The Cartoon Guide to Physics by Larry Gonick

The Cartoon Guide to Physics Reviews

• 
  Kim

  Well my first review was deleted by Goodreads, which is why you should always have a backup...but I digress.
  
  So I have been on this knowledge quest lately. Mostly an attempt to make up for not really giving a damn in high school. Of course,I got fantastic grades in high school, but I usually just did it by going through the motions and writing crap my teachers wanted to hear. Now that I am no longer under that burden, I've been taking the time to actually make up for lost time and lost educational opportunities as millions like me have been forced through the lowest common denominator known as the American educational system probably can relate. In this educational quest, I've taken up learning about physics and astronomy and other sciency things.
  
  While at the library a few weeks ago, I picked up The Cartoon Guide to Physics. I like comics and thought what an interesting way to learn about physics. In this highly cheesy, yet entertaining book, I actually did learn some useful information. It is definitely not for the college level physics major, but for the slightly above average person or student with an interest in learning about physics, it is a fun book to turn to get the overall basics.
  
  The book contains chapters on everything from motion to electric currents to quantum electrodynamics. It's not the cartoon guide to rocket science, so you probably won't be working for NASA afterward, but you will at least have a basic idea of why your light bulbs turn on, why we all don't float off into space, and how magnets work. Enjoy!
• 
  Rosh [busy month; will catch up soon!]

  Pros:
  Great illustrations
  Fantastic humour
  Graphic explanation makes the concepts easier
  
  Cons:
  Aimed at those who already have a decent grasp over the topics. Not meant for dabblers.
• 
  Ed Erwin

  Not exactly sure why I bought this, as I know (or knew) most of the material. I still found it useful and (a little bit) funny. Whether it will help people with a math or science phobia, I can't say. But it is well organized and presented. Some equations, but mostly visual explanations.
  
  The sections on Newton's laws had nothing new for me. Though the way that a spinning wheel will precess due to gravity still feels weird to me no matter how many times I see it or work through the equations. He mentioned that the English measuring system uses a unit called a "slug" to represent mass. That isn't the way I learned it. (* footnote)
  
  The sections on electromagnetism were the most useful for me. Again, I've been exposed to all of this before, but haven't thought about most of it in years. This sort of high-level overview is great for anyone thinking of diving in a greater depth later.
  
  The authors chose to present Einstein's Special Relativity without any reference to the speed of light. (They don't discuss light at all until two chapters later where they show how it emerges from Maxwell's laws.) Instead they contrast the effects of a magnet moving through a stationary loop of wire. The electric and magnetic fields look very different depending on whether you are stationary with respect to the magnet, or with respect to the wire. This is a very unusual way to describe relativity, but it is a valid way and builds on the earlier chapters in a logical way.
  
  * Footnote: (In engineering classes we used English units, but spoke of "pound mass" and "pound weight" when we needed to distinguish mass from weight. The "slug" is a different way of dealing with that, but not an approach I've ever used. Looking into that led me to a Wikipedia rabbit hole about the craziness of unit systems. A gallon is different sizes for liquids or solids. A pint bottle of beer is smaller in Canada than in USA, though in cans they match. An ounce is different in Avoirdupois system from the Troy system used for gold and silver. Etc.)
• 
  Robu-sensei

  Did you do okay in high-school physics, but never felt you had a handle on what everything really meant? The Cartoon Guide to Physics is an excellent conceptual review of basic mechanics and electromagnetic theory, practically free of mathematics but rich in meaning and context. Even Maxwell's famous equations are explained without resort to higher maths. It also offers a very, very brief nontechnical explanation of relativity using electromagnetism as a basis (hence, "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies")—I really wish this section were better developed.
• 
  Katherine

  Engaging and clearly explained.
• 
  Stasia

  So great!! Visually pleasing, and in physics, visuals are SO helpful!!!
• 
  Marts (Thinker)

  a really fun intro to physics...
• 
  Катерина

  Чи не розумієте ви фізику настільки, наскільки не розумію її я?😂🙈
  ⠀
  Для мене це темний-темний ліс. І загубитися в ньому я ой як боюся.😱
  ⠀
  І ось в руки мені трапився кумедний комікс із серії #НаукаВКоміксах від видавництва @ridnamova .
  ⠀
  Автори книги вирішили розповісти всі ці страшні речі простими словами. Точніше — малюнками.
  ⠀
  Не скажу, що я все зрозуміла. Моментами, коли на квадратний сантиметр було забагато формул та незнайомих слів, мозок таки плавився 🤯, але моментами було і смішно 😂. Я з задоволенням спостерігала за пригодами космонавта Рінґо у світі Фізики.
  ⠀
  По змісту мені здається, що це короткий виклад шкільної програми. Тобто разом із підручниками фізики можна вивчати цей комікс, адже він більш доступно і веселіше може розповісти вам про механіку, електрику та магнетизм.
  ⠀
  А ще, якщо тепер мене хтось запитає, скільки я важу, то я можу сміло відповідати, що 490 ньютонів.😁🙈
• 
  Choonghwan

  “Does the moon also fall?”
  
