• ISBN13: 9780199589517
• Binding: Hardcover
• Subject: Physics and Astronomy
• Publisher: Oxford UP
• Publisher Imprint: Oxford UP
• Publication Date: June 15, 2011
• Pages: 248
• Original Price: GBP 33.49
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 477 grams

About the Book The pendulum is a unique physical system which exhibits remarkably varied and complex behavior under many different conditions. It is also a system which, in its many manifestations, has left a significant imprint on human thought and culture. Using graphs, figures, and narrative to explain scientific ideas and models, Gregory Baker gives a lucid account of the physics of the pendulum, showing the reader how the context of the pendulum progresses over four centuries from that of a simple system of classical physics, to that of a chaotic system, and eventually to that of a modern quantum system. He also describes its fascinating presence in cultural history, from its role in timekeeping and measurements of the earth to its importance as a literary symbol of doom. <p/>Seven 'tales', detailing different important facets of the pendulum, show the exciting diversity of the science of the pendulum, and its untold significance in the history of human intellectual development.<br>