Mathematical Nature Walk (eBook)

John Adam (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF | EPUB

2011
264 Seiten
Princeton University Press (Verlag)
978-1-4008-3290-3 (ISBN)

Infos

John A. Adam is professor of mathematics at Old Dominion University. He is the coauthor of Guesstimation: Solving the World's Problems on the Back of a Cocktail Napkin and the author of Mathematics in Nature (both Princeton).

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How heavy is that cloud? Why can you see farther in rain than in fog? Why are the droplets on that spider web spaced apart so evenly? If you have ever asked questions like these while outdoors, and wondered how you might figure out the answers, this is a book for you. An entertaining and informative collection of fascinating puzzles from the natural world around us, A Mathematical Nature Walk will delight anyone who loves nature or math or both. John Adam presents ninety-six questions about many common natural phenomena--and a few uncommon ones--and then shows how to answer them using mostly basic mathematics. Can you weigh a pumpkin just by carefully looking at it? Why can you see farther in rain than in fog? What causes the variations in the colors of butterfly wings, bird feathers, and oil slicks? And why are large haystacks prone to spontaneous combustion? These are just a few of the questions you'll find inside. Many of the problems are illustrated with photos and drawings, and the book also has answers, a glossary of terms, and a list of some of the patterns found in nature. About a quarter of the questions can be answered with arithmetic, and many of the rest require only precalculus. But regardless of math background, readers will learn from the informal descriptions of the problems and gain a new appreciation of the beauty of nature and the mathematics that lies behind it.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 12.9.2011
• Zusatzinfo: 17 color illus. 22 halftones. 97 line illus.
• Verlagsort: Princeton
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik ► Natur / Ökologie
• Themenwelt: Mathematik / Informatik ► Mathematik ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• Themenwelt: Mathematik / Informatik ► Mathematik ► Mathematische Spiele und Unterhaltung
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie
• Themenwelt: Technik
• Schlagworte: Amplitude • Angle of incidence (optics) • Anticrepuscular rays • Antisolar point • Apparent magnitude • Approximation • Arc (geometry) • arc length • Atmospheric pressure • Atmospheric refraction • Bessel function • Calculation • Circumhorizontal arc • Circumzenithal arc • Cirrus cloud • Cloud • Cloud iridescence • Cooling • Corona • Cumulus cloud • Diagram (category theory) • DIAMETER • differential equation • diffraction • Dimensionless quantity • Drop (liquid) • dump truck • Dynamical time scale • earth • earth science • Enrico Fermi • Equation • Fermi problem • Froude number • Function (mathematics) • Gardening • Geometry • Golden angle • golden ratio • Gravity • hexagon • Hydrostatic equilibrium • Hyperbola • Illuminance • inverse problem • inverse trigonometric functions • Iridescence • Jupiter • mathematical model • mathematical structure • Mathematics • meander • Measurement • Melting • Methodology • Neptune • Newton's law of cooling • nutrient • Order of magnitude • Photosphere • Phyllotaxis • physicist • power law • Precalculus • Prediction • pressure gradient • Princeton University Press • Proportionality (mathematics) • Proportion (architecture) • Quantity • radius of curvature • Rayleigh scattering • refraction • Refractive index • Reynolds Number • scattering • scientific notation • Sequoiadendron giganteum • Sequoia sempervirens • Sinuosity • Solar eclipse • Sphericity • spheroid • Stokes' law • Suggestion • Sunset • Surface Area • Surface-area-to-volume ratio • surface tension • Temperature • Three-dimensional space (mathematics) • Trigonometric Functions • Trigonometry • Unit circle • Variable (mathematics) • Violet light • Visible spectrum • Wavelength • Writing • Zion National Park
• ISBN-10: 1-4008-3290-X / 140083290X
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4008-3290-3 / 9781400832903