An entertaining and free e-book on physics – the science of motion. Now in its 26th year, and in various languages - from English to Japanese.
Explore the motion of wheels, birds, lightning, planets, light and empty space itself! Be fascinated by molecular motors, black holes, the beauty of nature and of the concepts of physics, from the principle of cosmic laziness – least action – to gauge symmetry, the symmetry of charges and quarks!
Find out what fireworks, mobile phones and butterflies have in common, how muscles work, how colours appear, how levitation is possible, why we can see the stars, and which problems in physics are still unsolved. If you are between the age of 16 and 106, you will enjoy it. These videos show why.
For a present to others or to yourself, get a paper edition at Amazon (in black & white or in colour), at Createspace (in black & white or in colour), or at Lulu (in black & white).
New in this edition: the direct detection of gravitational waves, the world distance record for throwing any object, new riddles, the pseudoscope, a film of a moving light pulse, an impressive optical illusion that makes colours disappear, and much more.
Download the files separately here (often slightly newer editions):
Free download of
volume I - FALL, FLOW AND HEAT (145 MB).
Free download of
volume II - RELATIVITY AND COSMOLOGY (50 MB).
Free download of
volume III - LIGHT, CHARGES AND BRAINS (80 MB).
Free download of volume IV - THE QUANTUM
OF CHANGE (38 MB).
Free download of
volume V - PLEASURE, TECHNOLOGY AND STARS (85 MB).
Free download of
volume VI - THE STRAND MODEL – A SPECULATION ON
UNIFICATION (34 MB).
Motion Mountain is written for pupils, students, teachers and anybody curious about nature: the text is full of telling anecdotes, captivating riddles, unusual tables, astonishing photographs and beautiful films. It has been downloaded over 300 000 times.
Entertaining and surprising on every page, the first five pdf files tell about
- Sport, raindrops and animal life (mechanics, gravity and heat),
- Moving empty space and the sky at night (relativity and the structure of the universe),
- Lightning, lasers and nerves (electricity, optics, the brain, language and truth),
- Colours and the quantum of change (quantum physics and light quanta).
- Pleasure and the stars (biophysics, nuclear physics and radioactivity).
The sixth and last volume presents, in contrast to the previous ones, a research topic: it tells about the search for a final, unified theory of physics.
Prizes and rewards are offered for solving a number of challenges and for helping to improve the text. You will be mentioned in the index and in the acknowledgements.
Please
If you like my book, please consider a donation. No profit is made: of the sum I spent so far - many tens of thousand Euros - less than a quarter has been covered by donations.
Free Physics Textbook for Download
Motion Mountain Physics Free PDF for Download
Translations
- A Japanese free translation of the volume on relativity and cosmology is available, admirably translated by Hirooka Megumi.
- French free translations of the three volumes on mechanics & heat, on relativity and cosmology, and on electromagnetism are available – as free pdf or as affordable paper edition – due to the fantastic effort of Benoît Clénet.
- Italian free translations of the three volumes on mechanics & heat, on relativity and cosmology, and on quantum theory are available, due to the efforts of Salvatore Spampinato and Alessandro Gori.
- A Spanish free translation of special relativity is available, by José Manuel López López.
- A Russian free html edition of the section on mechanics, translated by Vladimir Romanov, is available.
You are always welcome to expand a translation or to add a new one.