Konnichi wa, kore wa tabun omoshiroi:


The new revision of the free Motion Mountain physics text can be
downloaded at

http://www.motionmountain.net

The 17th revision adds pictures of our environment in the universe at
large scales, explains how to enjoy Heron's fountain, gives an
improved explanation of solitons, tells about the idea of using an
elevator to get into outer space, shows how a maximum force in nature
explains the darkness at night and predicts the size of the universe,
tells why relativistic length contraction is not a danger for
snow-boarders, shows how the world looks to the colour blind,
explains the physics of tsunamis and tells how to use Galilean
mechanics to earn over 1 million pound sterling per evening.  A
5-line summary of modern physics is given and a prize for the first
solution to a car parking problem is offered.

The text also explains and how you can build a loudspeaker with an
infrared laser beam and no moving parts at all, by modulating the
beam and heating the air.  The device, invented in 1992 by Martin van
der Mark, provides a way to realize an invisible loudspeaker.

Many improvements make the text even more readable than before.  The
whole remains as surprising and thought-provoking as ever, on each of
its over 1000 pages.  They lead through a structured and entertaining
walk through the whole of physics, from classical mechanics to
relativity, electrodynamics, thermodynamics, quantum theory, nuclear
physics and unification.  There should not be any boring page.
Enjoy!

       Christoph Schiller