This book's like black holes. It really engulfes you whole.
For many years I have been saying that I would like to write a book (or series of books) called Physics for Mathematicians. Whenever I would tell people that, they would say, __h good, you're going to explain quantum mechanics, or string theory, or something like that_. And I would say, __ell that would be nice, but I can't begin to do that now; first I have to learn elementary physics, so the first thing I will be writing will be Mechanics for Mathematicians_. So then people would say, __h, so you're going to be writing about symplectic structures_, or something of that sort. And I would have to say, __o, I'm not trying to write a book about mathematics for mathematicians, I'm trying to write a book about physics for mathematicians_; _ it's elementary mechanics that I don't understand. _ I mean, for example, that I don't understand this _ lever.... Most of us know the law of the lever, but this law is simply a quantitative statement of exactly how amazing the lever is, and doesn't give us a clue as to why it is true, how such a small force at one end can exert such a great force at the other. Now physicists all agree that Newton's Three Laws are the basis from which all of mechanics follows, but if you ask for an explanation of the lever in terms of these three laws, you will almost certainly not get a satisfactory answer.
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For many years I have been saying that I would like to write a book (or series of books) called Physics for Mathematicians. Whenever I would tell people that, they would say, __h good, you're going to explain quantum mechanics, or string theory, or something like that_. And I would say, __ell that would be nice, but I can't begin to do that now; first I have to learn elementary physics, so the first thing I will be writing will be Mechanics for Mathematicians_. So then people would say, __h, so you're going to be writing about symplectic structures_, or something of that sort. And I would have to say, __o, I'm not trying to write a book about mathematics for mathematicians, I'm trying to write a book about physics for mathematicians_; _ it's elementary mechanics that I don't understand. _ I mean, for example, that I don't understand this _ lever.... Most of us know the law of the lever, but this law is simply a quantitative statement of exactly how amazing the lever is, and doesn't give us a clue as to why it is true, how such a small force at one end can exert such a great force at the other. Now physicists all agree that Newton's Three Laws are the basis from which all of mechanics follows, but if you ask for an explanation of the lever in terms of these three laws, you will almost certainly not get a satisfactory answer.
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