Eyewitness Visual Dictionary of Physics

Labeled illustrations identify theories, experiments, and instruments related to all areas of physics, including energy, machines, waves, electricity, magnetism, and nuclear reactions

Grade 6 Up?In the visually clear, oversized format typical of the series, this book offers a bit about a wide variety of topics, from Newton's Laws to Feynman diagrams. It is an enticing choice for browsing that may inspire further research, or that might possibly supply just the information needed for an assignment on simple machines. Unfortunately, not every full-color illustration or photograph can substitute for a thousand words. The extreme brevity of the presentations may leave readers mystified, especially if they haven't learned, for instance, the use of a negative exponent for division. The fact that the minus signs are vanishingly small adds to the confusion. Challoner avoids math as much as possible, and when he does finally list some formulas, he makes some classic errors. The audience for the book is hard to determine: the format will appeal to young children, but complete understanding of the content requires more background. Physics Today (World Book, 1985; o.p.) gives a more complete presentation, while Peter Lafferty's Force and Motion or Christopher Cooper's Matter (1992, both DK) have a narrower range.?Margaret Chatham, Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library of Fairfax County Library System, VA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.