Force: What It Means to Push and Pull, Slip and Grip, Start and Stop

ISBN-13: 9780300274134

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Yale University Press

Publication Date: 09-19-2023

Pages: 328

Product Dimensions: 6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

Henry Petroski is the author of nineteen previous nonfiction trade books, including The Pencil and The Evolution of Useful Things, which consider the invention, design, and cultural significance of common objects. He is a distinguished professor emeritus at Duke University.

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