Kitchen Physics

Brilliant Physicist Ira Maximilian Freeman, who took his University of Chicago Ph.D. in 1928 when only 22, spends most of his time on abstruse equations of quantum theory. But Dr. Freeman is also a teacher (at Central College, Chicago), would like to explain science to the average citizen, dispel its "mysteries and marvels." In his latest book, Invitation to Experiment, published last week (Dutton; $2.50), he lures his readers into kitchen and bathroom, where they can dope out for themselves "the things that make the universe tick." With clever drawings and photographs, he simplifies molecular motion, gravitation, optics, everything in physics up to (but not including) relativity. Samples:

Resonance. Don't be ashamed of singing in the bathtub, advises Dr. Freeman, but "place your head directly above a wash bowl and hum loudly, starting with a low note and gradually raising the pitch [until you] find the bowl strongly reinforcing your voice tone. . . . An entire room, especially a small one, can some times be made to resonate in this way." Theory: different substances have different periods of natural vibration; when the voice finds them, they vibrate in sympathy. Men make better bathroom thrushes than women because modern plumbing is out of phase with higher-pitched voices.

Centrifugal Force. A man in London weighs less than he would at the North Pole, more than he would at the equator. Reason: centrifugal force (which opposes gravity) increases with the distance of the object from the axis of spin. Hence the maximum effect would be felt at the equator (furthermost from the earth's axis of spin), least effect at the Pole (the axis). If the earth's rotation were 17 times faster, men at the equator would weigh nothing, drift off into space.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.