  It is the question asked by Issac Newton which I only recently came to know though his another question about an apple is well known.
  
  Not until I read a cartoon physics book, I didn’t know that anything in circular motion is accelerating in other words falling or gravitating towards the center. A falling apple and the orbiting moon are exactly the same phenomena.
  
  From this seeming counterintuitive observation and reasoning, has the modern physics and technology revolution been unleashed.
• 
  Justine

  This is a fun and brief romp through physics. I enjoyed it, but I am not sure how much new information I learned. It did serve as a brief refresher for things I already knew, but the parts of physics I wasn't very familiar with (QED among one or two others) blew my mind without sinking in at all. If I read the separate book on QED that my husband has I may use this on the side to help me understand.
• 
  Saidnur

  I like the book...
  It explain physics' concepts in a very basic and enjoyable way.
  The concepts is explained in a fluent story narrative.
  Therefore, the narrative helps to comprehend the concepts/formulas and where they really come from..
  
  I highly recommended to people who do not have strong background in physics and just want to have a general view about physics.
  This book may also helps people who teach physics. it may give ideas how they can concepts in a basic way.
• 
  Anas

  sangat menarik, membahasakan fisika secara sederhana. namun demikian, pembahasannya terkesan terlalu disederhanakan (oversimplified) di satu bagian, dan kurang disederhanakan (undersimplified) di bagian lain.
  secara keseluruhan menarik dan bisa dinikmati semua kalangan.
• 
  Connie Neil

  I've always regretted not studying physics in school, so I picked this up to rectify the situation. Then I realized that I couldn't make heads or tails of the equations and realized I had to re-learn algebra first.
• 
  Satyaki Banik

  Good for at most high school-goers, concise, fun to read, informative but entertaining at the same time.
  Covers almost every basic concept of Physics in a very brief manner.
• 
  Anthony Faber

  This is as good as his other guides, so it's worth reading if you like that kind of stuff.
  
• 
  Timeo Williams

  Had a blast reading this book.
• 
  bup

  I remember specifically the section on orbit helped me finally really get how orbit works. Intuitively. It's made perfect sense ever since then.
• 
  Mikkicassel65gmail.Com

  Velocity, Acceleration, Explosions, Electricity and Magnetism, Circuits and Relativity Theory in simple, clear, and funny illustrations. Making Physics fun and understandable.
• 
  Adam Permana

  Dulu ngejar ketertinggalan SBMPTN belajar dari sini dirumah..
• 
  Andika Lesmana

  Maxwell's four equations defined in very simple explanations. Beautiful.
• 
  Reza Yogatama

  Lumayan menjelaskan fisika secara umum dan disertai ilustrasi gambar yang mudah dipahami.
• 
  Michael P.

  I have a problem with the way that physics is taught. Regarding one of Newton’s laws, you generally read that if you push against a wall with 100 pounds of force, the wall pushes back with 100 pounds. Walls don’t push, can’t push, can not intend to push, or exert any muscles to push. Consequently, I have no idea what is meant. I tend to assume that resistance to the push is meant and that is why the wall does not move, but that is not what people write. Furthermore, if you push with 1000 pounds of power against a wall, maybe the wall crumbles and you go through it. Resistance fails. Where is Newton’s law then? F=m.a indeed!
  
  OK, so we have established that I do not understand the most basic of concepts in physics. I assume that Newton’s laws are true, but I am either too stupid to understand this one or the way it is explained is so inadequate as to baffle understanding, and so it is in this book. This book used 90 pounds, not 100, but the standard failed ways of explaining physics are in force. Hey, force. Maybe baffling explanations are Newton’s fourth law or Maxwell’s fifth, or something.
  
  This book does a very nice job of explaining physics in the baffling way, but it is still the baffling way. Maybe the next basic physics book I read will get it right.