Perfect Form: Variational Principles, Methods, and Applications in Elementary Physics

by Don S. Lemons

Book Overview

What does the path taken by a ray of light share with the trajectory of a thrown baseball and the curve of a wheat stalk bending in the breeze? Each is the subject of a different study yet all are optimal shapes; light rays minimize travel time while a thrown baseball minimizes action. All natural curves and shapes, and many artificial ones, manifest such "perfect form" because physical principles can be expressed as a statement requiring some...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691026637
• ISBN13: 9780691026633
• Release Date: March 1997
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 136 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.1" x 9.3"