Sustainable development and physics/engineering mechanics

“David MacKay’s book is an intellectually satisfying, refreshing contribution to really understanding the complex issues of energy supply and use. It debunks the emotional claptrap which passes for energy policy and puts real numbers into the equations. It should be read by everyone, especially politicians.” “MacKay brings a welcome dose of common sense into the discussion of energy sources and use. Fresh air replacing hot air.”

“…focuses on the utilization of sustainable energy and mitigating climate change, serving as an introduction to physics in the context of societal problems. A distinguishing feature of the text is the discussion of spectroscopy and spectroscopic methods as a crucial means to quantitatively analyze and monitor the condition of the environment, the factors determining climate change, and all aspects of energy conversion.” (kursbok i SK184N Miljöfysik, 9 hp)

“We live in complicated, dangerous times. Barack Obama and his successors will need to know if Iran's nascent nuclear capability is a genuine threat to the West, if biochemical weapons are likely to be developed by terrorists, if there are viable alternatives to fossil fuels that should be nurtured and supported by the government, if nuclear power should be encouraged, and what is the real truth about global warming. This is "must-have" information for all presidents―and citizens―of the twenty-first century.”

“Based on Richard Muller's renowned course at Berkeley, the book explores critical physics topics: energy and power, atoms and heat, gravity and space, nuclei and radioactivity, chain reactions and atomic bombs, electricity and magnetism, waves, light, invisible light, climate change, quantum physics, and relativity. Muller engages readers through many intriguing examples, helpful facts to remember, a fun-to-read text, and an emphasis on real-world problems rather than mathematical computation. He includes chapter summaries, essay and discussion questions, Internet research topics, and handy tips for instructors to make the classroom experience more rewarding.”

“The near meltdown of Fukushima, the upheavals in the Middle East, the BP oil spill, and the looming reality of global warming have reminded the president and all U.S. citizens that nothing has more impact on our lives than the supply and demand for energy. Its procurement dominates our economy and foreign policy more than any other factor. But the “energy question” is more confusing, contentious, and complicated than ever before. We need to know if nuclear power will ever really be safe. We need to know if solar and wind power will ever really be viable. And we desperately need to know if the natural gas deposits in Pennsylvania are a windfall of historic proportions or a false alarm that will create more problems than solutions.”

“Richard A. Muller demonstrated in his recent bestseller, Physics for Future Presidents, that he has a unique talent for delivering the “aha” moment―making difficult topics accessible. In The Instant Physicist he shows his ability to entertain, too, by presenting the best of the scientific curiosities he has assembled over his distinguished career. Assisted by award-winning cartoonist Joey Manfre, who has created an original color cartoon for each “physics bite,” Muller will have readers chuckling while they’re absorbing more science than they ever thought possible. From the surprising (chocolate has more energy in it than TNT) to the scary (even kids can make a bomb), this book contains a revelation on every page.”

“…is the only book devoted exclusively to the environmental aspects of materials. It explains the ways in which we depend on and use materials and the consequences these have, and it introduces methods for thinking about and designing with materials within the context of minimizing environmental impact. Along with its noted in-depth coverage of material consumption, the material lifecycle, selection strategies, and legislative aspects, the second edition includes new case studies, important new chapters on Materials for Low Carbon Power and Material Efficiency, all illustrated by in-text examples and expanded exercises.”

“This book… provides a structure and framework for analyzing sustainable development and the role of materials in it. The aim is to introduce ways of exploring sustainable development to readers in a way that avoids simplistic interpretations and approaches complexity in a systematic way. There is no completely "right" answer to questions of sustainable development - instead, there is a thoughtful, well-researched response that recognizes concerns of stakeholders, the conflicting priorities and the economic, legal and social aspects of a technology as well as its environmental legacy. The intent is not to offer solutions to sustainability challenges but rather to improve the quality of discussion and enable informed, balanced debate.”

“Too many people lost confidence in their ability to understand science because they did poorly in science class in high school. However, even folks who excelled in high school science classes and majored in a scientific discipline in college are rarely adequately prepared to think critically about the science they encounter in their daily lives. High school and even college science tends to be focused on facts, formulae, and experiments with known outcomes. In the real world, there is much more uncertainty and interpretation. Decisions about contemporary scientific issues often must be made on the basis of incomplete information, and conflicting viewpoints are the norm rather than the exception. This book unravels the complexity of such issues to help scientists and nonscientists alike identify hogwash and balance tradeoffs to make well- reasoned decisions about science in everyday life.”

“It deals principally with the topic of sustainability of space operations. In all fields of challenging endeavor actually accomplishing an objective (e.g., putting a satellite into orbit) comes first, followed by exploitation or commercialization, and lastly by a realization that the resource is finite. Such “finite-ness” may come from considerations of pollution (e.g., space debris, propulsion effluent) or of actual limitations on the availability of the resource (e.g., crowding of Geostationary Earth Orbit – GEO). Both of these topics are among those discussed in detail in this volume.”