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Mrs. Perkins's Electric Quilt: And Other Intriguing Stories of Mathematical Physics

1 rating: 5.0

A book by Paul J. Nahin

Mrs. Perkins's Electric Quiltis a great book for anyone interested in the connections between mathematics and physics. Along the way, Nahin, author of many popular math books, shares many historical anecdotes about the problems and the people who … see full wiki

Tags: Books, Mathematics, Mathematical Physics

Author: Paul J. Nahin

Genre: Science

Publisher: Princeton University Press

1 review about Mrs. Perkins's Electric Quilt: And Other...

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The mathematics dominates the physics and the problems are excellent

Jul 9, 2010

by CharlesAshbacher
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

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The mathematics largely dominates the physics in this book, the problems vary in the level of their physics difficulty but the math level stays pretty constant. In nearly all cases, understanding integrals, some of which are complex, is necessary if you are to understand the solution. Generally speaking, the physics problems are understandable by anyone that has a fundamental understanding of the principles of physics. A strong course in high school physics would be adequate preparation.
Many of the problems have a tone of the absurd to them, yet that what makes them appealing. For example, section 10.3 describes how much energy it would take to blow up a planet, as the dreaded Death Star did in the first "Star Wars" movie. Another set of problems is based on the hollow Earth absurdity and Jules Verne's classic story "Journey to the Center of the Earth." The problem from which the title is derived is based on the tiling of a square region using only square pieces, which could be used to construct a quilt. It is transformed into a problem in electricity by making the quilt a plate of pieces of metal through which electricity will flow.
This book would be an ideal resource for a course in mathematical physics or engineering that is more informal. The problems are the type that students would truly have fun with and they are sufficiently challenging so that they are worthy of advanced students. Mathematics instructors with a physics background could also incorporate some of the problems into applied math courses. I know my students would have loved to see the problem of blowing up a planet worked out.

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