[X] My Assistant

[jrdahlman]

This is not about spaceflight per se, but I think it would be of interest to members of this forum.

Christoph Schiller has updated his free physics textbook, "Motion Mountain," to the 19th edition. This is a book that tries to explain physics by answering the question, "What is motion?" It covers the progress from Galilean and Newtonian physics through relativity and quantum mechanics and at least mention of string theory. As a work in progress, there are sections not finished yet. (Quantum gravity and unification--which no one's finished yet!) While fairly advanced in material--I'd say more at college level than high-school--the author makes quite an effort to keep it readable and interesting. I don't how well it would work as a REAL textbook in a class, but as an amateur I find it a fascinating read.

It can be downloaded as big PDF or in individual chapters at:

www.motionmountain.net

and free for anybody's use. (In fact Schiller forbids any commercial use.)

The whole thing is over 1300 pages long, so it's not something you'd read in an afternoon. (Bruce Moomaw has already mentioned how much reading he'd like to catch up on. Presumably this would put him out of action for weeks!) Mr. Schiller would love to hear feedback, especially from professionals.

(Full disclosure: since I sent him feedback on earlier editions on typos and grammar errors, my name is mentioned in the "Thank you" list in the preface. I am certainly not qualified as an "expert" reviewer!)

John D.