger-Marsden Experiment.- 11.4. Rutherford's Model of the Atom.- Exercises.- 12. Hot Stuff.- 12.1. Radiation from Hot Matter.- 12.2. The Failure of Classical Physics.- 12.3. Planck's Quantum Hypothesis.- Exercises.- 13. Einstein's Bundles.- 13.1. The Photoelectric Effect.- 13.2. Momentum of Light.- 13.3. Equivalence of Mass and Energy.- Exercises.- 14. The Great Dane.- 14.1. The Structure of the Atom.- 14.2. The Man from Copenhagen.- 14.3. Comets.- Exercises.- 15. Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice.- 15.1. The Many-Electron Atom.- 15.2. Atomic Spectra.- 15.3. The Periodic Table of the Elements.- Exercises.- 16. The Starry Messenger.- 16.1. Intrinsic Brightness.- 16.2. Stellar Spectra.- 16.3. The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram.- 16.4. Binary Stars.- Exercises.- 17. The Sun Is a Gas.- 17.1. Boyle's Law.- 17.2. A Molecular Model of the Gas.- 17.3. The Ideal Gas Law.- 17.4. Absolute Temperature.- Exercises.- 18. The Sun Is a Nuclear Furnace.- 18.1. The Structure of the Atomic Nucleus.- 18.2. Nuclear Reactions.- Exercises.- 19. No More to Wonder What You Are.- 19.1. The Evolution of a Star Like the Sun.- 19.2. The Evolution of a Heavier Star.- 19.3. The Stuff Between the Stars.- 19.4. Solar Neutrinos.- Exercises.- 20. The Flight of the Galaxies.- 20.1. The Nebulae.- 20.2. Variable Stars and Cosmic Distances.- 20.3. Hubble's Discovery.- 20.4. The Structure of a Spiral Galaxy.- Exercises.- 21. The Big Picture.- 21.1. The Cosmological Principle.- 21.2. The Quasars.- 21.3. The Cosmic Background Radiation.- 21.4. A Final Word.- Exercises.- Appendix A. Linear Graphs.- Exercises.- Appendix B. Physical and Astronomical Data.- Appendix C. Useful Formulas.- Appendix D. The Chemical Elements.- Appendix E. The Brightest Stars in the Sky.

Rezensionen

From the reviews "This excellent text on physics is intended for undergraduate non-science majors. It is a unique introductory physics book in the sense that its emphasis is on applications in astronomy ... This kind of well-written and compelling text is the best publicity for the physical sciences! Even science majors and physicists (especially teachers) should read it and enjoy (at least the reviewer enjoyed it a lot)." Mathematical Reviews