As the most widely adopted new physics text in more than 50 years, Knight’s Physics for Scientists and Engineers was published to widespread critical acclaim from professors and students. In this eagerly awaited second edition, Knight builds on the research-proven instructional techniques he introduced, as well as national data of student performance, to take student learning even further. Knight’s unparalleled insight into student learning difficulties, and his impeccably skillful crafting of text and figures at every level – from macro to micro – to address these difficulties, results in a uniquely effective and accessible book, leading students to a deeper and better-connected understanding of the concepts and more proficient problem-solving skills. Building on an NSF-sponsored educational research program and input from tens of thousands of student users, the second edition refines and extends the pedagogical innovations that years of use has now shown to be effective. Unprecedented analysis of national student metadata has allowed every problem to be systematically enhanced for educational effectives, and to ensure problem sets of ideal topic coverage, balance of qualitative and quantitative problems, and range of difficulty and duration.* Newton's Concepts of Motion* Kinematics in One Dimension* Vectors and Coordinate Systems* Kinematics in Two Dimensions* Force and Motion* Dynamics Motion Along a Line* Dynamics Interacting Objects* Dynamics Motion in a Plane Conservation Impulse and Momentum* Energy* Work Applications of Newtonian Rotation of a Rigid Body* Newton's Theory of Gravity* Oscillations* Fluids and Elasticity A Macroscopic Description of Matter* Work, Heat, and the First Law of Thermodynamics* The Micro/Macro Connection* Heat Engines and Refrigerators Waves and Traveling Waves* Superposition* Wave Optics* Ray Optics* Optical Instruments* Modern Optics and Matter Waves Electricity and Electric Charges and Forces* The Electric Field* Gauss's Law* The Electric Potential* Potential and Field* Current and Conductivity* Fundamentals of Circuits* The Magnetic Field* Electromagnetic Induction* Electromagnetic Fields and Waves* AC Circuits Relativity and Quantum Relativity* The End of Classical Physics* Quantization* Wave Functions and Probabilities* One-Dimensional Quantum Mechanics* Atomic Physics* Nuclear PhysicsFor all readers interested in leading students to a deeper and better-connected understanding of the concepts and more proficient problem-solving skills.
Randy Knight taught introductory physics for 32 years at Ohio State University and California Polytechnic University, where he is Professor Emeritus of Physics. Professor Knight received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley and was a post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics before joining the faculty at Ohio State University. It was at Ohio State that he began to learn about the research in physics education that, many years later, led to Five Easy Lessons: Strategies for Successful Physics Teaching and this book, as well as College Physics: A Strategic Approach, co-authored with Brian Jones and Stuart Field. Professor Knight’s research interests are in the field of laser spectroscopy and environmental science. When he’s not in front of a computer, you can find Randy hiking, sea kayaking, playing the piano, or spending time with his wife Sally and their six cats.
