Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 272 pages
- Published by: Kaplan Publishing September 4, 2007
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 1419594060
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-1419594069
-
Book Dimensions:
9.5 x 7.6 x 0.7 inches
- Weighs: 12.8 ounces
Product Description
Don’t Try This At Home! The Physics of Hollywood Movies is a fresh look at the basics of physics through the filmmaker’s lens. It will deconstruct, demystify, and debunk popular Hollywood films through the scientific explanations of the action genre’s most dynamic and unforgettable scenes.
Sample movie sequence and related physics concepts:
In ""Speed,"" a city bus going over 50 mph jumps over a 50-foot chasm--successfully. An examination of force, acceleration, Newton's Laws, impulse, momentum, and projectile motion follows.
About The Author
Adam Weiner has been a teacher of physics and AP physics at the Bishop's School, a highly academic college preparatory school in La Jolla, CA for the last 11 years. Prior to that he worked as a physics instructor at Green River Community College in Auburn, WA in a department very active in physics education research. In addition to an M.S. in Geophysics from The University of Hawaii, Adam has an M.F.A. in acting from SUNY-Binghamton, and along with teaching physics, has done some professional acting, and stand up comedy. In his spare time Adam is a competitive long distance runner, surfer, and avid reader.
Reader Reviews
This is essentially a basic physics text written in a fun way. The book's format is that physical principles are developed using plenty of formulas, as necessary. Then, these principles are applied by analyzing scenes from various movies, usually through worked-out examples. On the positive side, the book covers just about all aspects of basic physics, i.e., mechanics, thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, optics and modern physics (relativity and quantum mechanics). The writing style is simple, friendly, often witty and quite engaging. The book provides the reader with the tools needed to understand how the world really works. The scientific analysis of movie scenes complements the theory very well and gives the reader a very good feel for what is possible, what is unlikely and what is scientifically ridiculous. On the negative side, the book contains many errors: some are incorrect/misleading statements, e.g., p. 63: "Deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen that consists of two protons fused together" (it actually consists of a proton and a neutron); some are various misprints and sloppiness in the examples; in some cases diagrams are mislabeled; in other cases, undefined terms are used in examples (but occasionally defined later). The many errors can be frustrating and annoying in the long run and could mislead some readers. But despite these shortcomings, this book is so enjoyable, informative, witty, engaging and difficult to put down that the positives outweigh the negatives; I can't bring myself to give it anything less than four stars. This book will likely appeal the most to serious science buffs, as long as they are willing to tolerate the errors.
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