Fun with Maths and Physics : Brain Teasers, Tricks, Illusions
By Yakov I. Perelman
MIR Publishers, Moscow | 1988 | ISBN-10: 5030000259 | English | PDF | 376 pages | 12 mb
Amazon Link : http://www.amazon.com/Fun-Maths-Physics-Teasers-Illusions/dp/5030000259
scanned to PDF by gnv64
In 1913, in Russian bookshops, appeared a book by the outstanding educationist Yakov Isidorovich Perelman entitled Physics for Entertainment. It struck the fancy of the young who found in it the answers to many of the questions that interested them. Physics for Entertainment not only had an interesting layout, it was also immensely instructive.
In the preface to the 11th Russian edition Perelman wrote: "The main objective of Physics for Entertainment is to arouse the activity of scientific imagination, to teach the reader to think in the spirit of the science of physics and to create in his mind a wide variety of associations of physical knowledge with the widely differing facts of life, with all that he normally comes in contact with." Physics for Entertainment was a best seller.
About the Author
Ya. I. Perelman was born in 1882 in the town of Byelostok (now in Poland). In 1909 he obtained a diploma of forester from the St. Petersburg Forestry Institute. After the success of Physics for Entertainment Perelman set out to produce other books, in which he showed himself to be an imaginative popularizer of science. Especially popular were :
* Arithmetic for Entertainment
* Mechanics for Entertainment
* Geometry for Entertainment
* Astronomy for Entertainment
* Lively Mathematics
* Physics Everywhere
* Tricks and Amusements
Today these books are known to every educated person in the Soviet Union. He has also written several books on interplanetary travel {Interplanetary Jour-neys, On a Rocket to Stars, World Expanses, etc.). The great scientist K. E. Tsiolkovsky thought highly of the talent and creative genius of Perelman. He wrote of him in the preface to Interplanetary Journeys: "The author has long been known by his popular, witty and quite scientific works on physics, astronomy and mathematics, which are moreover written in a marvelous language and are very readable."
Perelman has also authored a number of textbooks and articles in Soviet popular science magazines.
In addition to his educational, scientific and literary activities, he has also devoted much time to editing. So he was the editor of the magazines Nature and People and In the Workshop of Nature. Perelman died on March 16, 1942, in Leningrad. Many generations of readers have enjoyed Perelman's fascinating books, and they will undoubtedly be of interest for generations to come.
CONTENTS
By the Way 33
For Young Physicists 53
A Sheet of Newspaper 86
Seventy-Five More Questions and Experiments on Physics 100
Optical Illusions 143
Brain-Twisting Arrangements and Permutations 164
Skilful Cutting and Connecting 178
Problems with Squares 184
Problems on Manual Work 188
Problems on Purchases and Prices 193
Weight and Weighing 199
Problems on Clocks and Watches 205
Problems on Transport 211
Surprising Calculations 215
Predicaments 221
Problems from Gulliver's Travels 229
Stories about Giant Numbers 237
Tricks with Numbers 250
Merry Arithmetic 273
Count 285
Fast Reckoning 289
Magic Squares 296
Arithmetic Games and Tricks 303
With a Stroke of the Pen 332
Geometric Recreations 338
Without a Tape-Measure 354
Simple Tricks and Diversions 358
Drawing Puzzles 366
(When I bought this book 20 years back, it cost me 1 dollar. But now my used copy, which is still in excellent condition, will fetch me 60 bucks according to Amazon!)
