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The physics of war : from arrows to atoms / by Barry Parker.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Parker, Barry R., author.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Weapons--History.
- Weapons.
- History.
- Military art and science.
- Military engineering.
- Physics.
- Aeronautics.
- Ballistics.
- Physical Description:
- 320 pages ; 24 cm
- Place of Publication:
- Amherst, New York : Prometheus Books, 2014.
- Summary:
- This epic exploration of scientific and military history traces the fascinating links between the evolving human-understanding of nature's physical laws and the applications of these discoveries in the development of ever-deadlier weapons of war. By exploring the lives and careers of scientific innovators such as Leonardo, Galileo, Newton, Maxwell, and Einstein, whose work had a profound impact on the technology of combat, as well as the terrifying scenes of battle during which these technologies were first deployed to devastating effect, Parker highlights the ways in which military necessity appropriates-and often inspires-great leaps forward in the progress of science. Book jacket.
- Contents:
- Early wars and the beginning of physics
- Basic physics of early weapons
- The rise and fall of the Roman Empire and early English-French wars
- Gunpowder and cannons: the discovery that changed the art of war and the world
- Three men ahead of their time: Da Vinci, Tartaglia, and Galileo
- From early guns to total destruction and discovery
- The impact of the industrial revolution
- Napoleon's weapons and new breakthroughs in physics
- The American Civil War
- Where does the bullet go: ballistics of rifle bullets and cannon shells
- Hey, look ... it flies!: aerodynamics and the first airplanes
- The machine gun war
- World War I
- The invisible rays: the development and use of radio and radar in war
- Sonar and the submarine
- The great war: World War II
- The atomic bomb
- The hydrogen bomb, intercontinental missiles, lasers, and the future.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN:
- 9781616148034
- 1616148039
- 9781616148041
- 1616148047
- OCLC:
- 840464928
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