Why Cats Land on Their Feet: And 76 Other Physical Paradoxes and Puzzles

I will surely use the examples and ideas for my physics classes.

Being a retired systems engineer I found many of the concepts intriguing .I was out of touch with some of the mathematics and needed to refer to my texts.

This was an enjoyable read. The diagrams are helpful in explaining solutions and enhancing the physical intuition that the author aims to encourage. I enjoyed the humorous writing style, The appendix was useful. I like the derivation of Coriolis effect by complex representation of the inertial and rotating reference frames.

I love books like this. As soon as I saw this one, I had to buy it. Having eagerly read it, I offer the following comments.The author presents some 76 physical problems and their solutions, some of which I found to be rather unexpected. He uses mostly words in his solutions, often backed up with some more formal mathematics. In my opinion, many of these problems/solutions are very enlightening, intriguing and a great pleasure to go through. Unfortunately, I also found that some of the more wordy solutions were rather unclear (to me) and some were even a bit awkward - perhaps the result of not enough mathematics (?) This is unfortunate, especially if the results may hold surprises or may be counterintuitive; in such cases, I believe that one should strive for the utmost clarity, even if it means using a little bit more mathematics.The author writes in a very friendly and lively style with the occasional bit of well-placed humor. Overall, I did enjoy this book and recommend it. It should appeal mainly to science/math enthusiasts.

A truly remarkable book. A unique find for lovers of puzzles and brainteasers. This book differs from typical puzzle books in that all the puzzles are focused on apparent paradoxes. That means that the solution of every paradox is not the answer you would expect. The author promises a certain result from reading this book: developing one's "physical intuition." This means having a better sense of how the world works. After working through these puzzles, one definitely comes to a clearer and more direct apprehension of physical cause and effect.What really sets this book apart is the way the author explains physics. His focus is on explaining forces. The book is super-light on formulas, making heavy use of diagrams, and minimal math. Still, those who are more verbally-minded might enjoy Parlett's  THE Book of Word Games  more.Anyone with a curious mind who was turned off by the formula-heavy approach of high school and college physics courses would do well to check out this book.

Many science puzzle books are rehashes of  Martin Gardner's Science Magic , which dates back to 1960. One good recent science puzzle book is  Mad About Physics . And now this new one, Why Cats Land on their Feet, is another great one. If you're looking for a good set of books for a kid to read, these three are great starters.Some of the questions:What happens when a helium balloon is tossed around in a space station?How does the Earth's rotation affect icebergs?In an inkjet printer, does the ink hit the paper as droplets or jets?How can a ring be balanced on a slippery dome?Can a roller coaster be designed to give a person a constant 2G force?The answers are all well-explained. There is much in here I did not know. Highly recommended.

I wonder what the editor of this book was thinking, by having the answers right beneath the puzzle question - clueless...