The Physics of War by Parker, Barry -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Also by Barry Parker Title Page Copyright Page Contents Preface Chapter 1: Introduction

Summary of the Book

Chapter 2: Early Wars and the Beginning of Physics

Battle of Kadesh The Wonder Weapon Copper, Bronze, and Iron The Assyrians Greeks and the Beginning of Physics The New Wonder Machines Alexander the Great Archimedes

Chapter 3: Basic Physics of Early Weapons

Velocity and Acceleration Force and Inertia Momentum and Impulse The Effect of Gravity Energy and Power Angular Momentum and Torque Machines Physics of the Bow and Arrow Physics of Other Early Weapons

Chapter 4: The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire and the Early English-French Wars

The Romans and Their Weapons Early English-French Wars Origin and Physics of the Longbow

Roger Bacon Development of the Cannon The Hundred Years’ War The Basilica and the Siege of Constantinople Cannons in the English-Scottish Wars The French Charles VIII and Victory over Naples

Chapter 6: Three Men Ahead of Their Time: Da Vinci, Tartaglia, and Galileo

Leonardo and Physics Leonardo's Military Inventions Leonardo's Attitude toward War Tartaglia Galileo

Chapter 7: From Early Guns to Total Destruction and Discovery

The Guns of War The War at Sea Henry VIII of England William Gilbert The Problem of Longitude The Thirty Years’ War Swedish Intervention A New Era of Discovery: Isaac Newton

Chapter 8: The Impact of the Industrial Revolution

Introduction The French Revolution The English Revolution James Watt and the Steam Engine John “Iron Mad” Wilkinson Benjamin Robins The Flintlock Christiaan Huygens Physics and the Industrial Revolution

Chapter 9: Napoleon's Weapons and New Breakthroughs in Physics

The French Revolution Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval Napoleon and His Weapons Count Rumford New Breakthroughs in Physics How This Affected Warfare

Chapter 10: The American Civil War

Development of the Percussion Cap The Minié Ball A Revolution in Rifles and Cannons The War The Role of the Telegraph The Dynamo (Generator) The Gatling Gun The War at Sea Physics of the Propeller “Damn the Torpedoes” Submarines Balloons

Chapter 11: Where Does the Bullet Go? Ballistics of Rifle Bullets and Cannon Shells

Internal Ballistics Recoil Transitional Ballistics and the Sonic Boom External Ballistics Stability of the Bullet Terminal Ballistics

Chapter 12: Hey, Look…It Flies! Aerodynamics and the First Airplanes

Discoveries That Led to the Airplane The Wright Brothers What Makes an Airplane Fly? The Physical, More Exact Explanation of Lift Details of Drag Steering and Maneuvering the Airplane First Use of Airplanes in War

Chapter 13: The Machine Gun War—World War I

Development of the Machine Gun Other Weapons How the War Started The First Warplanes The War at Sea and the Menace beneath the Sea The Final Horror—Poisonous Gas The First Tanks America Enters the War

Chapter 14: The Invisible Rays: The Development and Use of Radio and Radar in War

The Production and Detection of Electromagnetic Waves The Electromagnetic Spectrum Radio Waves X-rays Light and Infrared Radar An Amazing Discovery

Chapter 15: Sonar and the Submarine

Archimedes’ Principle Physics of Submarines Power for the Propellers Shape and Periscopes Navigation Sonar Torpedoes How Torpedoes Work Submarines in World War II

Chapter 16: The Great War: World War II

How the War Started Ready for War The Battle of France, and Dunkirk The Radar Advantage The Battle of Britain American Entry into the War Advances in Aviation The First Rockets in War Other Weapons and Small Arms Computers and Intelligence

Chapter 17: The Atomic Bomb

The Beginning Einstein's Role The Italian Breakthrough Hahn, Meitner, and Strassmann Christmas 1938 A Chain Reaction The Letter to Roosevelt The War Begins Meanwhile in England Heisenberg and Bohr The Manhattan Project The First Reactor The Continuing Manhattan Project Trinity The German Bomb Decision to Use the Bomb on Japan

Chapter 18: The Hydrogen Bomb, Intercontinental Missiles, Lasers, and the Future

Development of the Hydrogen Bomb The Ulam-Teller Breakthrough The First Test: Mike Physics of the Hydrogen Bomb Long-Range Missiles Other Weapons: Lasers Transistors, Microchips, and Computers Satellites and Drones Futuristic Weapons of War

Notes Selected Bibliography Index Back Cover