Why cats land on their feet, and 76 other paradoxes and puzzles in physics / Mark Levi.

Print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Fun with Physical Paradoxes, Puzzles, and Problems -- 1.1. Introduction -- 1.2. Background -- 1.3. Sources -- 2. Outer Space Paradoxes -- 2.1. Helium Balloon in a Space Shuttle -- 2.2. Space Navigation without Jets -- 2.3. Paradox with a Comet -- 2.4. Speeding Up Causes a Slowdown -- 3. Paradoxes with Spinning Water -- 3.1. Puzzle with a Floating Cork -- 3.2. Parabolic Mirrors and Two Kitchen Puzzles -- 3.3. Cold Parabolic Dish -- 3.4. Boating on a Slope -- 3.5. Navigating with No Engine or Sails -- 3.6. Icebergs -- 4. Floating and Diving Paradoxes -- 4.1. Bathtub on Wheels -- 4.2. Tub Problem -- In More Depth -- 4.3. How to Lose Weight in a Fraction of a Second -- 4.4. Underwater Balloon -- 4.5. Scuba Puzzle -- 4.6. Weight Puzzle -- 5. Flows and Jets -- 5.1. Bernoulli's Law and Water Guns -- 5.2. Sucking on a Straw and the Irreversibility of Time -- 5.3. Bernoulli's Law and Moving Around in a Space Shuttle -- 5.4. Sprinker Puzzle -- 5.5. Ejecting Water Fast but with Zero Speed? -- 5.6. Pouring Water Puzzle -- 5.7. Stirring Paradox -- 5.8. Inkjet Printer Question -- 5.9. Vorticity Paradox -- 6. Moving Experiences: Bikes, Gymnastics, Rockets -- 6.1. How Do Swings Work? -- 6.2. Rising Energy Cost -- 6.3. Gymnast Doing Giants and a Hamster in a Wheel -- 6.4. Controlling a Car on Ice -- 6.5. How Does a Biker Turn? -- 6.6. Speeding Up by Leaning -- 6.7. Can One Gain Speed on a Bike by Body Motion Only? -- 6.8. Gaining Weight on a Motorbike -- 6.9. Feeling the Square in mv2/2 Through the Bike Pedals -- 6.10. Paradox with Rockets -- 6.11. Coffee Rocket -- 6.12. Throwing a Ball from a Moving Car -- 7. Paradoxes with the Coriolis Force -- 7.1. What Is the Coriolis Force? -- ^ 7.2. Feeling Coriolis in a Boeing 747 -- 7.3. Down the Drain with Coriolis --