For the last eighteen years, I have been teaching an introductory course in as trophysics. The course is intended for nonscience majors satisfying a general education requirement in natural science. It is a physics course with applications in astronomy. The only prerequisite is the high school mathematics required for ad mission to the university. For a number of years, I used an astronomy text, which I supplemented with lecture notes on physics. There are many good astronomy texts available, but this was not a satisfactory state of affairs, since the course is a physics course. The students...

Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scientific disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the clas- sical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in research and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series: Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numerical and symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems,...

On visits to his bank, Mark becomes attracted to a recently-hired teller. He works up the courage to invite her out for dinner and learns that it is not a good idea because of a long-standing difficulty between their fathers. He begins to ask questions of others in his Christian association who might help him understand why events from years past now impinge on his own life. His father is sorely displeased with the opening of old wounds and rebukes him sharply for his pursuit of "forbidden fruit." The story-with overtones from the houses of Montague and Capulet-evolves from here.

The book provides a bridge from courses in general physics to the intermediate-level courses in classical mechanics, electrodynamics and quantum mechanics. The author bases the mathematical discussions on specific physical problems to provide a basis for developing mathematical intuition.

Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scientific disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the clas- sical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in research and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series: Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numerical and symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems,...

Intended for undergraduate non-science majors, satisfying a general education requirement or seeking an elective in natural science, this is a physics text, but with the emphasis on topics and applications in astronomy. The perspective is thus different from most undergraduate astronomy courses: rather than discussing what is known about the heavens, this text develops the principles of physics so as to illuminate what we see in the heavens. The fundamental principles governing the behaviour of matter and energy are thus used to study the solar system, the structure and evolution of stars,...