Physics and Technology for Future Presidents: An Introduction to the Essential Physics Every World Leader Needs to Know

Richard A. Muller

Apr 2010 · Princeton University Press

About this ebook

Physics for future world leaders

Physics and Technology for Future Presidents contains the essential physics that students need in order to understand today's core science and technology issues, and to become the next generation of world leaders. From the physics of energy to climate change, and from spy technology to quantum computers, this is the only textbook to focus on the modern physics affecting the decisions of political leaders and CEOs and, consequently, the lives of every citizen. How practical are alternative energy sources? Can satellites really read license plates from space? What is the quantum physics behind iPods and supermarket scanners? And how much should we fear a terrorist nuke? This lively book empowers students possessing any level of scientific background with the tools they need to make informed decisions and to argue their views persuasively with anyone—expert or otherwise.

Based on Richard Muller's renowned course at Berkeley, the book explores critical physics topics: energy and power, atoms and heat, gravity and space, nuclei and radioactivity, chain reactions and atomic bombs, electricity and magnetism, waves, light, invisible light, climate change, quantum physics, and relativity. Muller engages readers through many intriguing examples, helpful facts to remember, a fun-to-read text, and an emphasis on real-world problems rather than mathematical computation. He includes chapter summaries, essay and discussion questions, Internet research topics, and handy tips for instructors to make the classroom experience more rewarding.

Accessible and entertaining, Physics and Technology for Future Presidents gives students the scientific fluency they need to become well-rounded leaders in a world driven by science and technology.

Leading universities that have adopted this book include:

• Harvard
• Purdue
• Rice University
• University of Chicago
• Sarah Lawrence College
• Notre Dame
• Wellesley
• Wesleyan
• University of Colorado
• Northwestern
• Washington University in St. Louis
• University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
• Fordham
• University of Miami
• George Washington University

Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.

Ratings and reviews

This a very good 'light read' physics book. I sometimes enjoy these because they help give a 'real' feeling to physics. The kind that makes you feel like you actually understand. Muller does a great job of explaining a lot of misconceptions and has a very easy to read physics book for all to enjoy (despite the title). One of the best physics books I've read.

I read this to teach myself classical physics in preparation for advanced physics courses. It is a very comprehensive read, and the author gives a lot of personality. I would recommend this to anybody who wishes to learn more about the basic foundations of the study of physics, or wish to dive into more complex concepts, such as quantum mechanics.

After I finished reading this book,I have just realized that I am living on this planet with much more common sense than most of other people do.

About the author

Richard A. Muller is professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and a past winner of the MacArthur Fellowship. He is the author of Nemesis (Weidenfeld & Nicholson) and Physics for Future Presidents (Norton).