California Institute of Technology, University of Cambridge, Draft of 1999, 112 pp.
Most technical education emphasizes exact answers. If you are a physicist, you solve for the energy levels of the hydrogen atom to six decimal places. If you are a chemist, you measure reaction rates and concentrations to two or three decimal places. In this book, you learn complementary skills. You learn that an approximate answer is not merely good enough; it's often more useful than an exact answer. When you approach an unfamiliar problem, you want to learn first the main ideas and the important principles, because these ideas and principles structure your understanding of the problem. It is easier to refine this understanding than to create the refined analysis in one step.Contents
Wetting Your Feet
Dimensional Analysis
Materials 1
Materials 2
Waves
What we did
Bibliography
