Table of Contents
Preface xi
Prologue Things We Feel 1
1 Pushes and Pulls Sources of Forces 9
2 Gravitation The Heavy Force 19
3 Magnetism Telephones and Tricky Dogs 27
4 Friction House Slippers and Finger Prisons 36
5 Fractious Forces Shaking and Sliding 46
6 Lever, Lever, Cantilever A Single-Handed Force 53
7 Forces, Forces Everywhere Getting Dressed and Going Out 70
8 Moments of Inertia Mass Transit and the Transit of Masses 86
9 Forceful Illusions Schools and Spools 107
10 From Physics to the Physical The Real Feel 126
11 Forces on Inclined Planes Unlevel Playing Fields 135
12 Stretching and Squeezing Springs and Packaging 143
13 A Round Cake in a Square Box And a Sagging Triangle of Pie 160
14 Deployable Structures Tapes Measure 175
15 Anthropomorphic Models From Caryatids to Avatars 182
16 Visible and Invisible Hands Wind, Warp, and Woe 202
17 Overarching Problems Helping Hands 215
18 Pyramids, Obelisks, and Asparagus Ramping Up the Force 230
19 Moving with the Planet Feeling the Earth Quake 249
20 Forces Felt and Heard Precursors to an End 263
Epilogue A Forceful End 273
Acknowledgments 277
Bibliography 281
Index 299